Temple of Heaven

June 7^th, 2013
Naivasha, Kenya
Song of the Day: Skyfall by Adele
Mood: Peaceful

Temple of Heaven

In Beijing, there is a temple complex that houses three temple groups. Built from 1406 to 1420, the temple was used by Qing and Ming emperors to pray for good harvests during the winter solstice. It is a Taoist temple influenced by Chinese heaven worship.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the tallest of the three main areas and was used for prayer

 

Visitor information

Note how the Chinese section has many times, while the times are the same year round in English.
Despite identical times in English, they are different sections for April-Oct. and Nov.-March

It was so cold in Beijing that I was frozen even below my four layers of clothes. I saw winter gloves and asked about the price out of curiosity. The vendor said, "250 RMB" and I said, “Just looking” and then walked away thinking I would just put my hands in my pocket. He then ran after me and said, “Fine. 80 RMB” I wish I could get 68% discounts every time I asked a question.

Being at the Temple prompted thoughts on three topics:

#1. The separation between humans and the deity in ancient religions

Two ancient religions, Judaism, and Chinese heaven worship, limited communication with their respective deities. In China, the emperor was seen as a god and as the mediator between the people and the heavens. He was responsible for ensuring good harvests.

The emperors special symbol was the dragon which adorned the buildings

Only the emperor could use the special walkway

 

Only the emperor could use the middle door

In Judaism, there was a high priest who prayed to God on behalf of the people. He would offer sacrifices and was the only one who could enter the Holy of Holies. The common people were removed from a direct relationship with God.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven was next to the circular mount altar and used to house
the ceremonial supplies



View from the other side

#2. The evolution of religion

In both the west and the east, the importance of a high priest decreased, but it manifested itself in different ways.

In the west, the change came about due to the life and death of Jesus and the conversion of many Jews (and lots of Gentiles) to Christianity. Jesus' death was a sacrifice that paid the debts of all people, rendering animal sacrifices obsolete. As well, the Holy Spirit started enabling each person to directly pray and interact with God. Thus, the high priest was no longer needed in the same way and communication with God was no longer reserved for the elites as it was in old Judaism and at the Temple of Heaven. In the west, connection with God became democratized.

When there were no longer emperors in China, and Mao enacted the Cultural Revolution, people stopped practicing religion. An apathetic atheism developed and people became their own gods. The decreased importance of the emperor led to the eventual loss of religious customs.

On the bridge connecting the temples were dragon gargoyles

 

Behind the doors was the circular mound altar where the sacrifices took place

# 3 Fasting
Before the ceremony, the emperor would enter the palace of fasting and abstain from red meat, alcohol, entertainment, and concubines for three days. He also was supposed to remove himself from all his governmental responsibilities, but that was not always followed.

Fasting is not popular in American culture. Americans maintain extremely busy lives and are hyper focused on producing results with quantifiable outcomes. Christian fasting is the complete opposite as the (overly simplified) basic principle is that there is value in doing nothing. By removing yourself from the daily routine to allow time for prayer, you can open yourself to God, clear your mind, and listen more attentively. Sometimes when American Christians try to fast they still don't understand the concept as they feel that if they fast hard enough or for long enough that God must honor their hard work by answering their prayers.

I found the palace of fasting quite peaceful:

 

Junipers

Henry Kissinger used to love to come to the Temple of Heaven to see the juniper trees.



Can you spot the nine dragons on the trunk? Me neither

Next to the juniper forest is a tower that looks like only one tower from one angle,
but is actually two towers as you can see

Modern uses

The temple is now used primarily for tourism. In addition, it is a popular hangout spot for old people.

Some people play cards

Some play Chinese chess



Others show off their hacky sack skills

Near the tables, a shouting match developed and I started videotaping. A Chinese woman came up and assured me it was just a misunderstanding and said that the video wasn’t for Facebook.

At my old job, my boss would ask me for a question of the day to start conversation during lunch. The thought of a sacred place now serving as a hangout spot now that societal views and customs have changed would have prompted the question, "How do you think people can connect with God?"