The Temple was completed in 1420 and was originally a
platform for the Son of Heaven (the emperor) to perform sacrifices and
solemn rites.
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The magnificent and colorful Temple of Heaven (TianTan) was where
emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifices to heaven
and pray for good harvests.
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These are remnant memories... now the Temple of Heaven is a park that
is popular both with tourists and residents alike.
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The Temple was opened to the public in 1912 and commoners who had
previously been banned from even watching the bizarre procession pass
through the city to the Temple, were now permitted to visit it themselves.
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| Every sort of public activity is to be had there - from sports to gaming
to ballroom dancing. |
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The Temple of Heaven is a delightful and exquisite place to spend some
time.
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| Arrive in the early morning to watch the TaiChi experts, although the
park is lively all day and into the evening with kite flyers, musicians,
singers, dancers and games players (from badminton to chinese chess). |
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One, two...
One, two... |
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| As you can suspect, the best part of all: people watching... |
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| The Temple buildings and the parklands reflect ancient Chinese religious
beliefs that imagine heaven as round and earth as square. Thus, the buildings
in the temple are constructed on a central axis. |
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The temples themselves are round and the bases square. Similarly, the
Northern part of the park is a semicircular shape and the south, a square.
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| The sense of community is astounding, as strangers from all over the
world have fun with all sort of games, together - life is not a spectator
sport! |
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| Well... maybe. |
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| Michael leads the group through "the eight movements" |
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I am basically a slam photographer (you might have noticed that already)
- I don't favor deliberately posed pictures and much prefer to slink in
the distance with my telephoto lens, trying to capture authentic moments.
And moments, when they come, are not standing around waiting - sight, compose,
and shoot are pretty much done simultaneously.
And so you can score a really really nice picture every now and again
(like this one) that gives you are sense of space, action, and tells
the story of what was happening. |
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| This is not a bad picture, but look how much better the one above it
is. |
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| Another good shot. |
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| So there was this guy in the park who gave Eileen the bird... |
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| (watch for him though, he's an entrepreneur: he hands you his bird, then
expects a little in return) |
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| rockin' out at the Temple of Heaven |
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Among the gods worshiped at the Temple of Heaven originally were the
god of earth, the god of water, the god of agriculture (who has his own
hall - the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests), the god of the military,
the god of religion and the god of civilians.
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| At the Temple of Heaven, the emperor would perform sacrifices and other
rituals. First, the emperor would fast in the Hall of Abstinance for several
days. |
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| The Temple of Heaven was constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the
reign of Ming Emperor YongLe (1403-1424), who also oversaw the creation
of the Forbidden City during the same period. |
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| Although the bi-annual procession consisting of thousands of eunuchs
and ministers no longer takes place, The Temple of Heaven and Tiantan park
are still a delightful place to visit. |
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| Inside the Hall are 28 tall pillars, each made from a single tree trunk.
The four posts around the inner circle represent the four seasons. The
12 posts around the middle circle represent the 12 months. The 12 posts
of the outer circle represent 12 ShiChen. In ancient China, one ShiChen
equalled two hours so that a complete day was divided into 12 ShiChens. |
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| I've taken a shot like this one every time - not sure why I like it so
much... but I do. |
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| And then there is the HUGE area all devoted to dancing. |
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