ABSTRACT
The magnificient Temple of Heaven Complex in the Beijing’s southern suburbs, with its white marble Altar of Heaven and its blue-roofed Hall of Prayer for the Good Harvest, was constructed in the fifteenth century by the Yongle Emperor, the third Ming ruler, and served as a platform from which the sovereign supplicated Heaven seeking reconsecration as a ruler, absolution for the sins of his people, and the assurance of a good harvest. When it was built, the temple occupied a strategic position at the southern extreme of the city’s north-south axis. Its location and alignment were chosen to attract yang forces. It was believed that yin reached its climax at the time of the winter solstice. At this time, the emperor made a pilgrimage to the Temple of Heaven and through a ritual of prayers, fasting, and sacrifice sought to attract the warm celestial force of yang needed to draw new crops from the kingdom’s wet soil. These yang forces would attain their maximum influence in midsummer after which they declined. The Hall of Prayer’s one entrance faced south to accommodate the arrival of the sought after yang energy.1
