The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings
situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors
of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.
It has been regarded as a Daoist temple, although Chinese heaven worship, especially by the
reigning monarch of the day, predates Daoism.
History
The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor,
who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex
was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in
the 16th century. The Jiajing Emperor also built three other prominent temples in Beijing,
the Temple of Sun in the east, the Temple of Earth in the north, and the Temple of Moon
in the west . The Temple of Heaven was renovated in the 18th century under the Qianlong Emperor.
Due to the deterioration of state budget, this became the last large-scale renovation
of the temple complex in the imperial time. The temple was occupied by the Anglo-French
Alliance during the Second Opium War. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight Nation
Alliance occupied the temple complex and turned it into the force's temporary command in Beijing,
which lasted for one year. The occupation desecrated the temple and resulted in serious
damage to the building complex and the garden. Robberies of temple artifacts by the Alliance
were also reported. With the downfall of the Qing, the temple complex was left unmanaged.
The neglect of the temple complex led to the collapse of several halls in the following
years.[2] In 1914, Yuan Shikai, then President of the
Republic of China, performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple, as part of an effort
to have himself declared Emperor of China. In 1918 the temple was turned into a park
and for the first time open to the public. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape
design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution
of one of the world’s great civilizations..." as the "symbolic layout and design of the
Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East
over many centuries."[3] Buildings and layout
The Temple grounds cover 2.73 km² of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions,
all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a magnificent triple-gabled circular building,
36 meters in diameter and 38 meters tall, built on three levels of marble stone base,
where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with no
nails. The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889. The
current building was re-built several years after the incident.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level
of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and
resembles it, but is smaller. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall,
that can transmit sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall
of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge, a 360-metre-long raised walkway that slowly
ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer. The Circular Mound Altar is the altar proper,
located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three
levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various
elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine
or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven(天心石)
or the Supreme Yang(太阳石), where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks
to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail,
creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with
the Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740.
Ceremony
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered
earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing
respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely
important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprising prayers for
good harvests. Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue
would move from the Forbidden city through Beijing to encamp within the complex, wearing
special robes and abstaining from eating meat. No ordinary Chinese was allowed to view this
procession or the following ceremony. In the temple complex the Emperor would personally
pray to Heaven for good harvests. The highpoint of the ceremony at the winter solstice was
performed by the Emperor on the Earthly Mount. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed;
it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole
nation in the coming year. Symbolism
Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple
complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square. The whole
temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular
northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the
Earth. Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round, each
standing on a square yard, again representing Heaven and Earth.
The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound
Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18
plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer pillars,
representing the four seasons, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively.
Combined together, the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar
term. All the buildings within the Temple have special
dark blue roof tiles, representing the Heaven. The Seven-Star Stone Group, east of the Hall
of Prayer for Good Harvest, represents the seven peaks of Taishan Mountain, a place of
Heaven worship in classical China. Park
The surrounding park is quite extensive, with the entire complex totaling 267 hectares.
Some of it consists of playgrounds, exercise and game areas. These facilities are well
used by adults, as well as by parents and grandparents bringing children to play. Some
of the open spaces and side buildings are often used, particularly in the morning, for
choral shows, ethnic dances, and other presentations. Access
The Temple of Heaven is located in southern Dongcheng District, which until 2010 was part
of Chongwen District. The park itself is open daily from 6:00-22:00pm. The relic sites inside
the park open at 8:00 and close at 17:30 from March 1 to June 30, 18:00 from July 1 to October
31, and 17:00 from November 1 to February 28. There is a nominal entry charge.
All four of the park's gates are accessible by public transportation.
East Gate on Tiantan East Rd. and Tiyuguan Rd.: Beijing Subway Line 5 Tiantandongmen
Station; Beijing Bus routes 25, 36, 39, 208, 525, 610, 685, 686, 723, 827, 829, 957, 958
West Gate on Tianqiao South St. and Nanwei Rd.: Beijing Bus route 2, 15, 17, 20, 35,
36, 69, 71, 120, 203, 504, 707, 729, BRT1, 特11
North Gate on Tiantan Rd. and Qinnian St.: Beijing Bus routes 6, 34, 35, 36, 106, 110,
687, 707 South Gate on Yongdingmen East St. and Jintai
Rd.: Beijing Bus routes 36, 53, 120, 122, 208, 525, 610, 958, 特3, 特11, 特12, 运通102
Photo Gallery
See also Wongudan
Notes
References Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven, CCTV documentary External links
Official website of the Temple of Heaven Park Chinadaily news