dānchí en

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.