The Divine Musical Hall in the Temple of Heaven will open to the public during the week-long National Day holiday (October 1 through 7) after two years of renovation.
The ancient hall will now serve as a museum to exhibit China’s ancient sacrificial music and dances.
At present, there are all together more than 30 kinds of Chinese musical instruments, including qin (Chinese zither), se (a plucked instrument with 16 to 25 strings), dizi (bamboo flute) and xiao (vertical bamboo flute) shown in the hall. Music books and works introducing ancient Chinese music are also exhibited.
Unlike most museums, visitors are allowed to touch and even play the musical instruments. The entry ticket for adults is 10 yuan (about US$1.20). Concerts featuring ancient Chinese sacrificial music will be held in the hall; the charge for a ticket will be more than 100 yuan (about US$12).
The Divine Musical Hall, a complex in the Temple of Heaven, was built in 1420, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It housed the Office of Divine Music, which was considered the highest musical institution in ancient China. All professional dancers, singers and musicians who gave performances in the imperial sacrificial activities during the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties received training there.
The Divine Musical Hall was taken over by the Eight-Power Allied Forces in 1900 when they invaded Beijing. After looting the cultural relics inside, the invaders changed the hall into a military warehouse. During World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese army and used as a laboratory.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, civilian residents moved in, with the number of households climbing to 170 at one time. Their cobbled-together sheds and kitchens, heated by makeshift coal stoves and illuminated via tangles of electrical wires, threatened the safety of the historical site. Becoming neglected, the roof and some sections of the walls in the main hall collapsed.
In 2000, Liu Xiuchen, a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, suggested to the city government that the Divine Musical Hall be repaired and protected.
The government assisted the residents to relocate and began the renovation in February 2002.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, September 30, 2004)
