The Temple of the Happy Year
NE'S first visit to the Temple of Heaven in Peking is a never-to be-forgotten occasion. As one enters the Kuan Li Mên, the "Gate of Far Reaching Generosity." on the western wall of the Temple grounds, and passes down the broad, smooth avenue bordered by s primeval forests, "under whose shade herds of sacrificial cattle used to browse," one catches distant and fleeting glimpses of a huge azure-blue dome silhouetted against the eastern sky. At the end of the long avenue one ascends a massive marble causeway, known as the" Way of the Gods," and, turning to the left after a short walk, one finds oneself in front of an imposing gatevay with gracefully curved and gabled roof. Beyond this entrance, one stands with almost breathless awe face to face with a huge rotunda known as the Ch'i Nien Tien. "Springing upwards from a three-tiered marble terrace, the Temple of the Happy Year' rises ninety-nine feat into the air, a magnificent triple-roofed, azure-tiled, gold-capped shrine." This beautiful "Hall of Supplication for the Annual Harvest" is far loftier than the "Imperial World," and its huge marble terraces are broader even than those of the sacred southern altar. "With ils triple roof of blue tiles, its richly carved ceiling, its dragons, coiling in fantastic heights above huge wooden pillars proudly erect on the marble floor, it is an impressive piece of architecture." These columns are one of the most remarkable features of the building. Juliet Bredon says: "Four, elegantly lacquered, support the upper roof, while the two lower roofs rest upon twelve plain red pillars-all straight trunks of single trees. Phoenixes and dragons adorn the paneled ceiling divided by painted crossbeams lustrous with color and gold. The windows are covered with openwork wooden screens of graceful design. Brass hinges, beautifully worked, and gilded bosses ornament the handsome doors." Directly back of the sacred, central stone whereon the emperor used to kneel, is a lofty throne screen, dragon-carved and lacquered in a rich deep bronze. Nine steps lead from the polished marble floor to the sacred upper platform. Here also are enshrined the tablets erected to the memory of the imperial ancestors. Except for these, the great hall is bare. Once each year, during the first moon of the Chinese calendar, the emperor came here to worship before the Supreme Deity and the tablets of his lmperial an cestors, and here he received his annual commission as ruler of his vast empire, On either side of the Temple of the Happy Year are rectangular halls, also capped with glorious azure tiles. These secondary buildings were once used as resting tooms, quard houses, "kitchens where the consecrated meats were prepared according to ancient ritual," and storerooms, where the sacrificial paraphernalia is still kept unused. (See paqes 60, 72, 78, 88, 126, and 246.)
