The Temple of Heaven,literally the Altar of Heaven (Traditional Chinese:天坛; Simplified Chinese:天坛; pinyin:Tiān Tán) is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing,in Xuanwu District.Construction of the complex began in 1420,and was thereafter visited by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.It is regarded as a Taoist temple,although the worship of Heaven,especially by the reigning monarch of the day,pre-dates Taoism.
The Temple grounds covers 2.73 km² of parkland,and comprises three main groups of constructions,all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
The Earthly Mount (圜丘坛) is the altar proper.It is an empty platform on three levels of marble stones,where the Emperor prayed for favourable weather;
The House of Heavenly Lord (皇穹宇),a single-gabled circular building,built on a single level of marble stone base,where the altars were housed when not in use;
The Hall of Annual Prayer (祈年殿),a magnificent triple-gabled circular building,built on three levels of marble stone base,where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.
In ancient China,the Emperor of China was regarded as the "Son of Heaven",who administered earthly matters on behalf of,and representing,heavenly authority.To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority,in the form of sacrifices to heaven,was extremely important.The temple was built for these ceremonies,mostly comprised of prayers for good harvests.
Each winter solstice the Emperor and all his retinue would move through the city to encamp within the complex,wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat; there the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests.The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.
Inside the Hall of Annual Prayer.The Temple of Heaven is the grandest of the four great temples located in Beijing.The other prominent temples include the Temple of Sun in the east (日坛),the Temple of Earth in the north (地坛),and the Temple of Moon in the west (月坛).
According to Xinhua,in early 2005,the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (5.9 million USD) face-lift in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the restoration was completed on May 1st,2006.
The Temple of Heaven was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.