Old photos of Yuan Shikai’s memorial ceremony in 1913

The old photos of Yuan Shikai’s sacrificial ceremony to heaven in 1913

The Temple of Heaven was the most important official ceremony of the Ming and Qing dynasties for hundreds of years. Therefore, after the 1911 Revolution completely ended the imperial era, the tradition of sacrificing to heaven as a symbol of feudal autocracy came to an abrupt end. Only two years later, at the winter solstice in 1914, China had just entered the Democratic Republic. In July 1912, Yuan Shikai, the former president of the Republic of China in the Imperial Forbidden Area Temple of Heaven, held the only memorial ceremony in the history of the Republic of China in the deserted Temple of Heaven, which was also the last one in Chinese history

1913年袁世凯祭天大典老照片

天坛祭天在数百年间都是明、清王朝最重要的官方祀典，因此在1911年辛亥革命彻底结束帝制时代以后，作为封建专制象征的祭天传统就戛然而止了。仅过了两年之后，1914年冬至，中华而在刚刚进入民主共和国的第一年，1912年7月，原先的皇家禁地天坛民国大总统袁世凯竟又在本已荒废的天坛举行了民国历史上唯一一次，也是中国历史上最后一次祭天大典。

袁世凯上台祭天

身着十二章衮服的袁世凯

袁世凯上台祭天

袁世凯台上祭天

祭天祭品

参与祭天的官员

祭天的仪仗

袁世凯乘坐小轿来到天坛

袁世凯就任大总统后，和各国使节的合影