“Yellow Sky”: Crisis for the Han Dynasty sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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2
Officials hurried to the main public audience chamber of the imperial palace, eager to arrive quickly as per the summons from the office of the Imperial Secretariat.
The walled capital city of Luoyang had an inner complex in which the main imperial palace was housed. The palace itself was a gigantic structure, walled on all sides with various towers and keeps, and was in fact two separate main buildings: a ‘southern palace’ and a ‘northern palace’ that were joined by a covered corridor. There were also majestic gardens that contained flora and fauna that were both local and exotic. Several sets of gates were built into the complex to provide security, each with their own dedicated eunuch guard forces - for no man could bear arms in the palace - and a main imperial guard watched over the palaces and maintained security. In addition to a staff of officials, hundreds of eunuchs served as live-in attendants that performed tasks deemed unsuitable for men, such as acting as valets and servants to the Emperor, Empress and Empress Dowager, and interacting with the vast harem of women that the Emperor had at his disposal.
The audience chamber itself was a vast hall adorned with emblems of the ruling house of Han that had ruled China for over 300 years. The Emperor had a foot-high throne at the closed end of that hall, where he would sit and overlook his subjects. A small table - onto which food, drink, or documents and stationery could be placed - was set before him, and behind him, serving girls would be ready to fan him in hot weather or pour a drink if it was required, and regalia may be arranged as symbols of authority, such as a sword of command on a pedestal that might be given to a subordinate as an indication that they acted for - and with the full trust of - the emperor when on the battlefield, leaving their actions unquestionable.
The domestic attendants - the eunuchs - would sometimes stand to the left or right of the emperor, and senior vassals such as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces might have reserved places that placed them at the side of the emperor if they were held in high regard. An Imperial Clerk was stood to one side, ready to announce visitors or speakers and deliver the will of the emperor, and other close retainers, such as torch carriers and keepers of treasures such as the imperial seal of office, would also take prized places around their sovereign.
The other courtiers would kneel on the floor, facing the emperor in neat rows; as the code of dress was strict, they were usually identically robed and uniform in appearance. They would speak only when permitted, and were forbidden from wearing shoes or carrying weapons in the presence of the sovereign unless otherwise told - in fact, brandishing or even being in possession of a weapon when in the presence of the emperor or another senior figure could be enough to have a man charged with treason and sentenced to death, and wearing shoes or military boots was seen as an act of contempt.
Officials may be expected to sit in order of rank, but they might also be segregated according to their role - military or civil - unless that role was too complicated. But it was highly unlikely that a man would wear armour if he were a military courtier - like his civilian counterparts, he would be expected to dress in plain robes and wear a box-shaped hat that would cover his bound and fastened hair.