著者

宇都宮 美生

出版者

東洋文庫

雑誌

東洋学報 = Toyo Gakuho (ISSN:03869067)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.104, no.1, pp.61-96, 2022-06-17

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The imperial garden was a private garden that made up the pre-modern Chinese capital together with the palace and residential areas. The garden was located on the north side of Sui-Tang Chang’an 長安 City, while Xiyuan 西苑 was located on the west side of Luoyang 洛陽 City. In this article, the author explains how Xiyuan’s location related to the purpose of defense against the western peoples and the use of the terrain formed by the rivers. In the eastern part of Xiyuan, Sui Yangdi 隋煬帝 established water facilities and production activities to manage water on a daily basis while supporting entertainment and regulating the water supply to the city, while in the western part, a variety of free-range animals were maintained for use in ritual sacrifices and as a symbol of the emperor’s dignity and assets. The Tang emperors abolished these facilities, building palaces in the mountainous areas for use as hunting bases and summer vacation houses, and showed a gradually diminishing interest in water. The fact that there was no major flood damage in the Sui period while such damage occurred frequently in the Tang period indicates that the water management in Xiyuan was extremely important for Luoyang City downstream, as well as reflecting Yangdi’s reverence for and imitation of Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇帝 and Han Wudi 漢武帝. The differences in water management between the two periods reflects changes in the concept of imperial gardens. Xiyuan might be termed a comprehensive imperial garden that inherited northern traditions since the Qin and Han periods while incorporating elements of nomadic cities such as Ye 鄴 City of Northern Qi (Bei Qi 北斉) and Jiankang 建康 City during the Southern Dynasties. It also indicates that the role of the imperial garden should not be discussed solely with reference to the functions of the Chang’an garden (jinyuan 禁苑), but that water management, a tradition since Qin, should be added as one of its important roles.