The Square Altar (Fangze Altar)

The Square Altar

Located outside Andingmen in Beijing’s old city, it was the site where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to the earth. The altar was first built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty as a two-tiered square structure facing north. Around the base is a surrounding pool, over eight chi deep and six chi wide. The upper tier of the altar covers an area of six square zhang, while the lower tier is about ten-plus square zhang. The altar surface was paved with yellow glazed bricks in the Ming dynasty and changed to square stone slabs during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty. On the lower level of the altar, there are two stone pedestals on each of the east and west sides, displaying the forms of the Five Great Mountains, the Five Sacred Peaks, the Four Seas, and the Four Rivers, all oriented toward the southeast. The altar is enclosed by two layers of low walls — an inner red wall topped with yellow glazed tiles and an outer wall. Each of the four sides of the low walls has a Lingxing Gate: the east, south, and west gates each have two pillars and one door, while the north gate has three doors and six pillars. At the northeast corner of the altar stands a lantern tower. Outside the southern gate of the altar is the Imperial Earth God Chamber, and outside the western gate are structures such as the Divine Storehouse, the Divine Kitchen, the Ritual Vessel Storehouse, and the Musical Instrument Storehouse. In the thirteenth year of the Jiajing reign, it was renamed the Earth Altar.

Commonly known as the Sacrificial Altar or Worship Platform, the Square Altar corresponds to the Circular Mound Altar of the Temple of Heaven. It gets its name from the square water moat built around it, following the saying in the Rites of Zhou about sacrificing to the earth in a square mound at the center of a pool on the Summer Solstice. The Square Altar lies on the north-south central axis of the Temple complex and served as the platform where emperors worshipped the “God of the Earth” (commonly referred to as the Earth Sacrifice), and it is also the main structure of Earth Altar Park. This grand and spacious earth worship altar is not only unparalleled in China but also stands out in the world. The Square Altar was first constructed in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1530). It was built according to the design of the “Square Mound Altar” located north of Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing. Its square shape symbolizes the ancient belief in “the round heaven and square earth.” The altar surface was paved with large yellow glazed bricks, symbolizing “blue heaven and yellow earth.” The central altar platform is divided into upper and lower tiers, surrounded by a water moat and enclosed by two tiers of altar walls, with Lingxing Gates on all four sides. On the lower tier, the southern half of the altar platform has two stone-carved pedestals with mountain patterns on each of the east and west sides, supporting a total of fifteen stone altars carved with mountain motifs, used to enshrine the spirit tablets of the Five Great Mountains, the Five Sacred Peaks, and the Five Mausoleum Mountains during worship. The northern half has two stone-carved pedestals with water patterns on each of the east and west sides, supporting a total of eight stone altars carved with mountain motifs, used to enshrine the spirit tablets of the Four Seas and the Four Rivers. At the northeastern corner of the altar is a lantern tower, and symmetrically positioned at the northwestern corner was originally a sacrificial pit. The altar is surrounded by a pool, over eight chi deep and six chi wide. The upper tier of the altar covers an area of six square zhang, while the lower tier is about ten-plus square zhang. The altar surface was paved with yellow glazed bricks in the Ming dynasty and changed to square stone slabs during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty. On the lower level of the altar, there are two stone pedestals on each of the east and west sides, displaying the forms of the “Five Great Mountains,” the “Five Sacred Peaks,” the “Four Seas,” and the “Four Rivers,” all oriented toward the southeast. The altar is enclosed by two layers of low walls — an inner red wall topped with yellow glazed tiles and an outer wall. Each of the four sides of the low walls has a Lingxing Gate: the east, south, and west gates each have two pillars and one door, while the north gate has three doors and six pillars. At the northeast corner of the altar stands a lantern tower. Outside the southern gate of the altar is the Imperial Earth God Chamber, and outside the western gate are structures such as the Divine Storehouse, the Divine Kitchen, the Ritual Vessel Storehouse, and the Musical Instrument Storehouse.

The ritual of earth worship originated in ancient times and has a documented history of over four thousand years. Historical records mention that “the Xia dynasty sacrificed in May, the Shang in June, and the Zhou at the Summer Solstice in a square mound at the center of a pool.” By the Zhou dynasty, a complete set of sacrificial rites had been established, known as the “Rites of Zhou.” Thereafter, successive emperors continued to follow the Zhou sacrificial system, offering sacrifices to the earth in a square mound at the center of a pool every Summer Solstice, until the practice ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1891.