What is the origin of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing?

The Temple of Heaven is located in Beijing, in the southeast of the former outer city of Beijing. Located in the Forbidden City due south east of the city south, Zheng Yangmen outside the east side. Built in the Ming Dynasty Yongle eighteen years (1420). It is the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties in ancient China offered sacrifices to heaven. The total area is 273 hectares. It is a building used by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to "offer sacrifices to heaven" and "pray for grain". Temple of Heaven (Temple of Heaven) In 1961, the State Council announced the Temple of Heaven as a "national key cultural relics protection unit", and in 1998, it was recognized by UNESCO as a "World Cultural Heritage".

The Temple of Heaven covers an area of 2.72 million square meters, the entire area than the Forbidden City (the Forbidden City) is also a little larger, there are two walls, the formation of the inner and outer altar, the main building of the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon, the Imperial Dome of the Earth, the Huanqiu built in the north-south vertical axis. Altar wall south north circle, symbolizing the circle of heaven and earth. Huanqiu altar in the south, pray for the Valley altar in the north, the two altars in a north-south axis, separated by a wall. Huanqiu altar in the main buildings are Huanqiu altar, the Royal Dome, etc., pray for the Valley altar in the main buildings are the Hall of Prayer, Huangqian Hall, Pray for the year gate, etc..

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is the world's largest complex of ancient buildings dedicated to heaven. In China, the ritual of sacrificing to heaven originated in the Zhou Dynasty, and since the Han Dynasty, emperors of all dynasties have attached great importance to it. After the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, every year on the winter solstice, the first day of the first month of the lunar year, and the first month of the summer, the emperors would come to the Temple of Heaven to hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray for grain. If there was a year with little rain, they would also pray for rain at the Huanqiu Altar. Before the sacrifice, fasting is usually required. At the time of the sacrifice, in addition to making offerings, the emperor would also lead the civil and military officials in a pilgrimage and prayer to pray for the mercy of the heavens.

The main design idea of the Temple of Heaven is to emphasize the vastness of the sky to express the supremacy of "heaven". In the layout, the inner altar is located east of the north-south axis of the outer altar, and the Huanqiu altar and the altar of prayer is located in the inner altar of the central axis of the east, these are to increase the degree of openness of the west side, so that people from the west side of the main gate into the altar of heaven, you can get a broad view to feel the greatness of the sky and the smallness of their own. As far as the single building is concerned, the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon and the Imperial Dome both use rounded save the pointed roof, and their external pedestals and eaves contract upward in layers, also reflecting a feeling of proximity to the sky.

The Temple of Heaven also displays everywhere the allegorical and symbolic expressions characteristic of traditional Chinese culture. The round north and south altar walls and the round building with square facade design all symbolize the traditional cosmology of "heaven is round and earth is square". The extensive use of blue glazed tiles on the main building, as well as the Huanqiu altar emphasizes the "Yang number", the Hall of Prayer according to the heavenly phenomenon of columns and other designs, is also a specific embodiment of this expression.