Legend of the temple of heaven

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Legend of the temple of heaven

Applicant: Dongcheng District, Beijing

Project No.: 1029

Project No.: i-85

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Beijing

Type: new item

Applicant: Dongcheng District, Beijing

Protection unit: Beijing Dongcheng District second Cultural Center (Beijing Dongcheng District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center)

Legend of the temple of heaven

Applicant: Dongcheng District, Beijing

The temple of heaven was built in 1420, the 18th year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty. The emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped heaven, prayed for valley and prayed for rain. The legend of the temple of heaven originated and developed because of the temple of heaven architecture and the emperor's ceremony. The integration of the cosmology of "the unity of man and nature" makes the temple of heaven buildings have a sacred and unique meaning, and become an important driving factor for the occurrence and prosperity of related legends. The legend of the temple of heaven is widely spread among the citizens of Beijing, especially in the areas around the temple of heaven, such as the goldfish pond, the FATA temple, the four pieces of jade, and the overpass. It is a wonderful flower of local culture in Beijing. The legend of the temple of heaven consists of five parts: The Legend of the establishment of the temple of heaven, the legend of scenery, the legend of folk custom, the legend of Tan gen'er and the legend of related characters.

The legend of the temple of heaven is inherited in social groups by the unique spreading mode of oral folk literature. For hundreds of years, it has been handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. In the 1980s, Chongwen District Cultural Center (now the second cultural center in Dongcheng District) and temple of Heaven Park Management Office collected and edited selected works of Chongwen folk literature and legend of Temple of heaven scenery. Since the national intangible cultural heritage survey in 2005, Chongwen District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center (now Dongcheng District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center) has organized forces to collect a number of Legends of the temple of heaven.

The legend of the temple of heaven has profound historical, cultural and literary value. First, it embodies a series of Chinese cosmology such as "the sky is Yang, the earth is Yin", "the sky is round and the place is round", "the unity of heaven and man", "the interaction between heaven and man". Secondly, whether it is related to the architecture and function of the temple of heaven, or the philosophy of the combination of yin and Yang, or the legends related to the deeds of emperors and customs, it is explained and deduced from the standpoint of the common people. Thirdly, there are many ways to spread the legend of the temple of heaven.