Shenyue Office

　　The Shenyue Office is located slightly south of the west gate of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, facing east with its back to the west. It is one of the five major architectural complexes of the Temple of Heaven and was the institution dedicated to managing music and dance performances for imperial heaven-worship ceremonies during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, it was also known as the Shenyue Observatory. In the 8th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was called the Shenyue Office (Shenyue Suo), and in the 19th year of Qianlong, it was renamed to its current name. The Shenyue Office was the authority managing ancient music performances during heaven worship ceremonies and specifically trained personnel for these ceremonial dances and musical rituals.

　　The Shenyue Office is located northwest outside the western Tianmen Gate of the Circular Mound Altar and was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty. It was the administrative body managing the performance of ancient music during heaven worship. During the Ming Dynasty, it was called the Shenyue Observatory, where the musicians and dancers were all Taoist priests at the time. When the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing in the 18th year of Yongle, 300 music and dance performers came with the court to Beijing. Later, the Ming Shenyue Observatory typically maintained about 600 such performers. By the Jiajing era, the total number reached 2,200.

　　In the 8th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Shenyue Observatory was renamed the Shenyue Office (Shenyue Suo), and in the 20th year of Qianlong, it was again renamed as the Shenyue Office. The office was headed by one principal (Shuzheng) at the official rank of sixth grade, with two assistant directors (Zuo You Shu Cheng) each at the eighth grade, and five music coordinators (Xie Lv Lang) at the eighth grade. There were nearly 500 musicians and dancers under them, and this orchestra was solely responsible for performing ritual music. They also studied music regularly. However, the people of Beijing referred to the Shenyue Office staff as “fake Taoists.” The so-called fake Taoists referred to those who had no fixed social identity. Within the Shenyue Office, they were Qing officials wearing official hats with decorations; when they left the Temple of Heaven and returned to their Taoist temples, they wore Taoist robes; and when staying overnight in their private homes, they changed into regular clothes and lived as wealthy gentry surrounded by wives, concubines, children, and grandchildren.

　　The Taihe Hall within the Shenyue Office courtyard was renamed Ningxi Hall in the 12th year of the Kangxi reign. Behind the five-bay main hall were seven smaller chambers. Additionally, the office complex included a Worship Hall, Music Administration Hall, Music Coordination Hall, Teachers’ Rooms, Linglun Hall, Mu Yi Chamber, and 23 storerooms for storing ceremonial attire for the musicians, making it a fully equipped school for training court musicians and dancers.

　　The overall layout of the Shenyue Office buildings forms a rectangular shape, longer from east to west and shorter from north to south, consisting of three courtyards with double halls. The main gate of the Shenyue Office faces east. The front hall has five bays and was called Taihe Hall in the Ming Dynasty, renamed to Ningxi Hall during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and used for rehearsing ceremonies. The rear hall has seven bays and was originally called Xuanwu Hall, renamed Xianyou Hall in the late Ming Dynasty, and used for enshrining the Xuanwu Emperor and various music deities. Behind the halls are structures such as the Costume Storage, Ceremony Office, and Worship Hall. The eastern courtyard includes structures like the Tongzan Room, Kegong Hall, Zhenglun Hall, Hougong Hall, and Mu Yi Chamber. The western courtyard contains the Music Coordination Hall, Xie Lv Hall, Teachers’ Rooms, Linglun Hall, and Zhao Yi Chamber. According to historical records, apart from the above buildings, the Temple of Heaven’s Shenyue Office also housed many teahouses, restaurants, and pharmacies. There was even a Guan Yu Temple within the walls of the Shenyue Office complex.

　　After more than a century of destruction since 1900, the Shenyue Office of the Temple of Heaven has fallen into disrepair, with only a few structures remaining, mainly some of the main buildings.

　　In 2002, the Beijing municipal government launched the “330-Million-Yuan Cultural Relics Emergency Restoration Plan,” which included the Shenyue Office of the Temple of Heaven. All residents inside were relocated, and reconstruction work on the Shenyue Office began. The project was officially completed on September 20, 2004.

　　Currently, the Shenyue Office of the Temple of Heaven is open to the public as an Ancient Music Museum, exhibiting the history of the Shenyue Office, musical theory, lyrics and melodies, instruments such as qin, se, drums, xun, and sheng, as well as Zhonghe Shaoyue ceremonial music and dance costumes. Many of the exhibits can be played, and Braille descriptions are provided.

Temple of Heaven Park

Circular Mound Altar

Hall of Imperial Heaven

Danbi Bridge

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Echo Wall of the Temple of Heaven