Temple of Heaven

THE RULER OF THE EARTH MUST CEDE SUPREMACY TO THE RULER OF HEAVEN

Several kilometers southeast of the Forbidden City there is a temple for offering sacrifices to Heaven, hence its name the Temple of Heaven. The temple, plus its subsidiary buildings and a surrounding garden covers an area of 2.7 million square meters, five times the size of the Forbidden City. Since the Chinese emperors called themselves "Tian Zi" or the sons of Heaven, they knew they had to cede supremacy to Heaven.

Apart from Heaven, Chinese emperors had many other gods to worship. They included the gods of earth, water and war. they also worshiped their ancestors. As a result, religious activities were an important part of their busy work schedule.

Today's Working People's Cultural Palace to the east of the Tian'anmen, used to be a place for emperors to offer sacrifices to their ancestors; the Zhongshan Park, to the west of the Tian'anmen, used to be a place for offering sacrifices to the god of harvest. There are also the Temple of the Earth in the north, the Temple of Heaven in the south, the Temple of the Sun in the east and the Temple of the Moon in the west. The Temple of Heaven is the grandest of all.

GETTING A TASTE OF ASCENDING TO HEAVEN

The Temple of Heaven was built on the central axis of the city. At the southern end is a square wall representing the earth, and at the northern extreme is a semi-circular wall representing Heaven. The design was based on the primitive philosophy that heaven was round and the earth was square. The three main structures on the central axis

constitute the nucleus of the Temple of Heaven. The structure in the south is the Round Altar. It is five meters high and 23 meters in diameter. In the center of the altar is a round stone, surrounded by nine circles of fan-shaped stone slabs. The center circle has nine fan-shaped stone slabs, and the number of slabs increases by a multiple of nine. Altogether there are 81 stone slabs. The emperors at the time would stand in the center to say prayers to Heaven piously.

The structure in the middle is the Temple of the Gods. It used to be a place where memorial tablets representing various heavenly gods were kept. After completing a memorial service on the altar, the emperors would walk up to the temple to pay respects to the gods.

The structure in the north is called "Qi Nian Dian" or the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest. It is the best known and most magnificent of the three structures. It was imagined to be a place nearest Heaven. After emperors left the Temple of the Gods, they would walk slowly to the hall to hold "secret talks" with the ruler of Heaven to ask for a good weather that would be good to the crops. There are three layers of eaves, all laid with dark blue glazed tiles, symbolizing the color of Heaven. The hall is supported by 28 huge wood columns. The middle four columns are the thickest, symbolizing the four seasons. The 24 columns surrounding them are divided into two circles. The 12 columns in the inner circle symbolize 12 months of the year and the 12 columns in the outer circle symbolize 12 hours of daylight. The 24 combined symbolize 24 farming seasons. Standing inside the hall and looking at the roof gives you an awe-inspiring feeling.

Linking the three main structure is a 360-meter long, 30-meter wide bridge called "Dan Sheng Qiao". The road goes uphill from north to south, with a gradient of 2 meters. Walking slowly following the footprints of the emperors, you feel you are in the clouds as you climb step by step past the vast cypress trees on both sides. This might be the taste of ascending the Heaven.

FANTASTIC ECHO

If we say the Tian'anmen Rostrum is the symbol of China, then the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest is the symbol of this eternal city. Indeed, this unparalleled structure is the crystallization of wisdom and civilization. This hall, measuring 38 meters high and 30 meters in diameter, contains so much rich learning. It represents the peak of wood construction in China, which consists of entirely inter-locked pieces without a single nail.

Another fantastic thing about the Temple of Heaven is its fascinating echo. If you stand in the center of the Round Altar and shout, you will hear your voice echo as if from deep in the earth's strata. That is why people have given it the mysterious name "Tian Xin Shi", or Heart of Heaven Stone. Around the Temple of the Gods is a wall 90 centimeters thick. If you stand close to the wall and say something quietly, the person standing on the other end of the wall will hear it clearly, as if with the stereo effect. this is the Echo Wall. The wall is an evidence that Chinese people knew how to apply the theory of sound more than 500 years ago.