Temple of Heaven
The design of the Temple of Heaven complex, true to its sacred purpose, reflects the mystical cosmological laws believed to be central to the workings of the universe. Hence, complex numerological permutations operate within its design. For example, because the number nine was considered to be the most powerful digit, you will see that the slabs that form the Circular Altar have been lain in multiples of nine.

The Temple of Heaven is the most holy imperial temples in Beijing. For this is where the Emperor came every winter solstice to worship heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. Since his rule was legitimised by a mandate from heaven, a bad harvest could be interpreted as his fall from heaven’s favour and threaten the stability of his reign. So it was not without a measure of self-interest that the Emperor fervently prayed for a very good crop.

In addition with the Confucianist revival during the Ming dynasty, the sacred harvest ceremony was combined with the Emperor’s worship of his ancestors. This embellishment was also, in effect, self-interested.

According to the Confucian pattern of social organization, just as the Emperor respected his ancestors, so a younger brother should respect an elder brother, a wife with her husband, a son with his father, and a nation’s subjects their ruler. Incorporating ancestor worship within the most solemn ceremony of the Imperial ritual calendar, indirectly reinforced the social philosophy that perpetuated the Emperor’s power.

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