The Hall of Imperial Zenith was the Vault of Heaven of the Altar of Praying for Bumper Crops. The tablet of the God of Heaven and the tablets of the emperor’s ancestors to be displayed and worshipped during the ceremony held in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests were kept here. On the day before the ceremony, the emperor came here in person to burn incense sticks and perform the divine greetings for the transference, and then the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices transferred the tablets to their appropriate places in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. With a wudian roof (five-ridged hip roof) covered with blue glazed tiles, the hall was first built in the 18th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign (1420).
Constructed in the 18th year of the Emperor Yongle’s reign (1420) with the original name of the Temple of Divine Music under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, it was the administrative institution in charge of the teaching and training of the imperial ceremonial and ritual music. Inside the administration, there are such buildings as the Ningxi Hall, Xianyou Hall, Zhaoyi Hall, Muyi Hall, Linglun Hall, and the Garment Warehouse.
