Temple of Earth - satellite image (1967-09-20)

The Temple of the Earth (traditional Chinese: 地壇; simplified Chinese: 地坛; pinyin: Dìtán) in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, China, is located in the northern part of central Beijing, around the

Andingmen Andingmen (; lit. "Gate of Stability") was a gate in Beijing's Ming-era city wall. The gate was torn down along with the city wall in the 1960s. Andingmen is now a place name. Where the gate once stood is now Andingmen Bridge, a roundabout ove ...

area and just outside Beijing's second ring road. It is also located just a few hundred yards north of Yonghe Temple. At 42.7 hectares, it is the second largest of the four Temples of Beijing behind only the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a ...

. It was built in 1530 during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Emperors of the Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

dynasties would attend the annual

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...

ritual of offerings to the heaven. Directly opposite it, at the other side of the city, is the

Chongwenmen Chongwenmen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: šu be wesihulere duka) was a gate that was part of Beijing's city wall in what is now Dongcheng District. The gate stood in the southeastern part of Beijing's inner city, immediately south of the old Beiji ...

, southern urban Beijing.

History

Location, Architecture and Construction

The Temple of Earth (also referred to as the Ditan Park) was constructed in 1530 by the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...

during the

. The park covers a 40 hectares space outside of Beijing's second ring road. This places the park in the middle of a heavily populated area. The park features lush gardens and tree lined paths. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, the temple was damaged; however, the site has been restored and renovated since then. For thousands of years, the Chinese have believed that important cosmic things could be symbolized using common shapes and directions. Because the Temple symbolizes the Earth, its footprint is square in shape. The square is a powerful symbol in Chinese culture and mythology which can mean Earth or the ground. The Temple's construction mirrors these beliefs with its many square walls and altars. The Temple of Earth is also located in the north of Beijing, north being the direction associated with the Earth. In contrast to this, the much larger

is circular in shape, symbolizing the heavens and sky, and is located in the south of Beijing. These two temples, along with the Temple of the Moon and

Temple of the Sun A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...

(located in the west and east, respectively), interact with each other in spiritually important ways. The Chinese government has listed the Earth temple as one of the most important historical monuments under special preservation.

Ditan Park Today

Red_lanterns,_Spring_Festival,_Ditan_Park_Beijing

It is common to see foreigners and Chinese tourists in the actual Temple of Earth in the park. The Temple itself is actually a very small (and underwhelming - when comparing with the Temple of Heaven) portion of the park. Aside from the Temple, the park offers a children's play arcade, water calligraphy (where tourists can purchase oversized brushes and "paint" with water on the cement.), food, and other attractions. The park is frequented by joggers and runners, and is a very popular place to do Tai Chi. Since the 1980s, traditional temple fairs have been held regularly during the Chinese lunar new year.

Religious Purpose

The Temple of Earth is the main temple in Beijing where people can worship the god of Earth.

Rituals and Events

The Temple of Earth was used for a specific purpose. Emperors of the Ming, and then later the Qing dynasties used the Temple for sacrifices which were used to appease the gods, who in turn would help the nation. These sacrifices took place at the Temple of Earth during the summer solstice. Some things that sacrifices were done for include good harvest, a strong stable nation, and good weather. During the Chinese New Year (which usually begins on the first day of the first lunar month of the year) the Temple of Earth holds a very popular festival. The festival features thousands of red lanterns hanged on the many trees of the park, and thousands of locals and tourist flock to the park every year to participate.

Shrines, Altars and Buildings

The altar in the centre of the Temple of Earth in Ditan Park is called Fang Ze Tan, or "square water altar". The altar is square shaped, once again referring to the old Chinese idea of a square shaped Earth. The altar used to be surrounded by water, but these days it is drained. The altar was used to offer sacrifices to the Earth God. On a north-south axis, the temple consists of 5 main buildings. The Fangze Altar, The Imperial Respecting House, The Sacrifice Pavilion, The Fast Palace and the Divine Warehouse. The Fangze platform, also known as the Worship Platform, is the main building in the temple covering almost 18,000 square meters.

References

* Luis E. Estrada. "Temple of Earth and Niujie Mosque." Travel Blog. 27 January 2008

* Sinotour. "Sinotour.com Tour Guide to Beijing" Sinotour. 2008

* Sinotour. "Sinotour.com Tour Guide to Beijing" Sinotour. 2008

* Clarke. "Ditan Park." Beijing Guide 2008. 3 March 2008

* Clarke. "Temple of Heaven." Beijing Guide 2008. 3 March 2008

* Government of China. "Temple of Sun Park". The Official Website of the 2008 Olympic Games. 2008

External links

* {{coord, 39.9514, N, 116.41, E, format=dms, region:CN-11_type:landmark, display=title, name=Temple of Earth Buildings and structures completed in 1530 Dongcheng District, Beijing Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Religious buildings and structures completed in 1530 Taoist temples in Beijing