Ming Temple of Heaven Ritual Complex (planning period)

Timeline

1. 1390–1402Nanjing · NanjingThe Hongwu Emperor established the framework of separate sacrifices to Heaven and Earth; the concept of a dedicated Temple of Heaven gradually emerged in early Ming ritual debates. With the question of moving the capital to Beijing arising, plans began for rebuilding a heaven-worship site in the northern/southern suburbs.
2. 1403–1406Southern suburbs of Beijing · BeijingThe Yongle Emperor decided to build the Beijing capital; ritual officials surveyed land in the southern suburbs for heaven worship, referencing the Rites of Zhou's Kaogong ji ('court facing south, market behind, ancestral temple to the left, altar of soil and grain to the right') and cosmological orientation concepts to determine the overall layout of the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Prayer for Grain (later merged into the Temple of Heaven).
3. 1420Temple of Heaven Park · BeijingCompleted alongside the Forbidden City, the initial Temple of Heaven included the Circular Mound Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven; the Yongle Emperor held the first grand heaven-worship ceremony in the southern suburbs, marking the planning phase's realization as a national ritual center.
4. 1500–1900Temple of Heaven Park · BeijingLarge-scale reconstruction during the Jiajing reign brought the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar close to their present form; the Qing dynasty continued the heaven-worship ceremonies and repaired the complex several times, making it a symbolic space embodying the Ming-Qing emperors' identity as Son of Heaven and the rituals of an agrarian empire.