Getting to know Heaven

Do I know what Heaven is like? No, but my visit to the Temple of Heaven has given me an insight about it.

The Temple of Heaven (天坛) is one of China's best examples of religious architecture. Construction began in 1406 during the reign of Yongle and took 14 years to complete. Emperor Qianlong later carried out an extensive renovation of the complex which has 3 main buildings and a host of other Taoist structures associated with sacred rites.

History - Each year during the winter solastice, Ming- and Qing- dynasty emperors visited the Temple of Heaven in their capacity as the Son of Heaven in order to offer their prayers, make sacrifices for a good harvest, and present the annual ceremonial report to heaven of the events in the past year.

     For 2 days before the rituals began, the emperor would not drink wine, or eat meat or pungent vegetables, such as garlic and scallions, Instead, he ate simple vegetable dished. He also abstained from sex.

     The day before the ceremony, the emperor - carried in a yellow palanquin (litter) that was borne by 16 men - departed the Forbidden City via the Wu Men. He was accompanied by ceremonial elephants, his master of ceremonies, a cavalry escort packing bows and arrows, dancers, musicians, and eunuchs on horseback decked out in gorgeous robes and carrying paraphernalia for the various rites. In all, the procession composed of more than 200 people.

Visiting the Temple - The temple complex lies in the midst of a great park that's popular with Beijing residents. In the morning, the ground are full of people out for their daily exercise and recreation. When I was there, I saw many groups of residents dancing along with the music, playing card games, practising with their instruments and training their vocals.

The temple's hallmark structure is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (as shown in the photo below). This magnificent blue-roofed wooden tower was built in 1420. It burned to the ground in 1889 and was immediately rebuilt using Ming architectural methods (and timber imported from Oregon). The building's design is based on the calendar: 4 center pillars represent the seasons, the next 12 pillars represent months, and 12 outer pillars signify parts of a day. Together, these 28 poles, which correspond to the 28 constellations of heaven, supports the structure without nails.

People used to respect and worship Heaven,

Through my visit to the Temple of Heaven,

I know that if Heaven throws a bad temperment,

The consequences might be permanent.

I ask - how much truth is there about heaven,

People used to believe it with much innocence,

As they continue to be ignorant,

It did one thing right - to bring people harmoniously together.