Show OF W remarkable chinese holy sarina in peking for imperial worship only and ceremonies never witnessed by foreigners customs of centuries observed peking china the temple of heaven la the most sacred as well aa the most beautiful of all chinese religious it Is used only for imperial worship and no foreigner has yet seen the stately and elaborate ceremonies that taka place here on fixed dates every year the buildings of which ft consists are situated in a large walled in park in the southeast section of the chinese city of peking A broad stone paved road leads to the temple from the the largest gate ot the tartar city this gate Is exactly in front of the main entrance to the imperial palace the massive doors at its central entrance are thrown open only when the cm geror leaves his palace to visit the temple of heaven or the temple of agriculture the park in which the temple of heaven lies Is almost square in shape and Is surrounded by a stout wall nearly four miles long inside it Is divided into sections by other walla ind the visitor Is bewildered by the number of gates through which he when being shown round the sacred buildings at each he has to pay a small sum to the gatekeepers gate keepers who rely upon these tips as their main source of income some of the in closures contain majestic build ings others encircle the grazing grounds of the sacred animals reared tor immolation epou the temple al ars the striking edifice which Is gen rally known as the temple of beav en but Is called by the chinese the temple of prayer for the year to which the emperor repairs each spring to make offerings and pray for an aasi year for his people is a land the tempi of heaven mark for miles round its triple root of deep blue gold flecked tiles surmounted by a massive gilt sphere can be seen from the railway some time before peking Is reached it Is comparatively a new building having been erected since when the old temple of which this Is an exact copy was destroyed by fire it on a triple marble terrace having a stairway at each of the four points of the compass when the cm geror comes here to worship the tablets of his ancestors which are usually kept in an adjoining building are placed round the single lofty chamber of which the temple consists A long marble paved terrace leads southward from the temple of beav en past a smaller building of similar leslyn known as the temple of the universe to the inclosure containing the altar of heaven it may be doubted whether any structure in the world excels this for p andeer and beauty the marble paved courtyard that surrounds it alko all the terraces in the park is kept and overgrown with weeds and even he altar terraces them selves are spattered with shrubs and grasses but nothing can detract from the majestic simplicity of the altar it Is on the main altar kneeling on the circular slab of marble that marks its center that the emperor at each winter solstice officiating as the high priest of his people by whom be Is known as the son of heaven worships heaven and his ancestors at dawn the previous night Is spent in meditation and fasting in the hall of abstinence a fitting preparation for the solemn rites are to follow nearly two hours before dawn the em geror Is called and arrayed in ceremonial raiment after which he makes bis way to the altar in a sedan chier and kneeling on the center stone of the topmost terrace bums incense to heaven and renders an account of the important events of the oar burnt offerings of animals are made on an altar of green porcelain to the south east of the main altar in I 1 tonye braziers ranged round the court the death sentences and offerings of silk and jada are committed to the flames groves of trees surround the altar inclosure except to the north where a series of triple gates marks the way to the temple f the universe while in the distance jond the roofs ot the ot heaven can be sees i A |