Chang'an, an ancient land, a land that carries the spiritual blood of the Chinese nation, was born in Si, grew up in Si, and watching it read it for decades can not exhaust its magic. A few days ago, I heard that there is also a Temple of Heaven here, which is quite surprising. Due to personal interests, Chang'an's remains have been searched for a lot, and the Temple of Heaven is not known? With strong curiosity, he checked the map, asked passers-by, walked through the street, walked the dark alley, seemed to have divine help in the darkness, and finally stood in front of it.
The celestial sacrifice was the most important sacrifice held by ancient emperors every year during the "winter solstice", held on the open-air round altar (circular mound). At that time, the tablets of the Emperor God, the Sun, Moon, Stars, Wind, Rain, Thunder and Lightning were listed on each level of the circular hill, and the three animals, jade vessels, fruits, and wine were enjoyed, and the instruments of neutralizing Shao music such as chimes, chimes, and bells were arranged, and seven moments before sunrise, the emperor rode to the circular hill, the southeast of the circular hill burnt calves, the southwest hanging sky lantern, the hundred officials stood solemnly, the drums sounded in unison, the smoke clouds were ethereal, the candle shadow was shaking red, the emperor knelt in the center of the top floor of the circular hill, and the si zhu recited the blessing, and the whole place was silent for a while, only to hear the prayers swirling between heaven and earth, mysterious, solemn, and spectacular.
As an important architectural circular hill for the worship of heaven, from the selection, planning, and design of the building, it is based on the ancient Chinese "Zhou Yi" yin and yang, five elements and other theories, which embodies the ancient people's understanding of "heaven" and "the relationship between heaven and man". The circular hill of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing was built in the ninth year of Ming Jiajing (1530) and expanded in the fourteenth year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1749). The circumference of the altar is 534 meters, the height of the altar is 5.2 meters, and it is divided into three layers: upper, middle and lower, and the number of columns and steps on each floor is yang (that is, a multiple of nine). The altar surface is made of mugwort bluestone. Except for the central stone that is round, the altar surface is fan-shaped, and the number is also yang. Each floor has a white jade railing with pillars, all of which are multiples of 9. Ancient China called the singular number a yang number and the even number a yin number. In the yang number, the number 9 is the "pole of the yang number", which indicates the supreme to the greatest of the celestial body.
Let's go back to Chang'an and take a look at the Temple of Heaven Circular Hill that has lasted for a thousand years. From the stone stele in front of the circular hill, it is known that it was founded in Sui, located 950 meters east of the Mingde Gate of the South Gate of Guocheng in Tang Chang'an City, and was used for about 300 years, where 21 emperors of the Sui and Tang Dynasties sacrificed to the heavens.
The circular mound is built in a unique way, without brick and stone, plain soil rammed, a total of four floors, about 8 meters high, the bottom diameter of about 54 meters, the diameter of the second floor is about 40 meters, the diameter of the third layer is about 29 meters, the diameter of the top layer is about 20 meters, the height of each layer is 1.5-2.3 meters, each layer is equipped with 12 majesty steps, radially from the surface to the top floor, each layer of the majesty steps are 12 steps, the south step (noon step) is wider than the other 12 steps, for the emperor to ascend to the road. The walls and countertops were smoothed with yellow clay, and it is said that all the exposed parts at that time were smeared with a layer of white ash. "The appearance is all white, both simple and generous, and it looks very solemn and sacred."
Comparing the Chang'an Sui and Tang Temples of Heaven with the Beijing Ming and Qing Temples of Heaven, it is not difficult to find the difference between them. In terms of land area, the Chang'an Temple of Heaven is only nearly one-tenth of the Size of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing; in terms of height, the Beijing Temple of Heaven is the "little brother" of the Temple of Heaven; on the structure, the three layers of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing are yang (multiples of 9), and the four layers of the Chang'an Temple of Heaven are yin (even) 12 ways and 12 steps. On the "generations", if 20 years is used as a generation, then the Chang'an Temple of Heaven is the "more than fifty ancestors" of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. This difference in architectural regulation reflects the evolution of the ritual of celestial offering, which needs to be studied in depth.
At this moment, the sun hid in the clouds, a little breeze swept by, everywhere was silent, a person faced a huge circular mound, the breath of history swept in, the heart was filled with shock, following the wooden ladder to protect the mound body up the stairs, standing on the top of the circular mound, looking up at the sky, did not dare to make a sound, and tasted the telepathy between heaven and man. The thousand-year-old age of the circular mound, I feel the smallness of human beings; the spiritual pursuit carried by the circular mound, I mourn for the "ignorance of awe" of today's people. Busy people, please slow down your pace; grabbed people, please put away your undue greed, come here, taste the "shock", and take care of your increasingly desolate national spiritual homeland.