Temple of Heaven

In Beijing, the Temple of Heaven, ( 天坛) is another destination tourists must visit before leaving the capital city of China. The temple was magnificently built and its architectural form is unique. This unique circular structure of the temple typified the traditional belief that the heaven (天) is round while the earth is flat. From far, it looks majestic and elegant. Undoubtedly one has to really admire the wisdom and creativity of ancient people to have come up with such a beautiful building. The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. In early days of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the temple was frequented by Emperors for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvests. To the rulers of the past era, good harvests meant that the people would have plenty to eat and a comfortable life to live. When people were well fed and lived happily, they would have no desire to create troubles for the authority. Usually when people suffered hardship and there was not enough food to eat, there was a tendency for people to rise up against the rulers. When this happened there would be revolutions and uprisings over the vast land. This is evident through out history in the rise and fall of empires since ancient time. So do not underestimate the importance of this prayer hall in the mind of the rulers. As Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing heavenly authority. He had to show respect to the source of divine power from heaven  by offering prayer and sacrifices to heaven. At the same time, the Emperor used this opportunity to pray for good fortune as well as good harvests for the nation. This would please the people, so he could continue to reign over them.

 

The Temple of Heaven

Twice a year the Emperor and all his officials would move from the Forbidden city through Beijing to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat. No ordinary Chinese was allowed to view this procession or the following ceremony. The highpoint of the ceremony at the winter solstice was performed by the Emperor on the Earthly Mount. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.

The Temple of Heaven was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century. The Jiajing Emperor also built three other prominent temples in Beijing, the Temple of Sun (日壇) in the east, the Temple of Earth (地壇) in the north, and the Temple of Moon (月壇) in the west . The Temple of Heaven was renovated in the 18th century under the reign of Qianlong Emperor. Due to the deterioration of state budget, this became the last large-scale renovation of the temple complex in the imperial time.

The Earthly Mount

The Temple of Heaven was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world’s great civilisations..." as the "symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East over many centuries."

Inside the Temple



Group photo in front of the Temple