Temple of Agriculture
Encyclopedia
Xuanwu
Xuanwu may refer to:*Xuan Wu, the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations.*Xuanwu District, Nanjing, China*Xuanwu Lake, in Nanjing, China*Xuan Wu , a saint of Wudang...
District of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and located near the Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest...
.
History
The Temple of Agriculture was built in the 15th century. It was used by MingMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
emperors to perform sacrifices.
The temple's Jufu Hall was included in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
(WMF) when it was in danger of collapse, and again in 2000 along with the rest of the temple. In 1998, American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
provided funding through WMF for the restoration of the structure. Other structures on the site were subsequently restored, and the work included stabilization, wood treatment, repair and conservation of the tiles, and consolidation and preservation of the painted decoration. Today, the site has the status of a Nationally Protected Key Cultural Relic (全国重点文物保护单位 ).