Location: Beijing, China
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| The Temple of Heaven |
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| Temple of Heaven Prayer Hall |
The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and that of its individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven – the human world and God's world – which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that relationship.
The Temple of Heaven, formerly called the Temple of Heaven and Earth, was first built in the 18th year (1420) of the Yongle reign under Ming (1368-1644) Emperor Chengzu, where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) offered sacrifices to the Gods of Heaven and Earth. In the 9th year (1530) of the Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty, a temple was especially built to offer sacrifices to the God of Earth in the northern suburban of Beijing, which was named the Temple of Earth, and therefore the Temple of Heaven and Earth, changed into the present name, was used only to worship the Heaven and pray for grain.
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The Temple of Heaven is located in the southeast of Beijing downtown. In the past dynasties of ancient China, the ceremonies of offering sacrifices to ancestors or gods were usually held in the suburbs of the capital, which was called jiaosi (suburban sacrifice) in the historical records. The jiaosi (suburban sacrifice) was the most magnificent ceremony in ancient China, and especially since the Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, it became more and more solemn. In the official historical records, it was recorded that the most important thing of a state is to offer sacrifice, while the precious place for ancestors is the suburbs. After the reign of Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the emperors had to make personal appearance at the Temple of Heaven three times a year. On the day of Shangxin in the first lunar month, he would hold the ceremony named Baguli in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, praying for abundant harvest of all cereal crops; on the auspicious day in April, he would hold another ceremony named Dianli in the Circular Mound Altar, praying for rain; on Winter Solstice, he would hold the last ceremony named Gaosidi this year in the Circular Mound Altar, reporting to the Heaven that there was a good harvest this year. On the ceremonies, the sacrifices would mainly be offered to the God of Heaven, then the successive generations of ancestors, and the gods of sun, moon and stars, cloud, rain, wind and thunder. The ancient feudal emperors always claimed to Tianzi (the Son of the Heaven), who governed the world under the will of the Heaven. Therefore, the suburban sacrifice served as a good way for the emperors to demonstrate the supreme status and dignity.
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| Temple of Heaven V |
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