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The Deer Terrace Pavilion (traditional Chinese: 鹿臺; simplified Chinese: 鹿台; pinyin: Lùtái) was a structure believed to have been built during the Shang dynasty. Its location was believed to be in Zhaoge (near the present-day Jinniuling mountain ridge in Qi County, Hebi).
It was the site of a very luxurious pool, named the "Lake of Wine and Forest of Meat" (Chinese: 酒池肉林; pinyin: Jiǔchí Ròulín; lit. 'pond of wine', 'forest of meat'). Meat would be hung alongside the pool, which would be filled with wine for the personal pleasure of King Zhou of Shang. The phrase 酒池肉林 (Jiǔchí Ròulín) is now a Chinese idiom for excessive extravagance and debauchery.[1]
In 1999, the pool was uncovered in an archaeological survey and was found to be 130 metres (430 ft) long, 20 metres (66 ft) wide, and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep. Contemporary water wells were also found close to the pool, leading archaeologists to conclude that its primary function was not to supply groundwater to the pavilion.[2]
On 20 January 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou launched a violent attack on the Shang capital, Zhaoge, as part of the Battle of Muye.[3] Zhou quickly defeated Shang, and the last king of Shang, King Zhou, retreated to the pavilion and set it on fire, burning it and himself along with his jewels as the result of the defeat.[4] This event marked the end of the Shang dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou dynasty. The charred remains of the pavilion have yet to be identified.[5]
References
edit- ^ "酒池肉林 meaning in English - Chinese English translation dictionary". translation-dictionary.net. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "商紂王の「酒池肉林」の存在確認、偃師で大型人工池発見" [Existence of King Shang Zhou's "pool of wine and forest of meat" confirmed with discovery of large artificial pool at Yanshi] (in Japanese). China News Service. 19 July 2004. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Pankenier, David W. (1981). "Astronomical Dates in Shang and Western Zhou" (pdf). Early China. 7: 16–24. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1999). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press. p. 310. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Lee, Yun Kuen (2002). "Building the Chronology of Early Chinese History" (pdf). Asian Perspectives. 41 (1). University of Hawaii Press: 32. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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