BEIJING’S TEMPLE OF HEAVEN(2)

2007-09-10 14:38:34 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

Completed in 1420, twenty three subsequent emperors over almost 500 years worshipped here. The critical date fell on the winter solstice. During the two day service all other activity in Beijing stopped and residents stayed shuttered in their homes while the specially robed emperor and his retinue proceeded from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven. Within this magnificent Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests the emperor would pray for good crops. Built without a single nail the temple is a round building set on a square base, as heaven was considered round and the earth square. In fact it is in the style of a pagoda. Pagodas originated in India to hold holy relics but their assimilation into China saw them merge with Chinese watchtowers and their role of blocking entry of evil spirits. The tiered construction conveys a stairway to heaven with the 3 roofs representing respectively the earth, heaven and the emperor as intermediary between them. The blue roof tiles symbolize heaven. The structure is supported by 28 columns: four central columns representing the seasons and twenty four outer columns standing for the 12 months and 12 hours respectively into which the Chinese divided the day.

There is evidently more here than meets the eye and a subsequent article will look at the astonishing acoustic features of the temple complex’s Earthly Mount and the House of the Heavenly Lord. The temples are set within a walled park designed to create a dialogue between man and heaven, although this flower bed decorates the entrance (I could not resist including the child, not least because she is color coordinated with the building!).


In 2005 the temple complex was given a $6million restoration in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Ambling around we traced the sound of song to this ensemble.


Again numerology features, as nine being the largest odd integer the nine rows of nine knobs on the doors represent the emperor.

Copyright mark berthold 2007

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