Altar of Earth

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 516 words | Copyright

Altar of Earth. A structure built to the north of the old Inner City of Beijing (Peking) in 1530 CE, as a counterpart in symmetrical relationship to the Altar of Heaven in the south. The original name of the complex was fang tse (literally, ‘square watery place’) altar, indicating that Sovereign Earth, worshipped there by late Ming and Chʾing emperors on the summer solstice, was conceived as the chthonic spirit which ruled over the entire sublunary world, and thus the counterpart of Heaven.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Altar of Earth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Altar of Earth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AltarofEarth.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Altar of Earth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AltarofEarth.html

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