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"Nine"&Imperial Buildings in Beijing

There is a seventeen-arched bridge in the Summer Palace of Beijing. This, too, has much to do with "nine". Count the arches from either end, and you will find that the largest span in the middle is the ninth.

An extreme example of the "game of nine" is perhaps the Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiutan) in the Temple of Heaven. Site for the Ming and Qing emperors to worship Heaven, the al tar is in three tiers. The upper terrace is made up of nine concentric rings of slabs. The first ring or innermost circle consists of nine fan-shaped slabs, the second ring 18 (2 X 9) slabs, the third 27 (3 X 9)... until the last or ninth ring, made up of 81 or 9 X 9 slabs.

The number "nine" is not only used on buildings. The New Year dinner for the imperial house was composed of 99 dishes. To celebrate the birthday of an emperor, the stage performances must comprise of 99 numbers as a sign of good luck and long life.

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