At The Altar of Power

2008/11/01 14:00:00 US/Central
text and photos by Ed Jocelyn

There’s no need to join the crush at the Forbidden City to see an imposing masterpiece of Ming–Qing dynasty architecture. For 380 years, this largely forgotten temple lay at the heart of imperial mythology. Annual rituals paid homage to rulers from China’s past, while confirming the present emperor’s rightful status as the latest in an ancient lineage. There is nothing like it in China, yet today the halls and courtyards are almost deserted, a haven for the historically minded and crowd-averse.

While contemporary authorities see the Temple of Ancient Emperors as “a symbol of China’s multi-ethnic unity,” for the Ming

(1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties it was a symbol of power and continuity. This is the temple’s second incarnation: built in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing (1521–67). Its predecessor was built in Nanjing in 1373 by the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (1368–98), who was naturally keen to become part of the Chinese imperial tradition. As in ordinary Chinese families, each dynasty indulged in ancestor worship. The Temple of Ancient Emperors expanded the sense of this practice. It recognized rulers in a single line of inheritance going all the way back to the mythological era of the “Three Sovereigns,” the legendary common ancestors of the Chinese people. Zhu Yuanzhang’s Confucian advisors wanted worship of the Three Sovereigns, Fuxi, Yandi and Huangdi, conducted in the Confucian Temple. The emperor rejected this proposal, preferring to claim these ancestors as his own to enhance the legitimacy of his rule.

The tablets of Fuxi, Yandi and Huangdi stand at the centre of the Jindechongsheng Hall, “jiudechongsheng” literally meaning “worshipping of the virtuous and great,” the largest building in the complex. Around them are tablets to the legendary “Five Monarchs” and to 188 other emperors of succeeding dynasties. The eastern and western halls were used to house tablets for great ministers and generals, who also received sacrifices at the temple.

After Manchu forces overthrew the Ming and established the Qing Dynasty, the new rulers also liked the idea of being part of a long and honoured tradition. The family tablets of Zhu Yuanzhang’s dynasty were moved into the Temple of Ancient Emperors, and the Qing emperors continued the practice of making sacrifices to their imperial “ancestors.” Qianlong (1735–96) was particularly committed to this temple. While the whole complex was extensively renovated in 2004, much of the art on the ceiling of the main hall dates from Qianlong's renovation in 1753 (the dust was cleaned off by dabbing the paintwork with buckwheat dough). Massive steles in the main courtyard also feature Qianlong’s writings on his family and its relationship with imperial history.

All the ancestral tablets on show today are reproductions; the originals were lost or destroyed at some point after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Until that year, commoners were barred from the temple, just as they were from the Forbidden City. After two decades of neglect, the premises were leased in 1931 as a school, initially for orphaned girls. That school eventually became the No. 159 Middle School. After the temple was declared a State-level protected historical monument in 1996, plans were made to move the school into new premises. That move was completed in 2003, and the renovated temple opened to the public in 2004.

Temple of Ancient Emperors

Open: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Tickets: 20 yuan; 10 yuan concessions. Audio guides in English or Chinese are available for 20 yuan plus a 100 yuan deposit.

Tel: +86 10 6651 7739

Address: 131 Fuchengmennei Dajie, Xicheng District

历代帝王庙，西城区阜成门内大街131号



	Article featured in Beijing This Month, November 2008 Publication sponsored by Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism