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TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

The Temple of Heaven is a 273-acre temple area, south of downtown Beijing. Its most famous temple is  A hall of prayer of abundant harvest.  The temple was completed during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty  in  1420. The same emperor also built the Forbidden City, but smaller than the Temple of Heaven, for the God of Heaven was to have a greater abode than man.

The Temple of Heaven was also in use during the Qing Dynasty, until the end of the entire Chinese Empire. It was last used for religious delivery by dictator Yuan Shikai in 1914. At that time, he tried to show that he had a heavenly right to power.

The temple complex is designed to carry out the Chinese doctrine of Feng Shui - Yin and yang are in balance. In the temple, earth and heaven, that is, the emperor (Son of Heaven) and Heaven as deities, meet.

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