建筑哲学第 16 课

Here, at the winter solstice, the emperor performed his most important task: 每逢冬至 皇帝就在此执行最重要的任务
to pay homage and to report to Heaven on the state of the realm. 祭天和向天庭报告人间近况

During the two-day service, 典礼为期2天
all traffic in Beijing stopped and all windows and doors were closed while the emperor proceeded from the forbidden city to the temple. 皇帝自紫禁城行向天坛时 北京市街封闭，户户门窗紧闭

The temple complex consists of three sections on a north-south axis: 天坛以南北为轴，共分3部分
The Temple of Annual Prayers is where the emperor prayed for a good harvest. 祈年殿为皇帝祈求丰年之所
The blue roof tiles symbolize heaven - 屋顶蓝瓦象征天
and three roofs respectively earth, heaven and the emperor as intermediary between them. 3层屋顶代表地，天 及居中的皇帝

The 4 central columns represent the seasons; 中央4根柱子代表四季
the 24 outer columns stand for the 12 months and 12 hours into which the Chinese divided the day. 外围的24根柱子 代表12个月分和12个时辰

Detailed decorations highlight the dragon, symbol of the emperor, 细部的装饰有代表皇帝的龙
and the phoenix, symbol of the empress. 和代表皇后的凤

The Temple of the Universe housed the tablets of the Ancestors, 皇干殿里供奉祖宗牌位

and the incredible acoustics of the courtyard highlight the precision of its construction.庭中奇特的传声效果 显示建筑之精密
A clap on the third of the three stones in front of the altar produces three echoes, 在坛前第3颗石头击掌 可制造3声回音
two on the second, and one on the first, 第2颗石头有2声，第1颗1声
much to the delight of tourists. 令观光客深感趣味

Duo gong bracketing, now purely decorative, was built in ceramic 斗拱构造仅存装饰作用为陶土制造
perhaps because of the scarcity of wood in China since the 1 1 th century. 可能是因11世纪后 中国木材稀少之故
Indeed, when the temple was rebuilt after a fire in the last century, 天坛在上个世纪遭焚毁后重建
the giant fir wood columns used to rebuild it had to be imported from the American state of Oregon木柱所用枞木 则自美国奥勒冈州进口