Looking in the mirror and being narcissistic, maybe people did this 4,000 years ago...

A bronze mirror with a double fish pattern, in the style of "Mirror Bureau Official Made". It is in the shape of six diamonds, with a round button and a double fish decoration on the back, which are in a playful state of swinging their tails and swimming around the button. There is a rectangular name frame on the back, with two lines of five characters "Mirror Bureau Official Made" inside.

"Mirrors are used to reflect one's image." Bronze mirrors are mainly used as dressing utensils made of copper, tin and other alloys. According to different usage methods, early bronze mirrors in China can be divided into two categories: mirrors with buttons and mirrors with handles.

In the 1970s, Chinese archaeologists discovered two small bronze mirrors in a tomb of the Qijia culture in Guinan County, Qinghai Province, dating back more than 4,000 years. It is generally believed that the bronze mirrors of the Qijia culture are the early forms of bronze mirrors. Early bronze mirrors are divided into four periods: Xia to Early Shang, Late Shang, Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn. Bronze mirrors first appeared in Gansu, Qinghai and eastern Xinjiang. In the late Shang, the focus shifted to Hami in Xinjiang and Yinxu in the Central Plains. In the Western Zhou, both types of mirrors were already available in Xinjiang. In the Spring and Autumn Period, different mirror systems began to form and influence and communicate with each other, mainly distributed in the north and in southern Hubei and Hunan.

(Diagram of the distribution of early bronze mirrors, picture from the Internet)

Bronze mirrors began to appear in large numbers in the middle of the Warring States Period. The typical shape of a bronze mirror in the Warring States Period was a round plate with a button, with a flat or slightly convex front, a plain or decorated back, and a button protruding in the middle, which was tied with a rope. With further popularization, its privileged color gradually faded, while its function as a religious instrument was retained to varying degrees.

With the opening of the Silk Road and the maturity of production technology, bronze mirrors flowed overseas through trade activities, exchanges and gifts, and were carried on people’s shoulders. The patterns and shapes of bronze mirrors with distinct Chinese artistic characteristics were imitated and borrowed. Chinese bronze mirrors also began to absorb foreign cultural elements for decoration, injecting new vitality into the original art form. The "Wei Zhi·Wa Ren Zhuan" records that in June of the second year of Jingchu (238), Himiko, the queen of Yamatai, Japan, sent an envoy to Wei, and Wei presented 100 bronze mirrors as a gift.

(Mirror with painted patterns and the same direction of the beasts, from the early Kofun period, unearthed from the Izumi Golden Mound Tumulus in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, picture from the Internet)

The Jin Dynasty implemented a copper ban policy, strictly restricting the casting of copper mirrors. The History of Jin Dynasty recorded that "in February of the 11th year of Dading (1171), private casting of copper mirrors was banned, and all old copperware was sent to the government, and half of its value was given." In order to prevent copper mirrors from crossing the border, each copper mirror was inspected and stamped by the government, and the existing copper mirrors in the private sector could only be used after being chiseled. After that, all dynasties used the copper ban as an important means to increase government fiscal revenue.

The bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty have both the characteristics of the Jurchen people and the characteristics of the Central Plains, and they have developed them to form a unique artistic style. In addition to the common round mirrors, there are also diamond-shaped, octagonal, Y-shaped, heart-shaped, square, etc. The patterns include character story mirrors, fish mirrors, dragon mirrors, mythical animal mirrors, auspicious animal grape mirrors, boy winding branch mirrors, and sea ship mirrors.

( A partial view of the long scroll "Biography of Female Historians" , attributed to Gu Kaizhi (345-406) of the Jin Dynasty, showing a concubine dressing in front of a bronze mirror and a makeup box. The front and back of the mirror represent appearance and character. The picture comes from the Internet)

Double fish is an important theme in the decoration of bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty was founded by the Jurchens in the northeast. The first volume of "History of Jin Dynasty·Century" records that the Jurchens, the rulers of the Jin Dynasty, lived in the "White Mountains and Black Waters" for generations. The Black Waters refer to the Heilongjiang River today. Carp is the main fish in the Songhua River Basin. In addition to agriculture, fishing is an important supplement for the Jurchens to maintain their lives, so fish is closely related to the lives of the Jurchens. "History of Jin Dynasty·Military Records" records that "in normal times, they are engaged in fishing and hunting as laborious work." At present, the vast majority of the fish-patterned mirrors unearthed and recorded in the Jin Dynasty are pure double fish patterns, and there are also fish patterns combined with other scenery. The double fish pattern bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty fully show the Jurchens' love for fish and their yearning for a happy life. It also reflects the spirit of the Jurchen rulers to strictly enforce the imperial examination and attach importance to education.

A bronze mirror with double fish pattern and the inscription "Mirror Bureau official made"

"Using bronze as a mirror, one can adjust one's attire; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of things; using people as a mirror, one can understand gains and losses." Bronze mirrors are not only objects used to reflect one's makeup in daily life, but also endowed with cultural connotations of self-cultivation, self-reflection, and learning from the past and the present. Frequently "looking in the mirror and adjusting one's attire" has become the new normal of strict self-discipline and compliance with laws and regulations. The cultural essence contained in bronze mirrors has lasted for thousands of years and still inspires people in modern society.

References

Pan Jing, Jing Zhongwei. Types, distribution and functions of early Chinese bronze mirrors[J], Xiyu Research, No. 2, 2020