ABSTRACT
References: Hung, 1972a, 1972b; Lau and Chen Fong Ching, 1992a.
Keith Knapp
Altar of Earth (Di tan )
The Altar of Earth, matching the Altar of Heaven (Tian tan), is located in today’s Beijing north and slightly east of the Forbidden City. Called either the fangqiu
‘Square Mound’ or the fangtan ‘Square Pool’, its shape reflected the traditional belief that Heaven was round, while Earth was square. Enlarged when rebuilt in 1748, its dimensions are cast in yin/even numbers, symbolic of earth. It was the site of the Grand Sacrifice to Earth, and its ceremonies differed from the elaborate Ji Tian or Sacrifice to Heaven in the details that ritualists felt would distinguish yin/Earth from yang/Heaven. Its main ceremony took place at the Summer solstice.
