dānchí 丹墀

Note

Danchi, meaning literally “cinnabar staircase or courtyard” (Kroll 2015, 74-75; 50-51), generally refers to the surface of the platform extending in front of the main hall of a palace or the surface of the courtyards in a palace, and is one of the main areas where ceremonies were held. It originated from the practice of painting the steps with cinnabar in the Han dynasty, which may have been inherited from the Zhou dynasty (Yang 2001,163, 214). Over time, the locations of danchi changed. During the Han dynasty danchi usually referred to the ground or floor inside a hall. After the Tang and Song dynasties, danchi was usually associated with the platform in front of a hall. In the Northern Song, it referred to the ground of the topmost platform in front of a palace building, and, together with longchi 龍墀 and shachi 沙墀, it constituted the sanchi 三墀 system. In the Liao dynasty and after it referred to the ground below the platform, which is on the same level as the courtyard ground. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, danchi also referred to the ground below the platform of the main hall in Confucian temples, government offices, and other types of buildings.2

丹墀，一般指宮殿建築群中主要建築露臺（月台）或庭院中的地面，是殿庭中舉行儀式的區域之一。源於漢代宮殿用丹砂塗飾地面的做法（这种做法可能继承自周代（楊 2001, 163, 214））。漢代主要指“殿內地面”。唐宋以後丹墀通常與殿前露臺（月台）相關，並隨時間發展，指代的位置有所變化：北宋指殿外台基上層地面，與龍墀、沙墀組成三墀體系；遼及以後指殿外露臺（月台）下地面，與庭院地面相平。丹墀一詞的使用演化到明清時期，也指文廟、衙署等建築群中主要建築台基下的地面。3

Related Concepts

lóngchí 龍墀

lùtái 露台

shāchí 沙墀

sānchí 三墀

yuètái 月臺

Broad Match: foundations