Photography Hall of Abstinence at the Temple of Heaven

A black-and-white photograph showing the Hall of Fasting (Zhaigong 齋宮). It is located in the Temple of Heaven complex (Tiantan 天壇) in Beijing. It was built in 1420 by the Yongle emperor (reigned 1402–1424). Here the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed the rites of heaven 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, thanking heaven for the favours of the past year.

The building behind the balustrade has five entrances to the five rooms on the eastern side where the emperor stayed during fasting. It was built using the traditional Chinese construction technique, the dougong 斗拱 system, characterised by the use of timber joints or dowels, which allow structural elements to support each other during construction. This eliminates the need for nails and glue. Besides the dowels visible in the eaves, other features of Chinese construction in this building are the shapes of the roofs and the use of colours, numbers, and decorative animal figures on the roofs.

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 Gulou Bell Tower 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 districts (Outer City 外城). 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 173rd 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: “Halle der Enthaltsamkeit”. (DZ, MV)