Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven, a historical monument of Beijing, is a stunning place for its magnificence and unique beauty. It is located south of the Imperial Palace, and is an important temple of the earth, the sun, and the moon. It covers an area of 273 hectares, almost four times the size of the Forbidden City. As it is located within the urban area, with area completely covered with trees and grass, it is a green lung of Beijing. There you can see many people practicing sports and other recreational activities.

History of Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven was the place where heaven was worshiped, although originally, the earth was also worshiped there. Later, when other temples were built to house the deities of the earth, the sun and the moon, the Temple of Heaven lived up to its name: only the sky would be worshiped there. It was the place where Chinese emperors presided over rites in honor of heaven, to which they invoked a good harvest.

In ancient times, China is a mysterious country. Within the Great Wall and the high walls that surround the cities, palaces, mansions and courtyards, they practiced religious rites according to their beliefs, and the daily life of both the court and the townspeople took place. For this reason, this temple is also undoubtedly walled: there is an inner wall and an outer wall. In the south it is quadrangular and in the north it has a circular shape. According to traditional concepts, the earth was square and the sky was spherical. Hence, the double symbolic representation in the layout of the walls of this temple.

Temple of Heaven is the largest ancient architectural complex in the world for the worship of heaven. Then the cult ceremonies are very solemn, with a large procession, honor guards, a band of musicians and animal sacrifice. An appointed day was celebrated: the day of the winter solstice, for which the emperor had to purify himself with prior abstentions for three days, two of which he did in the palace and the last, inside the temple. The ceremony began at dawn, presided over by the emperor himself. It is a solemn and rigorous ritual in which worship was paid, first, to the predecessor emperors, then to the deities of the sun, the moon, the wind and the rains. Finally, homage was paid to the sky, god of gods. Each of the deities was represented by a table on which their name was inscribed in Chinese and Manchu. The emperor made great bows before all the tables and left offerings. He was followed by the courtiers and protocol officials, to the rhythm of the imperial music of the rituals.

Attractions of Temple of Heaven

Apart from the circular altars in which the cult ceremonies were carried out, in the Temple of Heaven there are other important constructions such as the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Echo Wall and the Temple of Rogation of the Good Harvest. The Imperial Vault of Heaven was built in 1530, to house the tables of the divinities and imperial ancestors to whom tribute was paid in ceremonies. In the center is the tablet of the God of Heaven. The most interesting thing in the temple is the Triple Echo Stones, located under the stairs. If one stands on the spring stone and claps it, one can hear an echo. If you stand on the second stone and do the same, you can hear two echoes. Likewise, on the third stone, you can hear three echoes. It's very wonderful.

The Temple of Good Harvest is the most peculiar and important construction of the entire temple. Here the emperor presided, every year, at the prayer ceremonies for the good harvest. The work, which sits on three superimposed circular platforms, has a height of 38 meters and a diameter of almost 33 meters at its base. It was originally built in 1420, during the reign of Yongle, emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In 1889 it was destroyed by lightning and rebuilt years later, according to its original design. This construction has a very original shape as it is crowned by a triple circular roof, covered with glazed tiles of an intense blue color, which symbolizes the sky.

Without a doubt, visiting the Temple of Heaven is very impressive. You can not only appreciate a beautiful example of Chinese architecture, designed to enhance the supremacy of the sky, but also the cosmological conception full of symbols and traditional Chinese culture.