Kerry's Korean Adventure: Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace

The chinese people believed that nine was a sacred number. Nine is a sacred number; three multiplied by itself to give eternity, completion and fulfilment. In China, number 9 is the number of celestial power, the nine storeyed pagoda is a symbol of heaven.It was based on the nine levels of the heavenly kingdom; therefore it is represented in many of their ancient buildings. I saw this today, while viewing the Temple of Heaven. The temple has three sets of nine stairs leading the top.

     The Temple of Heaven was constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the reign of Ming Emperor YongLe (1403-1424), who also oversaw the creation of the Forbidden City during the same period.
In imperial China, the emperor was regarded as the Son of Heaven, the intermediary between Earth and Heaven. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The Temple of Heaven was built for these ceremonies.
     The most important ceremony of the year took place on the winter solstice, when the emperor prayed for good harvests. After three days of fasting, the emperor and his entourage, wearing splendid robes, would make their way to the park on the day before the solstice. It was forbidden for the commoners to catch a glimpse of the great annual procession; they had to bolt their windows and remain in silence indoors throughout the event.
     Upon arrival at Tian Tan, the emperor meditated in the Imperial Vault, ritually conversing with the gods on the details of government. He then spent the night in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The next day, the winter solstice, he performed animal sacrifices before the Throne of Heaven at the Round Altar. The rituals were planned to the smallest detail according to numerological theories. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed, for the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.
     Speaking of bad omens, the Hall of Prayer was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1889. The official explanation for this appalling event was that is was divine punishment meted out on a caterpillar that was about to crawl onto the golden ball of the hall's roof. For allowing this to happen, 32 court dignitaries were executed. The hall was then faithfully rebuilt according to the original Ming design.
The temple complex remained forbidden to all but the emperor and his retinue until the gates were thrown open to the people on the first Chinese National Day of the Republic in October 1912. On December 23, 1914, General Yuan Shikai performed the ancient ceremonies himself, as part of his attempt to be proclaimed emperor. He died before the end of the year.
That was the last time Tian Tan was used for ritual ceremonies.
      The Temple of Heaven is made entirely out of wood, without using one single nail. I thought that this was amazing! It has four inner pillars, representing the four seasons, 12 middle pilllars, symbolizing the 12 months, and 12 outer pillars, representing the 12 Chinese watches of the day.

Temple of Heaven

After the Temple of Heaven, I went to Tiananmen Square. It was so large and with the past historical events held in this area, I understood why this Square has become so popular. To enter the Square, your bags need to be checked with security and there are a few soldiers that stand about.

The granite Monument to the People's Heroes is just at the center of the Tiananmen Square. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China's history. ' The People's Heroes are Immortal' written by Chairman Mao is engraved on the monument. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings enclose the monument, simple

and beautiful.

A 15-by-20-foot oil painting of Chairman Mao Zedong hangs on Tiananmen Gate, which separates the square from the Forbidden City (it is hanging in the background).

Monument to the People's Hero's

Tiananmen Square

My next destination was the Forbidden City. This city was huge. I felt as if I was going from one palace to another. The entrance is surrounded by large walls and three gates. You have to cross a moat that surrounds the entire palace. I felt as if I was crossing over into an ancient time. The crowds were thick, but was reminded that this was nothing, considereing this was the off season.It was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the construction of this group of buildings took fourteen years from 1406 to 1420. In the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was the imperial palace where twenty-four emperors ascended the throne and exercised their strong power to the nation.

The incomparable palace occupies an area of 720,000 square meters (177.9 acres) and has approximately 8,700 rooms. There are four gates in each side, with Meridian Gate (Wu Men) as the main entrance. The gates were built to allow people of certain ranks to come in. The entrance in the middle was reserved for the emperor; however, there were some exceptions to this rule. The empress had the right to enter through it only on her wedding day and the top three students who succeeded in the Final Imperial Examination were entitled to leave the palace via this central entrance. The side entrance on the east was for the ministers and the side entrance on the west for the royal family members. The other two flanking entrances were opened on grand ceremony occasions, permitting officials to pass.

Rub this door and you will receive good fortune and happiness

Behind the Hall of Earthly Tranquility is the Imperial Garden where the imperial family members recreated themselves. It was built up in 1420 and remains unchanged in its original layout. The garden with an area of about 1.2 hectares (2.97 acres) has more than twenty structures distributed symmetrically.

The steep rockery with a chic pavilion on in the north was where the emperor and empress climbed up to view the distance on the lunar September 9th. Even the paths convey a distinct flavor. They are paved with pebbles with different colors, forming a variety of designs portraying people, flowers, scenery or stories.

The last stop on my trip was the Summer Palace. Although I visited the palace during the winter winter, it was still very beautiful. The temperature was great. China is having an unusually warm winter. Like the Forbidden Palace, the Summer Palace was very large. The gardens surround a man made lake. The dirt removed from the lake was used to build the hill where the palace sits. There are stones that lay on the ground in decerative designs. The walk through the gardens is long, but very fun. There is so much to look at, that the time goes by quickly.