A dismounting stele, in East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

n architecture, was a stele erected outside an important building or group of buildings giving notice for mounted travellers to dismount and for passengers of vehicles to exit the vehicle.

Locations

Dismounting steles were placed in front of gates to important buildings or institutions such as imperial tombs, palaces, the Imperial City

Imperial City (Beijing)

The Imperial City is a section of the city of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the Forbidden City at its center. It refers to the collection of gardens, shrines, and other service areas between the Forbidden City and the Inner City of ancient Beijing...

 and major temples and shrines, especially shrines to Confucius

Confucius

Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

. They were placed singularly or in pairs. Whether such steles are placed in front of a particular building was dictated by rules of protocol. In imperial times, this was generally controlled by the Board of Rites. The Emperor

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

might also grant the placement of a dismounting stele as a sign of favour towards an institution, group or person.