dānbì 丹陛

Note

Danbi, literally meaning “cinnabar steps” or “cinnabar platform” (Kroll 2015, 74-75; 20), generally refers to the steps of palace buildings, and in some contexts, to the open platform in front of a main palace hall.1

The term danbi originated from the practice of painting the steps of palace buildings with cinnabar. The earliest evidence of the use of danbi comes from the Lingqijing, which is traditionally dated to the Western Han. During the Ming and Qing dynasty dynasties, danbi became part of mainstream architectural nomenclature and was used in conjunction with danchi 丹墀, where danbi referred to the platform (yuetai 月台) outside the hall, and danchi referred to the ground in front of the danbi. However, danbi is also commonly translated as "steps." In literature before the Ming and Qing dynasties, danbi was not used for buildings other than palace buildings, while in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the scope of reference broadened to include Confucian temples, government offices, and other types of buildings.

丹陛，一般指宮殿建築的臺階，有時也指宮殿建築前的露臺（月臺）。

丹陛源於漢代宮殿建築用丹砂塗飾臺階的做法。現存文獻中最早見於相傳為張良（250或以前-186BCE）或東方朔（154-93BCE）所作的《靈棋經》。在明清時期，丹陛發展出一種指代露臺（月臺）的主流說法，並與“丹墀”產生關聯：即殿外月臺為丹陛，丹陛以南、台下廣庭為丹墀。但“臺階”的含義一直存在，並延續到當代。丹陛在明清以前文獻中未見指代宮殿建築以外的情況，但在明清兩朝用於文廟、衙署等建築中，呈現所指範圍泛化的趨勢。2

Related concepts

dānchí 丹墀

Broad Match: foundations