Is the Temple of Heaven a representative of Beijing's ancient architecture

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, Prayer for the year door, etc..

History

According to historical records, there were formal sacrifices to heaven and earth in ancient China, dating back to the Xia Dynasty, which was still in slavery, in the second millennium BC. Ancient Chinese emperors called themselves "sons of heaven" and they had great respect for heaven and earth. Every emperor in history regarded sacrificing to heaven and earth as a very important political activity. The sacrificial buildings were of great importance in the construction of the imperial capitals, which were built with the highest level of technology and the most perfect art by concentrating manpower, material and financial resources. The Temple of Heaven, built in the late feudal society, is the most representative work of many sacrificial buildings in China. The Temple of Heaven is not only a pearl in Chinese ancient architecture, but also a treasure in the world's architectural history. The Temple of Heaven was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), and Zhu Di built it at the same time as the Forbidden City in 14 years, with the name of the Temple of Heaven and Earth. Jiajing nine years (1530) due to the establishment of the four suburbs of the sacrificial system, in the thirteenth year of Jiajing (1534) renamed the Temple of Heaven. Qing Qianlong, Guangxu Emperor remodeling remodeling, before the formation of the current pattern of the Temple of Heaven Park.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, heaven and earth were originally combined together to worship, the north and south of the altar of suburbia are the same, set up sacrifices in the place called the Hall of Great Sacrifice, is a square eleven buildings. The Ming Dynasty Jiajing nine years (1530) changed to heaven and earth to sacrifice, in the Temple of Heaven to build Huanqiu altar, dedicated to the sky, and in the northern suburbs of the construction of the altar of square Ze sacrifices to the ground, the original joint sacrifice of heaven and earth of the Hall of the Great Sacrifice, and gradually abolished and not used. Jiajing nineteen years (1540), and the original Hall of Great Sacrifice into the Hall of Great Harmony, the round building from now on.

After the Qing Dynasty entered the country, everything is still according to the old system of the Ming Dynasty. Qianlong period, the country rich and powerful, the Temple of Heaven is also a big project. Qianlong twelve years (1747), the emperor decided to rebuild the inner and outer walls of the Temple of Heaven, change the earth wall for the city of bricks, the center to the top of the city of bricks wrapped in two layers. The width of the top of the wall of the inner altar wall is reduced to create four feet eight inches, without the columns of the eaves, to become a corridor without the columns of the overhanging eaves. After remodeling the Temple of Heaven inside and outside the altar wall, more thick, more than ten miles around, becoming a very magnificent landscape. Temple of Heaven's main buildings such as the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon, the Royal Dome, Huanqiu, etc. were also remodeled at this time, and have survived to this day.

World Heritage

The Temple of Heaven has been selected as a World Heritage Site. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998 according to Criterion C(I)(II)(III) of the Cultural Heritage Selection Criteria.

What the World Heritage Committee said about the Temple of Heaven:

Built in the first half of the 15th century A.D., the Temple of Heaven is located in the midst of a royal garden, surrounded by ancient pines, and is a well-preserved complex of altars and temples, which, both in their overall layout and in their individual buildings, reflect the relationship between heaven and earth, a relationship that occupies a central place in the ancient Chinese view of the universe. At the same time, these buildings also reflect the unique role played by emperors and generals in this relationship.

The Layout of the Temple of Heaven

The main buildings of the Temple of Heaven are located in the inner altar, arranged in a straight line from south to north. All palaces and altar bases face south in a circle to symbolize heaven. The whole layout and architectural structure, have a unique style. Prayer Hall is the emperor prayed for a bumper harvest of grains place, is a three-feathered round hall, 38 meters high, 32.72 meters in diameter, blue glazed tile roof, all brick and wood structure, no beams long purlin, relying on the 28 wooden columns and 36 square jiao support, in the shape of the building has a high degree of artistic value.

The Temple of Heaven is separated into the inner altar and outer altar by two altar walls, shaped like the word "back". The corners of the south side of the two altar walls are right angles, and the corners of the north side are rounded, symbolizing the "circle of heaven and earth". The outer altar wall circumference of 6553 meters, originally only in the west wall of the Prayer Valley altar door and Huanqiu altar door, and after 1949 has built a new East Gate and North Gate, and the inner altar south of the Zhaoheng Gate into the South Gate.

The Temple of Heaven's inner altar wall perimeter of 4,152 meters, there are six gates: Prayer Valley altar has the east, north and west of the three heavenly gates, Huanqiu altar of the south side of the Taiyuan, Zhaoheng and Guangli Gate. The main buildings are concentrated in the altar, south of the Huanqiu altar and the Royal Dome, north of the Hall of Prayer and the Royal Dry Hall, between the two parts of the wall, and a 360-meter-long, 28-meter-wide, 2.5-meter-high "Danhaji Bridge" (brick tunnel) connecting the Huanqiu altar and Prayer Valley altar, constituting the north-south axis of the inner altar.

The Huanqiu Altar is the place where the emperor held the rites of sacrifice to heaven, which was built in the ninth year of Jiajing (1530). The altar plane is circular, *** divided into three layers, are equipped with white jade railings. The surface of the altar originally used blue glazed bricks, after the reconstruction in the 14th year of the Qianlong reign (1749), it was paved with hard and durable aiye bluestone. Each layer of the head of the railing is engraved with a cloud dragon pattern, under each railing and extends outward a stone chi dragon, used for altar surface drainage. The Huanqiu Altar has two low walls, one square on the outside and one round on the inside, symbolizing the roundness of heaven and the earth. The ancillary buildings of the Huanqiu Altar include the Imperial Vault and its hips, the Divine Treasury, the Pavilion of Sacrifice, and the Three Treasury (the Treasury of Sacrificial Vessels, the Treasury of Musical Instruments, and the Treasury of Palm Recommendations), and so on. Standing on the round stone in the top center of the Huanqiu Altar, although speaking in a low voice, it seems to be very loud. Therefore, whenever the emperor sacrificed to heaven here, its loud voice, as the oracle of heaven in general, coupled with the solemn atmosphere of the ritual, more mysterious effect. This is because the altar surface is smooth, sound waves can quickly spread in all directions, touching the surrounding stone fences, reflected back, and the original sound convergence, the volume is doubled.

The Imperial Vault is located north of the Huanqiu Altar, and is a place for the worship of the gods of the Huanqiu Altar, and a place for the storage of the ritual tablets of the gods. Built in the Ming Jiajing nine years (1530), the first name of the Thai God Hall, Jiajing seventeen years (1538) renamed the Royal Dome. For the heavy eaves and rounded pointed roof building. Qing dynasty qianlong seventeen years (1752) rebuilt, changed to gilt roof single eaves blue tile round pointed roof. There are east and west hipped 5 rooms. The main hall and the east and west hips *** surrounded by a flat and smooth round wall, people in different positions on the wall face wall talk, standing in the distance wall, can be heard very clearly, this is the echo wall. Royal dome under the steps, there are three slabs, that is, the echo stone: stand on the first slab against the steps, high-five, you can hear an echo, stand on the second slab on the palm, you can hear two echoes, stand on the third slab on the palm, you can hear three echoes.

The main hall and the supporting halls of the Royal Dome are surrounded by a circular wall, which is 3.72 meters high, 61.5 meters in diameter and 193 meters in circumference. Inside the wall is smooth and clean, can be regular transmission of sound waves, and echo long, so it is called "echo wall".

Praying for the Valley Altar is held in the spring of Meng Prayer Ceremony place, built in the Ming Dynasty Yongle eighteen years (1420), the main buildings are the Hall of Prayer, Huangqian Hall, East and West Hall, Praying for the Year of the Door, the Divine Kitchen, Zaijia Pavilion, the Promenade, Praying for the Valley Altar of the Altar for the altar combined with the Hall of the round building, according to the ancient "house sacrificed to the emperor," the said establishment of the altar. The altar is three-story, 5.6 meters high, 91 meters in diameter of the lower level, 80 meters in diameter of the middle level, 68 meters in diameter of the upper level; Prayer Hall for the round, 38 meters high, 32.7 meters in diameter, triple blue glazed tiles, rounded eaves, save the tip of the roof, the top of the treasure gilt. Pray for the year hall by 28 nanmu big column support, column ring turn arrangement, the middle 4 dragon well column, 19.2 meters high, 1.2 meters in diameter, support the upper eave; The middle 12 gold columns to support the second eave; Periphery 12 eaves column support the third eave; Correspondingly set three layers of smallpox, the middle of the set of dragons and phoenixes algal wells; The hall of the beam square Shi dragons and phoenixes and seal color paintings.

Praying for the Valley of another important building is Huangqian Hall, which is located in the prayer wall surrounded by a rectangular courtyard, between which there is a glazed door to connect. It is a hipped hall covered with blue glazed tiles and a pedestal base with alabaster stone balustrades underneath. The hall was designed to enshrine the "God of Heaven" and the gods of the emperor's ancestors. The divine version are enshrined in the shape of the shrine like a house, every lunar calendar, the first and fifteenth, the management of the rituals of the Yamen regularly send officials to sweep the dust, on the incense. The day before the festival, the emperor to this incense salute, by the Ministry of Rites Shangshu incense, three kneeling and nine kowtow rituals and then by the Secretary of the Taishang Temple rate of officials will be invited to the Dragon Pavilion, placed by the Luang Yiwei sample erbium lifted to the Hall of Prayer for the year in the corresponding god to be put in place, to be sacrificed.

Huanqiu altar, the Royal Dome, Prayer Valley altar is the central axis of the three main buildings, connecting the three main buildings is a long through the north and south of the foundation, called Danhajiao, also known as the Divine Road or Haidian Avenue. It is 360 meters long, 29.4 meters wide, 1 meter high at the southern end, from south to north gradually rose to 3 meters, symbolizing the road and the Palace of Heaven, the emperor from south to north step by step to heaven. The center of Danjie Bridge is the Divine Way, the left side is the Imperial Way, and the right side is the King's Way. The emperor walks on the Royal Road, the princes and ministers walk on the King's Road, and the gods walk on the God's Road. Under the bridge, there are east-west tunnels, which are the holes where animals are sent to slaughter before sacrifices.

Zaigong is located in the Temple of Heaven West Tianmen South, sitting west to east, is the emperor came to the Temple of Heaven to pray for the Valley, praying for heaven before fasting and bathing place. Therefore, it can also be said to be a small palace. It was built with a palace city, the palace wall has two layers: the outer layer is called the brick wall, the inner city is called the purple wall. The outer city is mainly a defense facility, built in the four corners of the outer city guard room. Northeast corner of the outer city has a bell tower, every time the emperor in and out of the Palace, are to ring the bell to welcome. Jaigong inner city before, in, after three parts. The front part of the main hall as the center; the rear part of the emperor's inner chambers; the central part is a long and narrow courtyard, the courtyard at each end of the corridor tile room five, is in charge of eunuchs and chief eunuchs of the duty room. Jaigong area of 40,000 square meters, there are more than 200 architectural houses, although not as brilliant as the Forbidden City, but the scale is also very grand, and elegant and secluded. Ming and Qing emperors were in the festival before this "fasting" for three days, only the Yongzheng Emperor after the "fasting" the first two days to change in the Forbidden City Jaigong "fasting", the last day before moving to the Temple of Heaven! Jaigong. Outside the twofold Royal ditch, outside the ditch around the inner bank with 163 corridors. Palace face east, the main hall 5, for the beamless hall for coupon masonry structure. The main hall on the platform of the fasting bronze pavilion and the hours of the tablets Pavilion, behind the temple has a bedchamber 5, the northeast corner of a bell tower, hanging inside the Yongle years of the system of Taihe bell a mouthful.

Shrine Music Department in the Huanqiu altar in the northwest outside the door, was built in the Ming Dynasty Yongle eighteen years (1420). It was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). In the Ming Dynasty, it was called Shenxiangxiang, and at that time, the music and dance officials and dancers of Shenxiangxiang were all Taoist priests. When the capital was moved to Beijing in the 18th year of the Ming Dynasty, there were 300 music and dance students accompanying the driver to Beijing, and there were about 600 music and dance students in the Ming Dynasty. By the time of Jiajing, the total number of music and dance students amounted to 2200.

Architectural features

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is the world's largest ancient temple of 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 buildings, as well as the Huanqiu Altar emphasizes the "yang number", the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon according to the heavenly phenomenon of columns and other designs, is also a concrete embodiment of this expression.

Huanqiu Altar

Huanqiu Altar, also known as the altar to heaven, worship platform, altar, is an open-air three-tiered circular stone altar for the emperor's winter solstice place of worship, was built in the ninth year of the Ming Jiajing (1530), the Qing dynasty in the fourteenth year of the Qianlong (1749) expansion. Altar circumference of 534 meters, altar height of 5.2 meters, divided into the upper, middle and lower three layers, each layer of the railings lookout columns and the number of steps are with the number of yang (also known as the "number of days", that is, multiples of nine), with the "Nine and a half" of the dignity. The surface of the altar is made of aiye green stone. Altar surface in addition to the center stone is round, the periphery of the circle are fan-shaped, the number is also the number of Yang. Each layer has white jade balustrades and pillars, all of which are multiples of 9. The round stone slab in the center of the top floor is called the Sun Stone or Tianxin Stone, and when standing on it and shouting or knocking, the sound waves will be reflected by the near-by balustrade slabs, forming a significant echo.

In ancient China, odd numbers were called yang numbers and even numbers were called yin numbers. Among the yang numbers, the number 9 is the "pole of yang numbers", which represents the highest and greatest of the heavenly bodies and is called the "heavenly number". The ancients believed that nine was the pole of the yang number, indicating the highest and the greatest, and the emperor was the son of heaven, also the highest and the greatest, so the whole Huanqiu Altar used multiples of nine to indicate the authority of the son of heaven. The number of columns and steps of the Huanqiu Altar is 9 or multiples of 9 everywhere. The outer layer of the top circular stone slab is a fan-shaped stone, **** there are 9 layers. The innermost tier has 9 stones, and each outer tier has 9 more, as do the middle and lower tiers. The number of panels in the three layers is 72 in the upper room, 108 in the middle layer, and 180 in the lower layer, or 360 circumferential degrees. The total diameter of the three altar surface of 45 zhang, in addition to being a multiple of 9, but also implies "nine or five" symbolism.

Huanqiu altar outside the two enclosing walls, round and square, each side of a latticework door. Southwest corner is expected to lampstand three (north and south of the two only remains), the southeast corner of the burnt wood furnace, Dizhikan, prairie stove and with the clothes table. East of the altar there is a sacred library, sacred kitchen, slaughter pavilion, sacrificial vessels library, musical instruments library and brown building library and other ancillary buildings.

Huangduoyu

Huanqiu altar to the north is Huangduoyu, Huangduoyu compound is located in the Huanqiu altar outside the god of the north side of the god of the altar, the seat of the north-south, round walls, the south side of three glazed door, the main building has the Huangduoyu and the east and west halls, is the place of worship Huanqiu altar sacrificial god. Sacrificial gods used in the sacrifice of heaven are stored here. It was built in the ninth year of Jiajing (1530), initially known as the Hall of the God of Tai, seventeen years (1538) onwards was renamed the Imperial Vault. Qianlong seventeen years (1752) after the restoration for the gilt treasure roof single eaves save pointed building, with blue glazed tile roof, symbolizing the blue sky. Hall 15.6 meters in diameter, 19.02 meters high, by eight gold columns and eight gable columns **** with the support of a huge roof, three layers of smallpox algal wells layer by layer, the construction of exquisite. Hall in the middle of the round stone seat carved white jade, enshrining the "Emperor God" tablets, around with the enjoyment of the Emperor's ancestors of the divine plate. The main hall east and west each has a hall, respectively, for the sun, moon and stars and clouds, rain, thunder and lightning and other gods tablets. The appearance of the entire building looks like a round pavilion, located in the 2-meter-high white jade Sumeru pedestal, surrounded by a stone parapet. In addition, in front of the Royal Dome of the temple to the gate in the middle of the stone road, from north to south of the three stone slabs called the three sound stone. In the royal dome of the windows and doors are closed and there is no obstacle in the vicinity of the case, standing on the first stone plate palm strike, can hear the echo of a sound; in the second stone plate palm strike, can hear the echo of two sounds; in the third stone plate palm strike, can hear the echo of three sounds.

The echo wall is the royal dome of the wall. The wall is 3.72 meters high, 0.9 meters thick, 61.5 meters in diameter and 193.2 meters in circumference. The wall is made of milled bricks built in pairs, and the wall is covered with blue glazed tiles. The curvature of the enclosure was very regular, and the walls were extremely smooth and neat, and the refraction of sound waves was very regular. As long as two people were standing in the east and west of the hall, standing against the wall, a person leaning against the wall to the north to speak, the sound wave will be continuously refracted along the wall forward, to one or two hundred meters to the other end, no matter how small the sound of the speech, but also to make the other side hear clearly, and the sound is long and interesting, to create a kind of "celestial inductance" of the mysterious atmosphere. Mysterious atmosphere. So called "echo wall".

Prayer Hall

Prayer Hall in the northern part of the Temple of Heaven, also known as the Prayer Valley altar, formerly known as the Hall of Great Prayer, the Hall of Great Heung, was built in the Ming Yongle eighteen years (1420), is the Temple of Heaven's earliest buildings. Qianlong sixteen years (1751) after the restoration, renamed the Hall of Prayer. Guangxu fifteen years (1889) was destroyed in a lightning fire, a few years later rebuilt in its original form. The current Hall of Prayer is a 32.72-meter diameter circular building, gilt roof blue tile three eaves save pointed roof, layer by layer into the total height of 38 meters.

The Hall of Prayer for the New Year is the round seat of the Prayer Valley altar, three layers of 6 meters high, imposing. Altar around a low wall, the southeast corner of the burnt wood furnace, Duchan, prairie stove and with clothing platform. North of the altar there is Huanggan Hall, five rooms wide, originally placed in the ancestors of God, and later moved to the temple. The side of the altar also has the Prayer Gate, the Divine Treasury, the Divine Kitchen, the Daijia Pavilion, the Animal Road and the Promenade and other ancillary buildings. On the square south of the promenade there are seven star stones, which are the town stones placed during the Jiajing period.

The main building of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon, which was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). Every year, the emperor held a ceremony here to pray for good weather and a good harvest. The Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon is circular in shape, with a diameter of 32 meters, and the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon is 38 meters high, and it is a round hall with three eaves with a gilt roof, and the eaves of the hall are dark blue in color, which are paved with blue glazed tiles because the sky is blue, thus symbolizing the sky.

The architectural excellence of the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon is that the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon uses 28 large pillars of nanmu wood and 36 interlocking lists and jiao to support the three-tiered conjoined eaves of the hall. These large pillars have different symbolism: the central four pillars called Tongtianzhu, on behalf of the four seasons; the middle twelve golden pillars, on behalf of the twelve months; the outer twelve gable pillars, on behalf of the twelve hours; the middle and outer layers add up to twenty-four on behalf of the twenty-four seasons; the three layers add up to twenty-eight on behalf of the twenty-eight starry nights; plus the top of the pillars of the eight children's columns on behalf of the thirty-six heavenly astrological deities; under the roof of the throne Lei Gongzhu, on behalf of the emperor to unite the world. Its ancillary buildings are Huangqian Hall, Praying for the year door, God Treasury, God Kitchen, Zaijia Pavilion, burnt wood furnace, Dizikan, with clothing platform, walk the animal road and 72 corridors, etc.. The square south of the promenade has a seven-star stone, stone carved mountain cloud pattern, is the town of Ming Jiajing placed stone.

The hall is situated on a round alabaster pedestal with an area of more than 5,900 square meters, which is divided into three layers, 6 meters high, with carved alabaster railings on each layer. This pedestal and the hall are inseparable from the artistic whole. When visitors step out of the Hall of Prayer, looking south, only to see the straight tunnel, stretching south, all the way to the porch heavy, the farther the smaller, endless, there is a kind of feeling from the sky down. No wonder a French architectural expert said after visiting the Temple of Heaven: skyscrapers much higher than the Hall of Prayer, but not the Hall of Prayer that kind of lofty and profound mood, can not reach the Hall of Prayer's artistic height. This hall in 1889 (Qing Guangxu fifteen years) was struck by lightning fire burned, it is said that the hall of the pillar is made of incense wood, burning, the smell of incense, miles away can be smelled. In the following year, the emperor summoned his ministers to discuss the reconstruction of the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon. Because they could not find any drawings, the Ministry of Public Works, which is in charge of national construction affairs, called the craftsmen who had participated in the restoration of the Hall of Prayers, and asked them to make drawings based on their memories and dictations, and then constructed the building. Therefore, the present prayer hall is the building of the Qing dynasty in the Guangxu period, but, the basic architectural form, structure, still retains the appearance of the Ming dynasty.

Inside the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon, the ceiling is a delicate "nine dragons algal wells", the dragon well columns are painted in gold. In the center of the hall there is a flat round marble, stone surface pattern, is the natural formation of the dragon and phoenix pattern, a row of dragons holding a phoenix, this is the "dragon and phoenix stone", "dragon and phoenix present auspiciousness". Legend has it that the stone originally only phoenix pattern, and the top of the temple well only carved dragon, over the years, the dragon, phoenix inspiration, the golden dragon often fly down to find phoenix stone on the phoenix to find joy. Unexpectedly met one day is the emperor Jiajing to sacrifice to heaven, kneeling on the stone salute, the golden dragon can not fly back in time, and the stone on the phoenix together with the emperor was pressed into the round stone inside the emperor Jiajing, and never come out, and from then on to become a deep and a shallow dragon and phoenix stone. 1889 pray for the year the temple was burned, this piece of the dragon and phoenix stone by the fire burned a day and night, although the stone is not burned to pieces, but the dragon pattern was burned into the light black, phoenix pattern was burned to blur. The stone was burned for a day and night. In front of the Hall of Prayer for the Year of the Dragon, there are nine rooms in each of the east and west side halls, known as the east hiatus and the west hiatus, which are the repositories for the collection of the tablets of the gods. In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to offering prayers to the Emperor God, but also with the Imperial Zhu ancestors, as well as the sun, the moon, five stars, the east, the west, the south, the north, the middle of the five major Yue, five small Yue of the five towns, the four seas, four blasphemies (rivers and lakes), the winds and clouds, thunder and rain, the mountains and rivers, the year of the year, the Taoists and other deities and emperors of the past dynasties, and so on.

Idle chatter about the Temple of Heaven

In 1420, the Ming Yongle Emperor Zhu Di built the Temple of Heaven in fourteen years of labor at the same time as the Forbidden City. This huge temple to heaven is located in the Forbidden City due south east of the city. Perhaps similar to that time, the South City is still a relatively post-development area of the capital today. Thanks to the gift of post-development, the south of the city rarely lined with tall buildings used to cover the sky, from the center of Chang'an Street to the south even if it is not a long walk, you can look up to the high support in the air like the cover hats Praying for the year of the temple of the gilded jewels and blue glazed roof or stretching for several kilometers of simple gray brick wall of a corner.

Northern gardens are not as delicate and elegant as those built in the south of the Yangtze River, more than a grand narrative, often covering hundreds of hectares. There is a theory that the designers of the Temple of Heaven were concerned about the Temple of Heaven is a place of worship, since the emperor claimed to be the son of heaven, "God" residence naturally larger than the "son of heaven", so the Temple of Heaven covers an area of two times larger than the Forbidden City. Probably out of the same scruples, the main building of the Temple of Heaven are dark blue glazed tiles on the roof, do not dare to overstep the use of the Royal Garden is dedicated to the bright yellow glaze, and each year before the start of the ceremony of the Emperor to the east side of the DanHei bridge dedicated to the service of the platform temporarily will be yellow robes into blue robes in order to the heavens demonstrated his pious reverence and worship. Such ceremonies have continued here for hundreds of years, until the last century in 1914, when the so-called thief Yuan Shikai became emperor and organized a grandiose after the curtain was officially closed.

The Temple of Heaven has gates to the north, south, east and west, and its main buildings are centered on the north and south ends of the central axis of the Temple. For visitors in a hurry, it's best to start your tour at the south gate. From the south gate into the garden, in turn, first to the Huanqiu altar, the geometric shape of the altar of heaven's architecture is full of ingenuity, the altar surface, steps, railings used in alabaster stones are multiples of nine, symbolizing the nine heavens; the Royal Dome is placed in the place of the Emperor God's tablets, the shape of the Hall of Prayer is like a small number of the New Year's Day; in the Royal Dome of the outside of the Royal Dome, there is a round grinding bricks to the seam of the enclosure, the door opens to the south, it is a very interesting Echo Wall. In the echo wall to try echo to the right way, if the peer two people, two people should face the north to stand in the east and west respectively after the hall in order to hear each other's speech. Echo wall north of the Hall of Prayers, Huang Qian Hall, is the north end of the important buildings, which is connected by a wide DanHai bridge. Sky high clouds in the late autumn across the Hall of Prayers of the gate, along the 300-meter-long straight tunnel to the south, the porch heavy, the farther the smaller, the sky and the earth is vastly majestic seemingly endless, people had to marvel at the year when the design of the building techniques and inspiration. Temple of Heaven has another east side of the corridor, the God kitchen, Zaijia Pavilion and the West Heavenly Gate of the Jaigong and other buildings and monuments. Jaigong, in particular, because the emperor ceremony before the bath burning incense to clear the mind to stay overnight fasting place, not like the Temple of Heaven's other buildings so magnificent and far-reaching just like the heavenly court atmosphere. In late spring, inside and outside the Palace of the two moats of the river pool is covered with blooming purple flowers of salvia, elm leaf plum brilliant flowering branches hidden in the red wall hanging mountain top green glazed tiles built heavy corridors houses and small moon gate, through the courtyard of the deep earthly atmosphere. It is difficult to imagine, the Eight-Power Allied Forces at that time how the Allied Forces Commander-in-Chief is located in such a place of peace and tranquility and not some penitentiary.

In fact, for the Temple of Heaven as their living space to the outdoor extension of the public, the Temple of Heaven's beautiful architecture is just a big background for their activities here, the greater attraction from this is the city's unique forest park. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven has been planted with pines and cypresses, and has now become a huge forest.

Scenic Information

The Temple of Heaven admission price: 10 yuan (November 1 to March 31) in low season, 15 yuan (April 1 to October 31) in high season. In addition to the park entrance fee, the scenic spots in the park charge admission 20 yuan. The pass is 30 yuan in low season and 35 yuan in high season.