Deer Terrace Pavilion

The Deer Terrace Pavilion (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 also 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"), where meat would be hung alongside the pool, and the pool would be filled with wine all 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. The pool is 130 metres (430 ft) long, 20 metres (66 ft) wide, and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep. The archaeologists concluded that contrary to the theory that the pool's real purpose was to provide groundwater for the pavilion, the existence of contemporary water wells close to the pool proves that the primary function of the pool was not to supply water.[2]

On 20 January 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou launched a violent attack on the Shang capital, Yinxu, 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
  1. "酒池肉林 meaning in English - Chinese English translation dictionary". translation-dictionary.net. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  2. "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.
  3. Pankenier, David W. (1981). "Astronomical Dates in Shang and Western Zhou" (pdf). Early China. 7: 16–24. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. Lee, Yun Kuen (2002). "Building the Chronology of Early Chinese History" (pdf). Asian Perspectives. University of Hawaii Press. 41 (1): 32. Retrieved 23 January 2019.


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