Michele E. Hughes
November 9, 2007
ART 1301
Art Appreciation
Professor Gibney
Profile of a Sacred Space
Altar and Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven also known as The Altar of Heaven is situated in South Beijing, in the Xuan Wu district and was founded in the first half of the 15th century. . The temple was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who is also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. At the temple emperor of the Ming and Quing dynasties worshiped and prayed for good harvests. Recently The Temple of Heaven underwent a 5.9million face left in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The general layout of The Temple of Heaven incorporates the ancient Chinese configuration of a round heaven and a square earth. This symbolic form ties in to a north-south geographic alignment, with the concept north round and the south square. Two layers of walls surround the temple precincts; the outer wall circumference is 6,563 meters with a space inside which is about four times the size of Beijing’s Palace Museum. The Altar and Temple of Heaven is the on the site once occupied by a large percent of what was the outskirt of ancient Beijing. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall and is about 2,700,000 square meters. The architecture and layout of the Temple of Heaven is based on elaborate symbolism and numerology. The northern part of the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens while the southern part of the wall is square symbolizing the earth. The northern end of the wall is higher than the southern end symbolizing heaven is high and the earth is low.
The temple grounds comprise three main groups of construction, all built according to strict philosophical requirements. The first group is The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and is a triple-gabled circular building that stands 32 meters in diameter and 38 meters tall built on three levels of marble stone base where the emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden with no nails and was rebuilt after it burned down in 1889. The second group is The Imperial Vault of Heaven which 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. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall called the Echo Wall and it transmits sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermillion Steps Bridge, a 360 meter long raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer. The third group is The Earthly Mount and is located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. It was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740. Today The Temple of Heaven has been converted into a park that is popular both with tourists and residents alike.
November 9, 2007
ART 1301
Art Appreciation
Professor Gibney
Profile of a Sacred Space
Altar and Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven also known as The Altar of Heaven is situated in South Beijing, in the Xuan Wu district and was founded in the first half of the 15th century. . The temple was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who is also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. At the temple emperor of the Ming and Quing dynasties worshiped and prayed for good harvests. Recently The Temple of Heaven underwent a 5.9million face left in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The general layout of The Temple of Heaven incorporates the ancient Chinese configuration of a round heaven and a square earth. This symbolic form ties in to a north-south geographic alignment, with the concept north round and the south square. Two layers of walls surround the temple precincts; the outer wall circumference is 6,563 meters with a space inside which is about four times the size of Beijing’s Palace Museum. The Altar and Temple of Heaven is the on the site once occupied by a large percent of what was the outskirt of ancient Beijing. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall and is about 2,700,000 square meters. The architecture and layout of the Temple of Heaven is based on elaborate symbolism and numerology. The northern part of the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens while the southern part of the wall is square symbolizing the earth. The northern end of the wall is higher than the southern end symbolizing heaven is high and the earth is low.
The temple grounds comprise three main groups of construction, all built according to strict philosophical requirements. The first group is The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and is a triple-gabled circular building that stands 32 meters in diameter and 38 meters tall built on three levels of marble stone base where the emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden with no nails and was rebuilt after it burned down in 1889. The second group is The Imperial Vault of Heaven which 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. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall called the Echo Wall and it transmits sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermillion Steps Bridge, a 360 meter long raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer. The third group is The Earthly Mount and is located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. It was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740. Today The Temple of Heaven has been converted into a park that is popular both with tourists and residents alike.
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