Temple of Heaven

Beijing Attractions

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Temple of Heaven is a worthwhile visiting place in Beijing. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace. The Temple was built... in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. As Chinese emperors called themselves 'The Son of Heaven' ,they dared not to build their own dwelling 'Forbidden City' bigger than a dwelling for Heaven.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest

Most famous building in the Temple of Heaven, characterized by complex designs of dragons and phoenixes. In and out , the hall is decorated with colored drawing of dragons and phoenixes.

Without the use of steel ,cement and nail, and even without the use of big beams and crossbeams, the entire structure is supported by 28 massive wooden pillars and number of bars, laths, joints and rafters. The four central pillars, called the dragon-Well Pillars, are 19.2 meters high and painted with designs of composite followers, representing the four season. There are two rings of 12 scarlet pillars each. The inner ring represents the 12 months and the outer rings the 12 divisions of the day and night .Between the two rings there are 24 partitioned spaces to mark the solar terms of the Chinese lunar year. The pillars, 28 in number, also represent the 28 constellations in the universe- the ancient Chinese believed that there were 28 constellations that made up the sky.

The center of the stone-paved floor is a round marble slab, which is 88.5 centimeters in diameter. Interestingly, the slab features natural black and white veins, corresponding to the dragon-phoenix design on the ceiling. This particular slab is known as the Dragon-phoenix stone and is regarded as a treasure inseparable from the hall.

Echo Wall and Triple-sound Stones

A mere whisper at any point close to the wall can be heard clearly on the other side, although the parties may be 40 or 50 meters apart. This is possible because the wall is round and hermetically constructed with smooth,solid bricks.

In front of the steps leading away from the halls is the Triple Sound Stone. If you stand on the first stone and call out or clap your hands, the sound will echo once; on the second stone, the sound will be heard twice; and on the third stone, the sound will repeat three times. Hence the name.

Circular Mound Altar

At the center of this terrace lies a round stone surrounded by 9 concentric rings of stone. The number of stones in the first ring is 9, in the second ,18, up to 81 in the 9th ring. Even the number of carved balustrades on these terraces is a multiplee of 9. According to ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang were two opposing factors. Heaven and the odd numbers belonged to yang while the Earth and even numbers belonged to yin. Nine was the largest heavenly number accessible to man . What is more, the ancient people also believed that heaven consisted of nine layers and that the emperor's abode was on the uppermost tier.

Circular Mound Altar

The worship ceremony in Temple of Heaven is: The memorial tablet dedicated to Heaven would be set up on the north side of the terrace, while tablets dedicated to the emperor's ancestors would be enshrined on the flanks. The service would begin around 4 o'clock in the morning. All of the lanterns would be lit .In the foreground, a sacrificial calf is being barbecued. On the square in front of the altar, the emperor, under heavy escort of nearly a thousand courtiers, princes of royal blood ,musicians, dancers and uniformed soldiers, would slowly ascend the altar to offer sacrifice and pray in honor of Heaven. When the service drew to a close ,the sacrifice offered in front of the memorial tablets would be incinerated .All of participants would watch the thick smoke rise upward as if they were seeing God off .Music and dancing would follow .In the end ,the emperor would return to the Forbidden City secure in the belief that he would be blessed and protected by Heaven until the next winter Solstice.

It is interesting to note that, the stone in the very middle of the altar was of major importance,since it was where the emperor used to stand to say his prayer. The stone,which is known as the God`s heart Stone, is peculiar in that it is characterized by a specific acoustic phenomenon: it made the emperor's voice clearer and louder, thus adding to the mystic atmosphere of the service.

Related Article:

The Spirits of Chinese Religion

Religious Architecture

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