Drawing from a Photo: Temple of Heaven

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

I never had much artistic ability, although I have always admired people who could play a musical instrument or create beautiful art. So I became very intrigued when I learned how to create a line drawing from a photograph.

And I have now discovered a good use for this technique. Many of my slides are very old (like me) and don't always scan well. A slide of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the Temple of Heaven just wouldn't scan to give me an acceptable -- the colors were 'muddy' and seemed to bleed. I was disappointed.

But I then found that I could make a black-and-white line drawing (above) that actually looked pretty good.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven

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The Imperial Vault of Heaven is one of the major buildings in The Temple of Heaven near Beijing, China. The vault was built to contain memorial tablets of the ancestors of the emperor. According the ancient Chinese religious belief, heaven is round, and so the major buildings in the Temple of Heaven are also round.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Mao Memorial

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The exterior of the Mao Memorial Hall in Tiananmen Square frankly reminds me of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. This picture was taken in 1987, when the Mao Memorial was relatively new. You can see the Chinese citizens lined up at the main entrance. As foreign visitors we got to slip in the side entrance, bypassing the line.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

A Day Care Outing

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I got this photo of a day care outing in Beijing during the summer of 1990. The children have spotted some foreigners getting off a bus, and I think they were as interested in us as we were in them.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Nine Dragon Screen

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The Nine Dragon Screen is the oldest and largest glazed screen in China. It was made over 600 years ago of 426 specially-designed glazed bricks and is about 149 feet long. It is in the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing. The area in front of the screen was being renovated when this picture was taken.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Interior of the Hall of Prayer

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Yesterday's post showed the exterior of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. This picture, although not very good, shows a part of the interior.

There are 28 columns inside the hall, each made from a single tree trunk. The interior of the hall is unbelievably beautiful.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

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The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is an impressive three-tiered wooden structure that was built entirely without nails. Like all buildings in the Temple of Heaven it is round, like heaven in Chinese tradition.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace

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The Gate of Heavenly Peace is the entrance to the Forbidden City at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. This picture was shot in 1987.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

The Echo Wall

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This young Chinese girl is listening to a whisper along the Echo Wall in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China. The Echo Wall is a circular wall surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is approximately 12 feet tall and has a diameter of about 200 feet. It gets its name from its accoustical properties -- a whisper spoken on one side can be clearly heard on the other.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

A Street Sweeper in Beijing

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I went to China for the first time in 1987 as part of a group of professors from Heidelberg College. We spent our first night in Beijing at the Friendship Hotel. I was up early the next morning and found this street sweeper with her broom sweeping the driveway in front of the hotel. For some reason the sight of her convinced me that I really was in China.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.