Photography Emperor’s Throne in the Hall of Abstinence at the Temple of Heaven

A black-and-white photograph showing the emperor’s throne in the Hall of Fasting (Zhaigong 齋宮). It is located in the Temple of Heaven complex (Tiantan 天壇) in Beijing. The temple was built in 1420 by the Yongle Emperor (reigned 1402–1424). Here the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed the rites of heavenly worship twice a year. In the Hall of Fasting, the emperor performed the rites of purification and fasting before the main ritual on the day of the winter solstice, when thanks were given to heaven for the favours of the past year.

The photograph shows the original furniture of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1735–1796). In the hall stands a wooden set with the emperor’s throne and a five-piece wall behind it. The middle part of the decorative wall and the back of the throne have a carved relief of a mountainous landscape, in the painting style of mountains and rivers shanshui 山水. The chair and the wall are adorned with a richly decorated “crown” with a dragon motif on the top and sides. The central room was called the “room without light” (Wuliangdian 無梁殿) because of the vaulted brick ceiling that does not allow the slightest ray of light to pass through. Another distinctive feature of the room is that it has no columns or beams, which are an important structural element in traditional Chinese construction.

The Hall of Fasting stands on a four-hectare site surrounded by double walls, water channels, and pine trees. The complex includes 167 rooms, mainly for officials and guards, two stone pavilions in front of the main building, and the Bell Tower Gulou 鼓樓. It is only a small part of the 273-hectare Temple of Heaven complex, which is now located in the southeastern part of Beijing. During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), it was part of the outer precincts (Outer City 外城). The Hall of Fasting later received its “little sister” in the Forbidden City. This allowed the administration more security, as the emperor spent most of the three-day preparations for the sacrificial rituals well-guarded in the Forbidden City.

Originally, the Temple of Heaven complex was called the “Temple of Heaven and Earth”. It had only one venue, the Qinian Hall (Qiniandian 祈年殿) or “Hall of Annual Prayers”, which was originally intended for earth worship ceremonies. Today it is the oldest and most iconic part of the entire complex. When it was decided in the 16th century that the rituals for heaven and earth should be performed separately, two more venues for the worship of heaven were built in the southern part of the complex. The last emperor to bow to heaven in the Temple was Yuan Shikai 袁世凱 (reigned 1915–1916), who for several months tried in vain to revive the monarchy. This marked the end of a centuries-old tradition. Today, the Temple of Heaven is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, as it is the largest religious complex in the world.

The photograph is the 172nd of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Himmels-Tempel: Kaiser-Thron in der “Halle der Enthaltsamkeit”. (DZ, MV)