The cosmology of imperial China is written into the geometry of the Forbidden City, where architecture functioned as a model of the universe. Aligned precisely along a north–south axis, the palace mirrored the celestial meridian, placing the emperor symbolically at the pivot between Heaven and Earth.
At its southern entrance, the Meridian Gate marked both political and astronomical orientation, acting as the terrestrial counterpart to the sky’s central meridian.
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| Sunrise between Bejing and Nanchang |
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| Bayi Square Nanchang - Second largest square in China |
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| Tengwang Pavilion Nanchang - One of the three famous historical towers |
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| Skyline in Nanchang |
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| Skyline in Nanchang |
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| Temple of Heaven: Imperial Vault |
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| Forbidden City Meridian Gate |
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| Forbidden City Gate of Supreme Harmony |
Court rituals timed to solstices and equinoxes reinforced this alignment, embedding governance within celestial cycles.
Beyond the palace, the ritual landscape extended to the Imperial Vault of Heaven, whose circular form echoed the dome of the sky and housed tablets of divine order.
This structure formed part of the wider Temple of Heaven system, where emperors performed sacrifices to maintain cosmic harmony.
To complete the celestial triad, annex shrines honored solar and lunar forces: the Temple of the Sun (incliuding planets and even the stars of the big dipper) in the east and the Temple of the Moon in the west.
Together, these sites formed a sacred map of the heavens projected onto Beijing’s ground plan.
The emperor’s authority thus depended not only on governance but on precise astronomical alignment with cosmic order.
 | | Forbidden City Sundials |
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| Wanshun Pavilion in Jingshan Parc |
