The Temple of Heaven (traditional Chinese: 天壇; simplified Chinese: 天坛; pinyin: Tiāntán) is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a 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 civilizations..." 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."[1]
Temple of Heaven
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the largest building in the Temple of Heaven
The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is currently located in Dongcheng Beijing, China. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century. JiaJing also built three other prominent temples in Beijing, the Temple of the 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 Qianlong Emperor. By then, the state budget was insufficient, so this was the last large-scale renovation of the temple complex in imperial times.[citation needed]
The temple was occupied by the Anglo-French alliance during the Second Opium War.[citation needed] In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied the temple complex and turned it into the force's temporary command in Peking, which lasted for one year.[citation needed] With the downfall of the Qing, the temple complex was left un-managed. The neglect of the temple complex led to the collapse of several halls in the following years.[citation needed]
In 1914, Yuan Shikai, then President of the Republic of China, performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple, as part of an effort to have himself declared Emperor of China. In 1918 the temple was turned into a park and for the first time open to the public.[citation needed]
Buildings and layout
Panorama with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the center, viewed from the south
The Temple grounds cover 2.73 km2 (1.05 sq mi) of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) is a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, 36 m (118 ft) in diameter and 38 m (125 ft) tall,[2] built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with no nails. The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889.[3] The current building was re-built several years after the incident.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇) is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and resembles it, but is smaller.[2] It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, that can transmit sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge, a 360-meter-long (1,180 ft) raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer. The dome for this building also has no crossbeams to support the dome.[4]
The Circular Mound Altar (圜丘坛) is the altar proper, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven (天心石) or the Supreme Yang (太阳石), where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740.[3]
Ceremony
Panorama from the opposite view of the Imperial Vault of Heaven
Panorama of the three main halls
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven, who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprising prayers for good harvests.
Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue 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. In the temple complex the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. 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.
Symbolism
Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square. The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the Earth. Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round, each standing on a square yard, again representing Heaven and Earth. The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer pillars, representing the four seasons, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively. Combined, the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar terms. All the buildings within the Temple have special dark blue roof tiles, representing the Heaven.
The Seven-Star Stone Group, east of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, represents the seven peaks of Taishan Mountain, a place of Heaven worship in classical China.
There are four main supportive, dragon pillars each representing a season. The structure, held up by these dragons, imitates the style of an ancient Chinese royal palace. Twelve inner pillars symbolize the lunar months, and it is thought that the twelve outer pillars refer to the 12 two-hour periods of the day.
Park
The surrounding park is quite extensive, with the entire complex totaling 267 hectares (660 acres). Some of it consists of playgrounds, exercise and game areas. These facilities are well used by adults, as well as by parents and grandparents bringing children to play. Some of the open spaces and side buildings are often used, particularly in the morning, for choral shows, ethnic dances, and other presentations.
Access
The Temple of Heaven is located in southern Dongcheng District, which until 2010 was part of Chongwen District. The park itself is open daily from 6:00am–10:00 pm. The relic sites inside the park open at 8:00 and close at 17:30 from April 1 to October 31, and close at 17:00 from November 1 to March 31.[5] There is a nominal entry charge which varies according to whether it is peak season or off season.[2] Tickets stop selling one hour and half before gate closing.
All four of the park's gates are accessible by public transportation.
temple, heaven, tian, redirects, here, buddha, statue, hong, kong, tian, buddha, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citation. Tian Tan redirects here For the Big Buddha statue in Hong Kong see Tian Tan Buddha This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Temple of Heaven traditional Chinese 天壇 simplified Chinese 天坛 pinyin Tiantan is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a 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 civilizations 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 1 Temple of HeavenHall of Prayer for Good Harvests the largest building in the Temple of HeavenLocationDongcheng Beijing ChinaCoordinates39 52 56 N 116 24 24 E 39 8822 N 116 4066 E 39 8822 116 4066 Temple of Heaven Coordinates 39 52 56 N 116 24 24 E 39 8822 N 116 4066 E 39 8822 116 4066 Temple of Heaven Built1406 1420 Ming dynasty UNESCO World Heritage SiteOfficial nameTemple of Heaven an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in BeijingTypeCulturalCriteriai ii iiiDesignated1998 22nd session Reference no 881RegionAsia PacificLocation of Temple of Heaven in BeijingShow map of BeijingTemple of Heaven China Show map of ChinaTemple of Heaven Temple of Heaven in Simplified top and Traditional bottom Chinese charactersTraditional Chinese天壇Simplified Chinese天坛Literal meaning Altar of Heaven AraceliTranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinTiantanIPA tʰjɛ ntʰa n Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationTin taahnJyutpingTin1 taan4Southern MinTai loThinn tuann Contents 1 History 2 Buildings and layout 3 Ceremony 4 Symbolism 5 Park 6 Access 7 See also 8 References 8 1 Citations 8 2 Sources 9 External linksHistory Edit Temple of Heaven on an 1898 postcard The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing It is currently located in Dongcheng Beijing China The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century JiaJing also built three other prominent temples in Beijing the Temple of the 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 Qianlong Emperor By then the state budget was insufficient so this was the last large scale renovation of the temple complex in imperial times citation needed The temple was occupied by the Anglo French alliance during the Second Opium War citation needed In 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion the Eight Nation Alliance occupied the temple complex and turned it into the force s temporary command in Peking which lasted for one year citation needed With the downfall of the Qing the temple complex was left un managed The neglect of the temple complex led to the collapse of several halls in the following years citation needed In 1914 Yuan Shikai then President of the Republic of China performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple as part of an effort to have himself declared Emperor of China In 1918 the temple was turned into a park and for the first time open to the public citation needed Buildings and layout Edit Panorama with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the center viewed from the south The Temple grounds cover 2 73 km2 1 05 sq mi of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions all built according to strict philosophical requirements The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests 祈年殿 is a magnificent triple gabled circular building 36 m 118 ft in diameter and 38 m 125 ft tall 2 built on three levels of marble stone base where the Emperor prayed for good harvests The building is completely wooden with no nails The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889 3 The current building was re built several years after the incident The Imperial Vault of Heaven 皇穹宇 is a single gabled circular building built on a single level of marble stone base It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and resembles it but is smaller 2 It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall the Echo Wall that can transmit sounds over large distances The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge a 360 meter long 1 180 ft raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer The dome for this building also has no crossbeams to support the dome 4 The Circular Mound Altar 圜丘坛 is the altar proper located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones each decorated by lavishly carved dragons The numbers of various elements of the Altar including its balusters and steps are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven 天心石 or the Supreme Yang 太阳石 where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather Thanks to the design of the altar the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail creating significant resonance which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with Heaven The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740 3 Ceremony Edit Panorama from the opposite view of the Imperial Vault of Heaven Panorama of the three main halls In ancient China the Emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven who administered earthly matters on behalf of and representing heavenly authority To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority in the form of sacrifices to heaven was extremely important The temple was built for these ceremonies mostly comprising prayers for good harvests Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue 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 In the temple complex the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests 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 Symbolism Edit Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth of circle and square The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls the outer wall has a taller semi circular northern end representing Heaven and a shorter rectangular southern end representing the Earth Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round each standing on a square yard again representing Heaven and Earth The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates then a ring of 18 plates and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings the outermost having 9 9 plates The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner twelve middle and twelve outer pillars representing the four seasons twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively Combined the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar terms All the buildings within the Temple have special dark blue roof tiles representing the Heaven The Seven Star Stone Group east of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest represents the seven peaks of Taishan Mountain a place of Heaven worship in classical China There are four main supportive dragon pillars each representing a season The structure held up by these dragons imitates the style of an ancient Chinese royal palace Twelve inner pillars symbolize the lunar months and it is thought that the twelve outer pillars refer to the 12 two hour periods of the day Park EditThe surrounding park is quite extensive with the entire complex totaling 267 hectares 660 acres Some of it consists of playgrounds exercise and game areas These facilities are well used by adults as well as by parents and grandparents bringing children to play Some of the open spaces and side buildings are often used particularly in the morning for choral shows ethnic dances and other presentations Access EditThe Temple of Heaven is located in southern Dongcheng District which until 2010 was part of Chongwen District The park itself is open daily from 6 00am 10 00 pm The relic sites inside the park open at 8 00 and close at 17 30 from April 1 to October 31 and close at 17 00 from November 1 to March 31 5 There is a nominal entry charge which varies according to whether it is peak season or off season 2 Tickets stop selling one hour and half before gate closing All four of the park s gates are accessible by public transportation East Gate on Tiantan East Road and Tiyuguan Road Beijing Subway Line 5 Tiantandongmen Station 2 Beijing Bus routes 25 36 39 208 525 610 685 686 723 827 829 957 958 West Gate on Tianqiao South Street and Nanwei Road Beijing Subway Line 8 Tian Qiao station Beijing Bus route 2 15 17 20 35 36 69 71 120 203 504 707 729 特11 and BRT1 North Gate on Tiantan Road and Qinian Street Beijing Bus routes 6 34 35 36 106 110 687 707 South Gate on Yongdingmen East Street and Jintai Road Beijing Bus routes 36 53 120 122 208 525 610 958 特3 特11 特12 运通102See also EditTemple of the Earth its counterpart in north Beijing Temples of the Sun and Moon in east and west Beijing Tian Heaven Shangdi God Heaven worship All Under Heaven Son of Heaven Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth Hue Vietnam Wongudan Seoul Korea References EditCitations Edit Temple of Heaven an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing UNESCO World Heritage Centre Whc unesco org 1998 12 02 Retrieved 2016 10 31 a b c d A beginner s guide to the Temple of Heaven Visiting Beijing Time Out Beijing Archived from the original on 2020 03 28 Retrieved 2020 03 28 a b Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing China Lonely Planet Retrieved 2016 10 31 Encyclopedia Britannica https www britannica com topic Temple of Heaven Tiantan Park En tiantanpark com Retrieved 2016 10 31 Sources Edit Temple of Heaven CCTV documentary Encyclopaedia Britannica https www britannica com topic Temple of HeavenExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 天坛 Official website of the Temple of Heaven Park in Chinese Chinadaily news Temple of Heaven meeting the Paradadise El Templo del Cielo un encuentro con el Paraiso Mauricio Percara 2015 Portals China History Religion Mythology Architecture Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Temple of Heaven amp oldid 1128683701, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
