by Spencer P.M. Harrington
The Archaeological
Institute of America
Volume 53 Number 2,
March/April 2000
from
Archeology Website
The Xian Altar of Heaven is the oldest of its kind
found in China to date. It was reburied shortly after
its excavation. (Feng Xiao Tang)
The oldest-known altar
used in Chinese state religious practice was unearthed, then
reburied, this past summer in the city of Xian by
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Uncontrolled
development around a mysterious circular mound prompted a 30-day
salvage excavation. Constructed as early as the Sui Dynasty
(A.D. 581-618), the so-called Altar of Heaven is more
than 1,000 years older than a similar altar in Beijing, and
is the only one found so far pre-dating the Qing Dynasty
(A.D. 1644-1912). It is estimated that 17 Chinese emperors conducted
religious rites here.
Chinese state religion, whose origins stretch back to the Han
Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) and perhaps as early as the
Western Zhou Dynasty (1050-771 B.C.), involved the
worship of heaven only by emperors, who were perceived as links
between the earthly and celestial realms. Emperors mounted the steps
of the Altar of Heaven barefoot, accompanied by an
orchestra playing religious hymns, to prostrate themselves before
celestial deities. Their effectiveness as emperors depended on the
proper performance of ritual; otherwise they might be blamed for a
bad harvest or other misfortunes.
Constructed of rammed earth and composed of four circular
platforms that originally rose 26 feet high, the altar was uncovered
a half mile southeast of Xian’s southern gate,
confirming references to it in ancient historical sources such as
The Old History of the Tang Dynasty and The History of the
Sui Dynasty. The sides and the surfaces of the altar’s platforms
were covered with a layer of yellow clay, and topped off with a
quarter-inch thick layer of gray-white paste, made from seed husks
and straw, that gave the altar a white appearance. The platforms
were each between five and seven and one-half feet high and measured
from 177 feet in diameter at the bottom to 65 feet at the top.
Twelve equally spaced staircases, representing Chinese astronomers’
division of the heavens into 12 parts, ascended from the ground to
the highest platform. The 12 staircases are the most obvious
peculiarity of the Xian Altar of Heaven. During the
Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912)
dynasties, altars had only four staircases, and historical sources
report that Han altars had only eight.
Interpretation and understanding of these altars have varied from
scholar to scholar and from dynasty to dynasty, says An Jiayao,
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences archaeologist who
published the site report. According to historical records, the
Han Dynasty emperor Wu Di conducted religious rites on an
altar that was purple and beautifully ornamented. An says
that the Xian altar shows that, by contrast, people during
the Tang used natural materials and sought simplicity
to show the heavens their respect and sincerity. The altar’s
construction may indeed have reflected a resurgence in state
religious practice after years of neglect following the demise of
the Han Dynasty in the third century A.D., says
Timothy H. Barrett of the University of London’s School of
Oriental and African Studies. The religious rites that evolved
in the Tang Dynasty were a "rethinking of Han
practices," he notes.
The altar fell out of use as the Tang Dynasty faded in
the tenth century. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
team was forced to rebury the altar only weeks after its discovery
owing to a lack of funds for a public display.
"We hope the altar
will one day be open to the public," An told The Times
of London. "It is a shame but money is a real problem."
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