// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "Nine Altars and Eight Temples" say to the math book? You've got a lot of sacred numbers.

The Nine Altars and Eight Temples refer to 17 sites in Beijing that played a significant roles in imperial ritual and worship under the Qing dynasty,^[1] some of them going back to earlier periods of the history of Beijing. As some of the altars are clustered in the same locations, the same ritual venues are occasionally referred to as only "Five Altars and Eight Temples".^[2]

Nine Altars

Circular Mound Altar (圜丘壇 huánqiūtán) within the Temple of Heaven, for sacrifices to Tian on the winter solstice
Altar of the Sun (日壇 rìtán) outside the city walls east of Chaoyangmen, for worship of the sun on the March equinox
Altar of the Earth (地壇 dìtán) also known as the Fangzetan (square water altar), outside the city walls north of Andingmen, for sacrifices on the summer solstice
Altar of the Moon (月壇 yuètán), outside the city walls west of Fuchengmen, for worship on the September equinox
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿 qíniándiàn) north of the Circular Mound Altar within the Temple of Heaven, for worship on the first Xin day of the first lunar month
Altar of Agriculture (先農壇 xiānnóngtán) in present-day Temple of Agriculture Park, for worship on the second day of the third month of spring
Altar of Tai Sui (太歲壇 tàisuìtán) also in the Temple of Agriculture Park, for worship on auspicious days in the first ten days of the first lunar month and the last ten days of the twelfth lunar month
Altar of the First Silkworm Goddess (先蠶壇 xiāncántán) in present-day Beihai Park, for worship of Leizu on the fourth day of the second month of spring
Altar of Earth and Grain (社稷壇 shèjìtán) in present-day Zhongshan Park southwest of the Forbidden City

Eight Temples

Imperial Ancestral Temple (太廟 tàimiào) in present-day Working People's Cultural Palace southeast of the Forbidden City
Hall of Ancestor Worship [zh] (奉先殿 fèngxiāndiàn) within the Forbidden City
Hall of Transmission of the Heart [zh] (傳心殿 chuánxīndiàn) within the Forbidden City
Hall of Longevity (壽皇殿 shòuhuángdiàn) in present-day Jingshan Park north of the Forbidden City
Temple of Ancient Monarchs [zh] (歷代帝王廟 lìdàidìwángmiào) within the city walls west of the Imperial City
Tangzi (堂子 tángzǐ), a shamanic ritual site of the House of Aisin-Gioro that stood on the location of present-day Beijing Hotel until demolition in the 20th century
Palace of Peace and Harmony (雍和宮 yōnghégōng) also known as the Beijing Lama Temple, Tibetan Buddhist complex within the city walls north of the Imperial City
Temple of Confucius (孔廟 kǒngmiào) immediately west of the Lama Temple