All Prayers will be Heeded

What most excites me about traveling in China is its animated scenery. Every mountain, stream and flora have their magical tales, every stone, brick and building has its legends. This bears witness to the metamorphism of China's cultural beliefs for thousands of years, but are there believers? Yes, there will be. Look at the Stone of Destiny, the Son-bearing Matrimony Tree, Buddha Mountain, wishing wells etc., Many hope to benefit from them.

Wishes must be returned in kind, but tourists are often in a mad scramble; if it works, it works, if not, never mind, they say. Maybe they will recall the incident many years later when they revisit and finally show their appreciation. Currently, many tourist attractions do not allow burning of incense and other worship, so what should one do? For the sincere, they can always show their appreciation at a nearby temple or in their hearts.

Sometimes we promise our seniors to perform the appreciation rites but forget it, but the seniors don't. For that, all promises to the seniors should be carried out to avoid disappointing them. Friends, remember that a "sincere heart brings everything to reality", everything is predestined. You better wish upon yourself!

Beijing's Five Altars of Worship

Most tourists who visit Beijing only know about the Sky Altar. Actually there are five of them, with the Gu Palace as the focal point, Sky in the south, Earth in the north, Sun in the east and Moon in the west, the Primordial Farmer in the southwest.

The ancients believe that according to the Xian Tian hexagram, Sky belongs to the south and Earth to the North, the Sky is round and the Earth, square. The Sky Altar was designed with a round exterior in accordance with the astrological signs of the Heavenly Stars's twenty-four sections. The Earth Altar was designed according to geography and the five elements, hence its square-ish design.

Some friends ask me, why the Sky and Earth Altars are so far away from the longitude of the Forbidden City's Gu Palace. Some say that the human emperor cannot be equal with Heaven and Earth, so there is a necessity for differentiation; others say that the Yuan dynasty's imperial Palace are on the same line with the Sky and Earth Altars, and that the Forbidden City was later relocated in the direction of the White Tiger (west), while the designs of the Sky and Earth Altars remained unchanged; yet others maintain that the ancients already knew that the earth's magnetic field was misaligned by 7.5 degrees. Each has their own version of the story, but why is there no change to the latitude of the Sun and Moon Altars?

Veritably, the ancient emperors held the key concept of respecting Heaven and Earth, which is why they worship Heaven, Earth, Sun, Moon, and Primordial Farmer annually for fair weather and bountiful harvest. As such, emperors seem to spend more time on participating in grand ceremonies and tours rather than officiating.