Temple of Heaven

Author: Wu Caijun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The Temple of Heaven is located at the southern end of Beijing and was a place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped the gods of heaven and earth and prayed for bountiful harvests. Its rigorous architectural layout, unique building structures, and magnificent decorative elements are considered one of the most exquisite and beautiful ancient architectural complexes in China. The Temple of Heaven is not only a gem in Chinese ancient architecture but also a treasure in the history of world architecture. The Temple of Heaven is 1,700 meters long from east to west and 1,600 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of 2.73 million square meters. The Temple of Heaven includes the Altar of Heaven and the Altar of Prayer. The walls are divided into an inner and outer layer, forming a square shape. The northern wall is curved, while the southern wall and the eastern and western walls intersect at right angles, forming a square. This design, with the southern wall and northern wall being round and square, is commonly known as "Heavenly Wall," symbolizing the ancient concept of "Heaven is round and Earth is square."
On the east, south, and north sides of the outer wall, there are no gates, only two main gates on the west side—the Gate of the Altar of Heaven and the Gate of the Altar of Prayer (also known as the Gate of the Temple of Heaven). The inner wall has four gates on all four sides. The inner area includes the Altar of Heaven, the Hall of Abstinence, and a horizontal wall running east to west, with the southern part being the Altar of Heaven and the northern part being the Altar of Prayer. In addition to the Altar of Prayer and the Altar of Heaven, the Temple of Heaven also has two unique architectural complexes—the Hall of Abstinence and the Office of Music and Rites. The Hall of Abstinence is essentially a small imperial palace, dedicated to the emperors for their purification before sacrificial ceremonies, and is also surrounded by a moat. The Office of Music and Rites is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Music Bureau, responsible for performing music and rites during sacrifices. It is a permanent institution with hundreds of musicians and dancers, who rehearse regularly and perform during sacrifices. The office is located in the western part of the outer wall, adjacent to the Hall of Abstinence, and is a standard government building.
The Temple of Heaven covers a vast area, four times the size of the Forbidden City. Surrounding the buildings, which occupy a small footprint, are lush pines and cedars, their deep green color symbolizing reverence, remembrance, and prayer in ancient times. This is also why pines and cedars are planted in temples, mausoleums, and tombs. Upon entering the Temple of Heaven, the trees are dense, especially along the north-south axis and near the architectural complexes, where ancient cedars tower and their canopies interlock, creating a solemn atmosphere around the altars. Statistics show that there are 4,000 ancient cedars in the Temple of Heaven.
The Altar of Prayer is crowned by the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The hall stands 33 meters tall with a diameter of 24.2 meters, grand and majestic, once one of the tallest buildings in Beijing. The Hall of Prayer was built in the 18th year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1420), originally named the Grand Sacrifice Hall, with 12 bays and 36 ridges, covered in yellow tiles and jade steps, with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof. The Grand Sacrifice Hall was more like a palace than an altar. Later, Emperor Jiajing ordered its demolition and, in 1545, the Grand Hall of Sacrifice was built on the original site. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, it was used for the sacrifice of the Altar of Prayer. In 1751, it was officially renamed the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. In the 16th year of the Qianlong era (1751), the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was renovated, with its roof replaced by blue tiles and a golden top. On August 24, 1889, during a thunderstorm, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was struck by lightning and burned down. As the pillars were made of sandalwood, the fragrance spread for miles.
It is said that there are four famous treasures in ancient Beijing architectural materials: the sandalwood pillars of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the sandalwood beams and pillars of the main hall of the Temple of Heaven, the iron locust wood central pillar of the Pavilion of Buddhist Fragrance in the Summer Palace, and the sandalwood latticed screens in the Hall of Harmony in the Garden of Refined Pleasures. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests that can be seen today was rebuilt after the lightning strike, retaining the same shape and structure as the original. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a magnificent and uniquely national-style building. Its three-tiered gilded roof, covered in blue tiles symbolizing "Heaven," tapers upward, with the wooden structure beneath painted in auspicious patterns, resting on a white marble base. From a distance, the color contrast is striking yet harmonious, with a unified yet varied shape. Its structure is more complex than the Circular Mound of Earth, with an external three-tiered pavilion and an internal layered, interconnected dome-like structure, resembling brick vaults but without any bricks or stones, entirely made of wood. Twenty-eight large pillars support the weight of the roof. There are 12 pillars on the inside and outside, with the four central pillars called "Heavenly Pillars" or "Dragon Well Pillars," standing 18.5 meters tall with a diameter of 1.2 meters at the base. The pillars are shaped like ancient mirrors, adorned with "Sea and Treasure Flowers," gilded, and supporting the central "Nine-Dragon Coffered Ceiling."
Three-Tone Stones: Outside the gate of the Circular Mound of Earth is a path paved with large rectangular stones. If you stand on the third stone and open the gate while closing all the windows inside, with no obstacles between the gate and the central altar, and then speak facing the gate, you can hear three loud echoes. This phenomenon can be heard from anywhere outside the gate. Since this sound originates from a building dedicated to the worship of the "Heavenly Emperor," and the echoes are so loud, it is said that "even the faintest words spoken by humans can be heard as thunder by Heaven." Thus, these stones are also called "Stones of Thunder from Heaven" or "Three-Element Stones," symbolizing the trinity of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. To make the "Heavenly Emperor" hear, one must stand on the "Human Stone," open the gate, and the echoes are considered the "Heavenly Emperor's" reply. In reality, this phenomenon occurs because the gate of the Circular Mound of Earth is high, and the third stone, along with the gate and the altar above, forms a right-angled triangle. When you stand on the third stone and speak, the sound waves travel along the hypotenuse directly into the hall, reflecting off the circular walls and ceiling before returning outside. Since the third stone is at the center of the wall, clapping here will also produce echoes, though the number of echoes varies due to the different distances the sound waves travel. Other stones do not form such a right-angled triangle with the gate and the inner walls, so clapping or speaking on those stones will not produce echoes.
The Echo Wall is the wall of the Circular Mound of Earth. It is 3.72 meters high, 0.9 meters thick, with a diameter of 61.5 meters and a circumference of 193.2 meters. The wall is built with precisely fitted bricks, covered in blue tiles. The wall's curvature is very regular, and the surface is extremely smooth and even, allowing for precise refraction of sound waves. If two people stand behind the eastern and western pavilions, leaning against the wall, and one speaks toward the north while the other is near the wall, the sound waves will continuously reflect along the wall, reaching the other end in 100 to 200 meters, no matter how faint the voice. The sound is long and clear, creating a fascinating and mysterious atmosphere of "Heaven and Humanity in Harmony," hence the name "Echo Wall."
The Altar of Heaven is located in the southern part of the Temple of Heaven and was first built in the ninth year of the Jiajing era (1530). It faces south and is surrounded by red palace walls adorned with green tiles, commonly known as the "Son Wall." Each side of the Son Wall has one main gate. The northern gate is called Chengzhen Gate (also known as the Northern Heaven Gate); the eastern gate is called Taiyuan Gate (also known as the Eastern Heaven Gate); the western gate is called Guangli Gate (also known as the Western Heaven Gate); and the southern gate is called Zhaoting Gate (also known as the Southern Heaven Gate). Each gate has a double-sided inscribed plaque in Manchu and Chinese. The second characters of the names of the gates, when arranged in order, are Yuan, Xiang, Li, and Zhen. This arrangement is based on the "Four Virtues of the Qian Trigram" in the I Ching. "Yuan" represents the beginning of all things, symbolizing that Heaven and Earth are impartial in creating life. "Xiang" signifies the flourishing and abundance of all things. "Li" indicates the harmonious balance of yin and yang in Heaven and Earth, allowing all things to grow appropriately. "Zhen" means that the balance of yin and yang in Heaven and Earth remains stable, ensuring the longevity and stability of all things.
Each year, when the emperor sacrifices to Heaven, he alights from his carriage at the western pavilion and enters Zhaoting Gate to reach the Altar of Heaven. The Altar of Heaven is surrounded by two layers of blue-tiled low walls, the outer layer square and the inner layer round, symbolizing "Heaven is round and Earth is square." At the center of the inner wall is the Altar of Heaven (also known as the Altar of Worship). The platform is paved with nine layers of stone slabs, symbolizing the nine layers of Heaven. The nine layers of Heaven are: the first layer is the Sun Heaven; the second is the Moon Heaven; the third is the Venus Heaven; the fourth is the Mars Heaven; the fifth is the Mercury Heaven; the sixth is the Jupiter Heaven; the seventh is the Saturn Heaven; the eighth is the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions Heaven; and the ninth is the Heaven of Movement, the dwelling place of the Heavenly Emperor. During sacrifices, the tablet of the Heavenly Emperor is placed on the Taiji Stone at the center of the altar, surrounded by a blue silk canopy, symbolizing the Heavenly Emperor residing above the nine layers of Heaven.
In ancient China, Heaven was considered yang, and Earth was yin. This was extended to the idea that odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin. The Altar of Heaven was constructed using odd numbers because they are yang numbers. Among numbers below 10, the largest yang number is 9, which is interpreted as meaning "ultimate, infinite, and supreme." The Chinese emperor was called the "Supreme Ruler of the Nine and Five," and the ancient Chinese poetry often refers to "the Nine Heavens," "the Nine Layers of Heaven," and "the Ninefold Heaven," all using the number "nine" in this sense. The use of odd numbers, especially multiples of nine, in the design of the Altar of Heaven reflects the ancient craftsmen's application and elaboration of this concept, better embodying the idea of "Heaven" in sacrificial architecture.
At the center of the Altar of Heaven is a large circular marble slab called the Taiji Stone (also known as the Heavenly Stone). From the center outward, the slabs are arranged in a fan shape. The upper platform has nine rings, with each ring consisting of multiples of nine: the first ring has nine slabs, the second 18, the third 27, and the ninth 81 (named "ninety-nine"). The middle platform starts from the tenth ring (90 slabs) and goes up to the eighteenth ring (126 slabs, all multiples of nine). The lower platform starts from the nineteenth ring and goes up to the twenty-seventh ring (243 slabs). The three platforms together have 378 "nines," totaling 3,402 fan-shaped slabs. If you whisper gently on the center stone, echoes immediately come from all directions, as if many people are shouting in unison. The feudal emperors claimed this was the Heavenly Emperor giving "divine edicts" to the common people. In reality, this is a phenomenon of sound waves being blocked and reflected. The sound waves from the center stone travel to the surrounding railings and reflect back quickly, causing the sound waves to vibrate strongly. Additionally, the radius of the Altar of Heaven is short, so the echoes are immediate. Tests show that the time it takes for the sound waves to return to the center stone is only 0.07 seconds, making the sound appear exceptionally loud to those standing on the center stone. Therefore, the center stone of the Altar of Heaven is also called the "Stone of Universal Response."