|
The 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.
|
