Unearthing life in the mists of time

Princess Taiping was the only daughter of the imperial couple who grew to adulthood. Just like her mother, she was ambitious and deeply involved in political struggles. For a time, she was one of the most powerful figures in the Tang court, although she would eventually lose a political struggle to her nephew, Li Longji.

The princess had gifted the complex to her elder brother Li Dan, who later changed the fang into a Taoist abbey named Anguo Temple after he ascended the throne. Under the reign of Emperor Li Longji, it was changed into a Taoist abbey for female priests, including Princess Yuzhen, a sister of Li Longji.

Shi says they have found that the Taoist temple as a whole features a multi-courtyard layout consisting of three parallel east-west parts. The central part is an axial courtyard centered around a large square hall, with well-proportioned buildings arranged in an orderly manner.

The southern part of the complex was a garden, in which there was a lake with three artificial hills.

"Since the Wei (220-265), Jin (265-420), and Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581), people often created a garden in their residence. It became a popular tradition," says Zheng Guoqi, another team member from the Luoyang City Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

The lake and three hills were not just decorative. Instead, they carried deep Taoist symbolism. The lake represented the East Sea, home to the immortals. The three hills stood as Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou — the three mythical mountains where celestial beings are said to live. This tradition, which began in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), was often followed by the royal family to express their desire for immortality.

"This excavation has, for the first time, revealed the complete layout of an ancient garden built following this idea," Shi says.

In the southeastern part of the site, archaeologists found special architectural foundations believed to be Guozijian (the Imperial College) and a Confucius temple. The northeastern part yielded well-organized courtyards, probably residences of officials, based on records.

"Altogether we have found remains of over 100 rammed earth buildings from the area and many daily necessities like ceramic and pottery vessels, suggesting the fang was once a populated place," says Zheng.

"It's a rare chance for us to excavate a fang from the Sui and Tang periods," says Shi. "Zhengpingfang boasts a rich array of buildings, from the government's ritual and religious complexes to residences of civil and military officials. With that diversity, it's a representative example of the many fang units that once made up the city."

He says that, in the past, they have excavated some parts of other wards, like the Longxing Temple in Ningrenfang and the old residence of Tang poet Bai Juyi in Lyudaofang, but they have never unveiled another fang as complete as this one.

"The ancient fang units were like modern subdistricts," says Shi. "No two were the same. Back then, each fang was unique, just like the subdistricts we see today."