The First Emperor of China and the First Royal Garden
3 min readIn the Qin（221-207BC）and Han（206BC-220 AD）dynasties，the feudal rulers further developed hunting parks into palatial gardens，a new form named Gong Yuan in Chinese，which provided the emperors and kings with halls and spaces for residence，recreation，and royal feasts had been developed.The major part of the palatial gardens was the architecture；however，natural plants，wild or domesticated birds and beasts were also nurtured for emperors and kings to hunt.Therefore，the functions of the hunting parks were maintained in this new form of gardens.In the Qin and Han dynasties，the most well known palatial gardens were the Shang-Lin Park，the Weiyang Palace，the Jianzhang Palace，and the Changle Palace，etc.
At that time，the officials，nobles，and wealthy merchants expected to en joy beautiful natural surrounding with waters and hills as well as convenient and comfortable urban life.Hence，they began to imitate the palatial gardens to build their own private gardens.In this period of time，the Chinese gardens imitated the natural beautiful landscape and became a scenic mixture of palaces，rocks and waters，and flowers and trees.
The First Emperor of China and the First Royal Garden After the unification of China，Emperor Qin Shi Huang（221-210 BC），the First Emperor of China，began to construct high platforms，dig out ponds and moats，anddomesticate uncommon birds and beasts.Most of these projects were based on the knowledge and experience accumulated through ages；meanwhile，the Emperor also summoned craftsmen to a non-stop construction of grand palaces and chambers.During this period of time，You was further developed into royal gardens serving as hunt in grounds；later，Gong（palace）and Guan（chamber）were built in You for the purposes of accommodation and observation.Among all of its type，the Shang-Lin Park was considered to be the most famous and largest one in its time.
In the Records of the Historian，there are some accounts of the Shang-Lin Parl in the Qin dynasty.According to a chapter of the book，”in the 35th year of the reign of Qin Shi Huang，the First Emperor complained that Xianyang，the capital，was so densely populated and the former king’s palace was too small…therefore，he had the palace reconstructed in the Shang-Lin Park，south of the Wei River.The E-Pang Palace was the first one to be built up，which was five hundred paces from east to west，and five hundred feet from south to north.The terraces above could seat ten thousand people，and below there was room for banners fifty feet in height.One causeway round the palace led to the South Hall at the top of which a gateway was erected；another led across the Wei River to Xianyang，just as the Heavenly Corridor in the sky leads from the Apex of Heaven across the Milky Way to the Royal Chamber.
From this description，one can imagine how luxurious and how magnificent the Shang-Lin Park was.It certainly lived up to its reputation as the First Royal Garden in early China.The E-Pang Palace established the grand style of Chinese royal gardens—a combination of natural scenery with palaces.The Palace was laterdestroyed by Xiang Yu with a torch fire as Qin Empire collapsed.However，it exerted profound influence on the construction of palaces in the following dynasties.
The First Emperor was obsessed in alchemy and desperate for an immortal life.He sent alchemists to the three mounts of immortals near the East Sea for many times to seek for pills of immortality.But it later proved to be in vain.Then he got his craftsmen to dig out a lake and build small isles in the midst of water；he himself just pretended as a God of the Sea and fulfilled his wishes to become an immortalbeing. This part of the Garden was the Lanchi Palace. The isles and mountains built with the earth excavated from the pool were just named after Penglai and Yingzhou, representing the Immortal Mounts along the East Sea, which gave a touch of mystic color to the royal garden.
