无标题文档
The Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of Beijing, about 6 Km away from the center of the city. Traditionally, this temple was for imperial use only. It was built in 1420, covering an area of 273 hectares, it is the one of the largest parks in Beijing.
The Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests. The emperors visited the temple three times a year: on the 8th day of the first lunar month to pray for a good harvest; during the Summer Solstice to pray for rain; and during Winter Solstice to give thanks for a good harvest. During each ceremony, the emperors worshipped heaven and prayed for a good harvest. In addition, the emperors also worshipped their ancestors and other natural phenomena such as the Cloud God, Rain God and Wind God.
In imperial days, the Chinese people believed that the sky was incircular shope and the earth was square. On the basis of this tranditional concept, the circle was widely adopted in the design of the temple's main building. It is in accord with people's imagination of heaven.
During past ceremonies each year, the Emperor left the Forbidden City through the Front Gate for the Temple of Heaven. No common people or foreigners were allowed to watch the Emperor's procession to the temple. They had to remain hidden behind closed doors and windows. Even women, including the Empress, were not allowed to take part in the procession.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
The highlight of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Gdod Harvest. The hall was originally built in 1420 based on a model of the Temple of Heaven and Earth in Nanjing. At that time, it was called the Hall of Great Sacrifice. In 1530, the Temple of Earth was built in the northern part of Beijing, so only heaven was worshipped here. The hall was restored in 1751 and given its present name. In 1889, lightning caused extensive fire damage to the hall, but fortunately it was reconstructed.
The hall is a cone-shaped structure with triple eaves. Originally, the triple eaves were painted in different colors. The top was blue, which symbolized Heaven, the middle was yellow to symbolize the emperor and the bottom was green to represent commoners. During the Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1795), all the eaves were painted blue to follow the color of the sky.
A six meter high, triple-tiered circular stone terrace forms the base of the structure. The hall is 32 meters high and 30 meters in diameter. In the past, the hall was one of the highest buildings in Beijing. Despite its size, only 28 massive wooden pillars support the entire structure.
A number of wooden bars, laths and brackets join the entire structure together. Steel and cement were not used. The four large pillars in the center are known as the Dragon Well Pillars with each pillar representing one of the four seasons. The other 24 pillars are arranged in two circles surrounding the four central ones. The 12 inner pillars represent the 12 months of the year and the 12 outer pillars represent the divisions of day and night.
The ceiling framework is extremely intricate. The first or the lowest roof rests on a circular framework that is supported by the 24 outer pillars. The second roof partially rests on the 12 inner pillars and partially in the circle itself which is supported by crossbeams that are connected to the four Dragon Well Pillars. The third and highest roof rests on the four central pillars and on eight shorter pillars that are built on the same circular framework. A dragon is carved into the center of the ceiling and it represents supreme power and royalty.
A round marble stone called the dragon and Phoenix stone lies in the center of the room. Its name comes from pattern of the stone which resembles a dragon and phoenix.
The tablets of heaven and the tablets of dead emperor are found on the platforms. The tablets of heaven are in the center. Silk fabrics, jade carvings, fruit wines and other such items were placed in front of each tablet as an offering. Also, a pig, sheep or a cow was sacrificed at each ceremony.
Rectangular, blue-roofed buildings stood on either side of the courtyard. These buildings originally served as annexes; however, the west building is now a souvenir shop and the east one is an exhibition room for all the musical instruments used in the ceremony.
The Hall of Zenith is located on the lower level north of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The tablets for the ceremony of prayer were usually kept in the Hall of Zenith. There are many wax statutes that illustrate what an imperial ceremony was like. |
The Imperial Vault of Heaven
North of the Circular Mound Altar is the Imperial Vault of Heaven, which was originally built in 1530 and rebuilt 1752. Its structure is made from wood and brick with a bluetiled roof that is top with a gilded ball. It is 19. 5 meters high and 15; 6 meters in diameter. From a distance, the Imperial Vault of Heaven looks like a small version of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.
As you can see, the building does not have any horizontal beams as support. The entire building is supported by 8 pillars and a span-work of bars, laths and brackets, which is in complete conformity with the principles of dynamics. The decorative painted appear fresh because they were retouched in 1974.
In the center of the Imperial Vault of Heaven stands the shrine where the tablet of God of Heaven was placed. There are four stone platforms one each side where the tablets of the emperor s eight ancestors were kept. During each winter solstice, these tablets were placed in a small pavilion-like cage and removed to the Circular Mound for the Worshipping Heaven ceremony. After the ceremony, the tablets were returned to the stone platforms.
Two chambers located at the front of the Imperial Vault of Heaven contained different tablets used for worship. The left chamber contained tablets of the gods of basic elements including gold, wood, water, fire and earth. The right chamber contained tablets of gods of natural phonemena including wind, rain, thunder, lightning and so on. |
|
The Echo Wall
The Imperial Vault of Heaven is better known for the wall that surrounds it. This wall is called "Echo Wall" or "The Whispering Wall". It is 3.72 meters high, 90 centimeters thick and 65.1 meters in diameter.
The eaves of the wall and the hermetically laid bricks make wireless communication possible between two people who speak in normal voices.
To be the most effective, a couple of conditions must exist:
-
First, the courtyard cannot be too noisy.
-
Second, both people must face north
So it is better to stand by the wall at the back of the two side chambers. The entrance of the courtyard prevents the voices from being heard by others. |
|
The Circular Mound Altar
The Circular Mound Altar, which was built in 1530 and enlarged in 1740. There are two walls encircle the altar. Both walls are painted red and surrounded by blue tiles; however, each wall represents something different. The round inner wall represents heaven while the square outer wall represents earth.
After the Emperor signed the declaration that would be read to heaven outside the square wall, he proceeded to the terrace.
In the southeast corner, pine and cypress branches were burned in the green-tiled oven to welcome the gods from heaven. To bid farewell to the gods, human sacrifices were burned in the oven. Next to the oven is a special pit called the Pit of Hair and Blood because the hair and blood of the sacrificial victims were buried here.
In the southwest corner, a platform to hold a lantern pole can be seen. The pole was built in 1530 but its length changed several times. Originally, a golden dragon was painted on the pole on a blue background, later, the color of background was changed to red. The pole was finally furnished when Yuan Shikai, a warlord made the last sacrifice to Heaven.
The Circular Mound is comprised of three round white marble terraces and each one is edged with a marble balustrade. The bottom marble terrace represents Hell, the middle terrace represents the Mortal World and the top terrace represents Heaven.
And a kind of ancient yardstick was used to measure the length in "Zhang" (one "Zhang" is a little less than 3.5 metres), the Upper terrace is 9 "Zhang" (30 metres) in diameter, the middle terrace is 15 "Zhang" (50 metres) in diameter and the bottom terrace 21 "Zhang" (70 metres) in diameter, and the numbers 1X9=9; 3X5=15; 3X7=21, include all the so called "Heavenly number" 1, 3, 5, 7, 9; and the total number of the three terraces is 45, the result of 9X5, which is in complete conformity with "the Supreme number of nine and five" in the "Book of Changes". The arrangement of putting number nine and five together was used exclusively in China by the ancient emperors, that's why it was used here.
In the center of the upper terrace is the Heaven's Heart Stone which is surrounded by concentrically arranged flag-stones. There are 9 stones in the first circle, 18 in the second, 27 in the third. It continues in this manner up to the ninth circle, which has 81 stones. The middle and bottom terraces also have 9 circles each. The total number of the marble flagstones on the surface is 3,402, and each terrace has four entrances and a flight of nine steps leading down in every direction.
The total number of the carved balustrades on these terraces is 360, which is also the multiplies of 9. It stands for the 360 degrees of circumference of heaven.
During each ceremony, the shrine of god was placed on the central Supreme Stone, which symbolized that god lived above the "nine heavens".
The highest terrace produces a curious acoustic effect. If you stand in the center of the upper terrace and speak, you will hear your voice echo back because the balustrades send the sound back to the center.
The altar has withstood the test of time for nearly 500 year and stands perfectly preserved without any cracking or sagging. |
|
|
|
