Ming tang

The Ming tang is a building symbolic system playing a big role in the imperial practices of the historical China. According to the tradition, the annual royal round was made inside Ming tang in order to ensure the universal harmony, in which the sovereign played a central role.

Symbolism and form

Ming tang was, to some extent, the world in miniature. In the traditional Chinese thought , an image is not a simple show of the object, but assumes to some extent its reality. From this point of view, more than one simple representation of the world, the building was the world, but into small. It was square, symbolizing the Earth. It was divided into nine parts, they so square, representing the nine provinces of the Empire. The roof and the surrounding pond were round, thus symbolizing the Vault of heaven.

The royal Round

Each year, the king made a round symbolic system of Ming tang. With month central of each season (those which include the Solstice S and the equinox S), it remained one month in the median part on a side, therefore right to the East, the South, and so on. During the months of transition between the seasons, it passed to the parts of angle, remaining two months there. To fill the difference between the twelve lunar months and the solar year, the king passed the end of the summer, critical period, to sit in the central part.

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