The Worship of Heaven and Earth by the Emperor of China

Abstract

THIS worship is invested with the deepest interest to the student of the ethnic religions. The antiquity of its observance, the magnificence of its altars, the exalted personages by whom it is performed, the imposing nature of its rites, not less than the controversies which for three hundred years have been waged among Christians in regard to it, combine to give this worship a very conspicuous place in the study of the religions of the ancient nations. The state worship of the earlier kings of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Phoenicia, Assyria, Babylon, India, no longer exists in real life. If we study it, we do so from books and from the monuments of antiquity. But here we have the ancient worship of China preserved in a living form to the present time. Minor changes in place, form, circumstances, there may have been; but the essential things remain unchanged. The worship by the Emperor, as now seen in Peking, expresses the mature judgment of Chinese scholars as to the ancient religion of China. This is the orthodox cult, according to the classic writers and the best traditions of the empire. The altar to Heaven, T'ien T'an, is located in the southern suburb of Peking, three miles from the palace of the emperor. The altar to Earth, Ti T'an, is in the northern suburb, about two miles from the palace. This location of the two altars is in accordance with the dual principle, yin and yang, which pervades the worship and Chinese philosophy in general. The south is the region of light and heat, the yang; while the north is the region of cold and darkness, the yin. Hence the altar to Heaven, which is also yang, must be on the south, and the altar to Earth, which is yin, must be on the north. It may be remarked in passing that the altar to the Sun is on the east side of the city, and the altar to the Moon on the west. Each of these four altars is situated in a large park, planted with rows of locust, pine, and fir trees. The largest of these parks is that which surrounds the altar to Heaven. This contains some five hundred acres of ground, and