Qing dynasty painting of Epang Palace by Yuan Jiang 1722-1735

"The First Emperor felt that, in view of the large population of Xianyang, the palace of the former kings of Qin was too small. “I have heard,” he said, “that King Wen of the Zhou had his capital at Feng, and King Wu had his at Hao. The area between Feng and Hao is fit for the capital of an emperor or a king.” He accordingly began construction of a state palace in the Shanglin Park south of the Wei River. First he built a front hall at Epang which measured 500 bu from east to west and fifty zhang from north to south. The upper part could seat 10,000 persons, and in the lower part flag poles five zhang high could be erected. It was surrounded by covered walks which then led from the hall directly south to the Southern Mountains. The summit of the Southern Mountains was designated to be the gate of the palace. An elevated walk extended from Epang north across the Wei River to connect the palace with Xianyang,

The palace at Epang had not been completed at this time. The emperor intended to select some appropriate name for it when it was completed, but meanwhile, since it was being built at a place called Epang, everyone referred to it as the Epang Palace. Over 700,000 persons condemned to castration and convict labourers were called up, part of them being put to work building the Epang Palace and part assigned to Mt. Li.90 Stone was quarried from the northern hills and timber transported from the regions of Shu and Jing, all being brought to the site. In the area within the passes there were a total of 300 palaces, while beyond the passes there were more than 400. The emperor had a stone set up at Qujie on the eastern sea, declaring that it was the eastern gate of Qin. He had 30,000 households transported to the town at Mt. Li, and 50,000 households to Yunyang, exempting them all from taxes and corvée labour for a period of ten years.

Master Lu said to the First Emperor, “I and the others have searched for zhi fungus, rare herbs, and the immortals, but we can never seem to encounter them. There would appear to be some entity that is blocking us. The magic arts teach that the ruler of men should at times move about in secret so as to avoid evil spirits. If evil spirits are avoided, one can reach the status of True Man. If the whereabouts of the ruler of men are known to his ministers, this hinders his spiritual power. A True Man can enter water without getting wet, enter fire without getting burned, soar over the clouds and air, and endure as long as heaven and earth. But now Your Majesty, though ruling the whole world, has not yet been able to attain calm and quietude. When you are in the palace, do not let others know where you are. Once that is done, I believe that the herbs of immortality can be obtained.” 

The emperor said, “I long to become a True Man. From now on I will refer to myself as True Man and will not call myself zhen.” He then had elevated walks and walled roads built to connect all the 270 palaces and scenic towers situated within the 200 li environs of Xianyang. He filled the palaces with curtains and hangings, bells and drums, and beautiful women, each assigned to a particular post and forbidden to move about. Anyone revealing where the emperor was visiting at any particular moment was put to death."

-Sima, Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II (p. 57). Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition. 

Qing dynasty painting of Epang Palace by Yuan Jiang 1722-1735.

Source:

http://www.comuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/yuan-jiang_epang-palace.jpg

Quote:

Sima, Qian. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II (p. 57). Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition.