History of Divine Music Administration

There were 300 royal musicians and dancers when the Ming Empire (1368 - 1644) moved its capital to Beijing in 1420, so the Divine Music Administration was set to manage them. The officials and performers in the administration were all Taoists. Their number soon increased to about 600 people. The administration reached its peak in the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, when the number of the performers totaled an amazing 2,200.

At that time, this was also a resort for the civilians to entertain themselves. Every year, the officials who accompanied the emperor to worship the heavens, would rent houses near the Divine Music Administration, thus making the area livelier. The Taoists planted many popular flowers and herbs. Drugstores were set up and they held a prosperous temple fair.

To keep the security and dignity of the imperial ritual site, the temple fair was disbanded during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). Only several popular drugstores remained. At that time, about 500 performers of the sacred music remained.