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.
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。