Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ular arrangements. The resulting order, balance and harmony has a haunting but slightly
claustrophobic beauty.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE CEREMONY
The emperor, the Son of Heaven ( Tiānzǐ), visited the Temple of Heaven twice a year, but the most important ceremony
was performed just before the winter solstice. The emperor and his enormous entourage passed down Qianmen Dajie in
total silence to the Imperial Vault of Heaven. Commoners were not permitted to view the ceremony and remained
cloistered indoors. The procession included elephant and horse chariots and long lines of lancers, nobles, officials and
musicians dressed in their finest. The imperial 12m-long sedan was almost 3m wide and employed 10 bearers. The next
day the emperor waited in a yellow silk tent at the southern gate while officials moved the sacred tablets to the Round
Altar, where prayers and sacrificial rituals took place. It was thought that this ritual decided the nation's future; hence a
hitch in any part of the proceedings was regarded as a bad omen.
The last person to attempt the ritual was Yuan Shikai, who harboured unfulfilled ambitions of becoming emper-
or, in 1914.
