The Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven was constructed in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle.It was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties used to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for a good harvest.To ancient Chinese, Heaven was an unfathomable vault.It could bring mankind not only luck, but also disaster.It was the supreme power in the world.Even emperors had to attach great importance to it and calling themselves “sons of heaven”.Being the chief altar of the five altars in Beijing, the Temple of Heaven is the largest, the finest in structure and the best-preserved complex of Chinese ancient sacrificial constructions.It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List on Dec.2, 1998.The Temple of Heaven covers an area of about 273 hectares, it was made up of two altars in the north and south.The Circular Mound Altar in the south was the place where the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven used to be held every year on the winter solstice, while the Altar of Praying for a Good Harvest in the north used to pray for a good harvest every year in spring. The Circular Mound Altar was built in 1530.Every year on the winter solstice, the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties would be here to perform the ceremony of worshipping Heaven.As you can see, there are two walls encircle the altar.The inner wall is round and the outer one is square which symbolize that
1 heaven is round and earth is square.The altar is 5 meters high.On the upper part of the altar, you can see a round slab in the center, which is surrounded by slabs.They are all 9 or its multiples.Why is it? This is because in ancient China, the highest odd number below ten or its multiples were considered the most powerful and auspicious numbers.It symbolized the Supreme Ruler of Heaven.
When you reach the top terrace, don’t forget to stand on the central round stone.It was named “Heaven Heart Stone”.If you say something in a low voice on it, you can get a loud echo.The emperors came here each time to stand here and praying to the God of Heaven.
The building in front of us is the Imperial Vault of Heaven.It is one of the main buildings of the Temple of Heaven.It was used to put or store the tablets of the God of Heaven.The Imperial Vault of Heaven is 22.35 meters high and 191 square meters in area.It symbolizes the vast and boundle \"heaven\".The blue glazed tiles on top of the hall symbolize the blue sky.The Temple of Heaven is the only place where there is this kind of tile.It is also the most valuable color in tiles.There are three doors in front of the building.The stone platform is surrounded by white stone slabs.There is a circle of eight pillars inside the hall and another circle of eight pillars outside the hall, which support the roof.The ceiling is built in bracket system in three concentric tiers.It is painted with the pattern of the dragon and phoenix.There is a
2 golden dragon in the center of the ceiling.
In The center of the hall there is a golden dragon shrine, in the shrine is placed the tablet of the God of Heaven.The God of Heaven is the main object of the worship during the reign of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.During The ceremony every year, the emperors would pray before the tablet of the God of Heaven and performed three kneeling and nine prostration.By the two sides of the tablet of the God of Heaven there placed the tablets of ancestors of the emperors, which were signified that the emperors had become gods after they died.
The two annexes standing on the right and left of the Imperial Vault of Heaven were used to store the tablets used in the ceremony.
The tablets placed in the east annex were tablets of the god of the sun, the seven north starts, the wood, fire, earth, gold and water, the twenty-eight constellations and all the stars in the sky.While those in the west annex were the tablets of the god of the moon, cloud, rain, wind and thunder.On the day of the ceremony, about two hours before daylight, these tablets together with the tablets of the God of Heaven and the emperor\'s ancestors were invited out to the Circular Mound altar and placed in order until the emperor came to perform the grand ceremony.
The third stone in front of the hall is called the \"three Echo Stone\" When in comparatively quiet circumstance, if a person standing on this stone makes a call or a handclap, it produces
3 three echoes.Because of the special construction of the courtyard, the Echo Wall reflects the sound very well.When a sound spreads to the wall, it will reflect through the center of the courtyard to opposite side of the wall, where it reflects back again.
This circular wall is called the “Echo Wall”, which constructed of tightly fitted bricks.The top of the wall is covered with blue glazed tiles.Two persons standing on the opposite sides of the wall can hear each other speaking clearly, just like talking through the telephone.That\'s why it is called the Echo Wall.The road we are walking on was named “Heavenly Bridge”.It’s 360 meters long and 30 meters wide.There are three paths on it: the left path was reserved for the emperor.The central path was for the God of Heaven while ministers used the right path.The southern end of the bridge is 1 meter high and the northern end is 4 meters high, which symbolized that the emperors step by step until they rose to heaven.When the emperor gets here, he would enter a yellow tent and change his clothes into the sacrificial costumes before the ceremony.
Now, we have reached the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.It’s the central building of the Altar of Praying for Good Harvest.Today, the image of the hall has been recognized as the symbol of Beijing.The hall was first built in 1420 and was first called “The Great Sacrifice Hall”, where the sacrifices both to haven and earth were offered during the beginning years of the Ming Dynasty.In 1545, the 24th year of the reign of the Ming Emperor Jiajing, it was
4 renovated.The glazed tiles on the top of the hall were blue on the upper part, yellow in the middle and green in the lower part.In 1752, the 17th year of the reign of the Qing Emperor Qianlong, it was renovated again.This time all the glazed tiles on the top the hall was changed into blue color and the hall was named “The Hall of Prayer for a Good Harvest”.This name has been maintained till now.
The hall is a cone-shaped structure with triple eaves and a gilded ball on the top.The part under the eaves is all painted with the pattern of the dragon and phoenix.It’s 38 meters high, sits on a three-tiered platform made of white marbles.It is admired not only for its majestic appearance, but also for its unique structure.The hall was constructed entirely of wood and without a single nail.The circular-shaped hall symbolizes that heaven is round while the blue glazed tiles symbolize the blue sky.The building was supported by 28 wooden pillars, each pillar has its symbolic meaning.The 4 large central pillars are called “Dragon Well Pillar”, which symbolize the 4 seasons of the year.The middle circle of 12 pillars are called “Golden Pillar”, which symbolize the 12 months of the year, while the outer circle of 12 pillars are called “Eave Pillar”, which symbolize the 12 divisions of the day and night.The middle and outer circle of 24 pillars symbolize the 24 solar terms of the year, while the 28 pillars altogether represent the 28 heavenly constellations.In the center of the floor, there is a round marble slab named
5 “Dragon and Phoenix Stone”.It’s 88.5 centimeters in diameter.It’s so called because the grains of the marble looks like a dragon and a phoenix.It presents an interestingly symmetrical pattern with the caion ceiling in the center of the hall.
We have put on exhibit the different kinds of sacrificial utensils and restored everything according to historical of Qing Emperor Xianfeng.The tablet of God of Heaven would be placed on the throne sculptured with dragon in the center.On the stone platform in the east and west were placed the tablets of the first 8 emperors of the Qing Dynasty.The sacrificial utensils used were placed on a long table in front of each tablet as an offering.Also, a calf was put into a big wooden box before each table was sacrifices.
According to the Lunar Calendar, every year in January, about 2 hours before daylight, the emperor would come here to perform the ceremony of Praying for a Good Harvest.So you can find that so many lanterns inside the hall.During the ceremony, there were music and dancing, the musicians and dancers stood in front of the door to the hall.
The Firewood Oven located at the southeast corner of the courtyard, used to burn up the sacrifices offered to the God of Heaven.That’s all for the introduction.Hope you will have a pleasant journey in China.
