Photography Yuanqiutan Altar with the Emperor’s Tent at the Temple of Heaven
Photography Yuanqiutan Altar with the Emperor’s Tent at the Temple of Heaven
CC BY-SA 4.0
A black-and-white photograph showing the emperor’s tent at the Yuanqiu Altar (Yuanqiutan 圜丘壇), which literally means “Circular Hill Altar”. It stands in the Temple of Heaven complex (Tiantan 天壇), 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. At the site of the Yuanqiu Altar, the emperor performed the rituals on the day of the winter solstice, thanking heaven for its favours in the past year. The altar is a more recent, but no less imposing part of the complex. It was enlarged in the 16th century and acquired its present appearance more than 200 years later, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1735–1796). At the time of the sacrifice, a tent was erected on the temple where the sacrificial rites took place. On the left we see part of the stone passages lingxing men 櫺星門, which provided official access to the sacrificial platform ... more
A black-and-white photograph showing the emperor’s tent at the Yuanqiu Altar (Yuanqiutan 圜丘壇), which literally means “Circular Hill Altar”. It stands in the Temple of Heaven complex (Tiantan 天壇), 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. At the site of the Yuanqiu Altar, the emperor performed the rituals on the day of the winter solstice, thanking heaven for its favours in the past year. The altar is a more recent, but no less imposing part of the complex. It was enlarged in the 16th century and acquired its present appearance more than 200 years later, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1735–1796). At the time of the sacrifice, a tent was erected on the temple where the sacrificial rites took place. On the left we see part of the stone passages lingxing men 櫺星門, which provided official access to the sacrificial platform or altar.
The entire area around the Yuanqiu Altar is only a few hectares in size and is part of the 273-hectare Temple of Heaven complex, now located in southeastern Beijing. The winter ritual for worshipping heaven was different from the summer ritual. The end of the period of abstinence in the Hall of Fasting (Zhaigong 齋宮) and the beginning of the sacrificial ceremony at the Yuanqiu altar was heralded by the ringing of the Gulou Bell Tower 鼓樓 at this site. The nine-part ritual included the rites of reporting and bowing to heaven, libation, sacrifice, and ritual music of zhonghe shaoyue 中和韶樂 with dance. The last emperor to bow to heaven in the Temple of Heaven 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 Heritage List, as it is the largest religious complex in the world.
The photograph is the 179th 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: Hauptaltar mit Kaiserzelt (nur an Opfertagen). (DZ, MV)
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