Isn’t it the cases that some of the world’s most beautiful buildings are circular in shape? In Italy the Pantheon and Bramante’s tempietto come to mind. Perhaps even Bagni di Lucca’s Demidoff temple may be included in this list. Going both through time and place Stonehenge and the Sanchi Stupa are other supreme circle-based buildings. In February this year we were at Auroville’s Matrimandir which is a modern interpretation of the round shrine, this time encircling a golden sphere.

China’s greatest example of a round edifice is Beijing’s Temple of Heaven which we included in our visit to that city last month.
Dating from the fifteenth century the temple, which is Taoist and dedicated to harvest ceremonies, was built by emperor Zhu Di who was also responsible for the forbidden city. Through the centuries the temple has been restored and even partially rebuilt as these models show.

However, the temple’s essential structure remains the same.

The Temple of Heaven actually consists of three buildings. The famous circular one is the hall of prayer for good harvests. Rising from a square base representing the earth the three-gabled round pagoda represents the heavens.

There is also a single-gabled building known as the imperial vault of heaven and a mound altar which was used for the actual sacrifices.

Apart from the symbolism of circle and square the sacred number nine recurs in various architectural features of the altars. Furthermore, the hall of prayer has four inner pillars representing the four seasons and twelve outer pillars for the Chinese months and hours.

The temple complex stands in an attractive area of parkland which is very popular with Beijing’s inhabitants who take their children or meet up to play board games.

It really is a most beautiful structure, perhaps the most beautiful I saw in my visit to China.

(Of course, round buildings are not only confined to those serving a religious function. Just think of igloos, Mongolian gers, railway roundhouses enclosing turntables and pavilion tents. I, for one, would be very happy to live in an energy-efficient, easy-to-clean circular house!)