The Status of the Houtu Temple in Fenyin, Shanxi

Whether in times of peace or in eras of frequent warfare, worshiping the gods of heaven and earth was an activity fervently pursued by Chinese emperors throughout history. They needed to promote the concept of the divine right of kings through traditional rituals and regarded praying for the gods' protection as a spiritual pillar to maintain their rule. Historical records show that during the Qin Dynasty, there were already four seasonal sacrifices, with six sacrificial sites: the Western season, Fu season, and Qi season all worshipped the White Emperor; the Mi season worshipped the Blue Emperor; the Shang season worshipped the Yellow Emperor; and the Xia season worshipped the Flame Emperor. In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu established the Northern season to worship the Black Emperor, making a total of five seasons. Later, Emperor Wu of Han, following the false teachings of alchemists, revered "Taiyi" as the supreme heavenly deity. The Blue Emperor, Flame Emperor, White Emperor, Black Emperor, and Yellow Emperor were considered merely Taiyi’s attendants. Therefore, he built the Taiyi Temple in the northwest of Chang’an, designed as a circular altar called Yuanqiu, symbolizing the shape of heaven; and in Fenyin, Shanxi, he built the Houtu Temple, designed as a square altar called Fangqiu, symbolizing the shape of earth. Taiyi and Houtu were the two most important sacrificial sites in the early Western Han period and served as prototypes for the later Temple of Heaven and Temple of Earth. During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, the sacrificial activities to heaven were moved to the southern suburbs of Chang’an (the "Qian" direction of the Earlier Heaven Bagua), while earth worship was conducted in the northern suburbs of Chang’an, becoming a fixed system by the Eastern Han period.