Editing Temple of Heaven (section)

==Symbolism==
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[[File:Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests interior 2014.jpg|thumb|Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.|alt=A richly decorated interior in red, blue, green and gold with many intricate designs, rising to a ceiling above the upper bound of the image]]
Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square. The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the Earth. Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round, each standing on a square yard, again representing Heaven and Earth. 
The number [[9 (number)|nine]] represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer [[column|pillar]]s, representing the four [[season]]s, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively. Combined, the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar terms. 
All the buildings within the Temple have special dark blue roof tiles, representing the Heaven.

The Seven-Star Stone Group, east of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, represents the seven peaks of [[Mount Tai|Taishan Mountain]], a place of Heaven worship in classical China.

There are four main supportive, dragon pillars each representing a season. The structure, held up by these dragons, imitates the style of an ancient Chinese royal palace. Twelve inner pillars symbolize the lunar months, and it is thought that the twelve outer pillars refer to the 12 two-hour periods of the day.