長期以來漢鏡以鏡鈕為中心向四周放射的旋轉(zhuǎn)式構(gòu)圖布局在東漢中晚期被打破，改為以鏡鈕為中心分別上下和左右布局，出現(xiàn)了直行銘文鏡，觀察銅鏡圖像的角度第一次有了明確的定點方位，這是東漢中晚期銅鏡構(gòu)圖布局的最大變化。銅鏡發(fā)展到東漢中葉，其紋飾及銘文出現(xiàn)了左右“軸對稱式”的新布局，打破了以前以鏡鈕為中心作環(huán)繞式和上下左右對稱式布局的“心對稱式”布局。
隨著兩漢銅鏡鑄造業(yè)的發(fā)展，銅鏡迅速走向平民化，成為當(dāng)時普通民眾的日常生活用品，因而也蘊涵著豐富的歷史文化信息。唐太宗李世民曾說：“夫以銅為鏡，可以正衣冠;以古為鏡，可以知興替;以人為鏡，可以明得失。朕常保此三鏡，以防己過。”
漢代銅鏡做工精良，紋飾優(yōu)美，內(nèi)容豐富，正如《古鏡圖錄》中說：“刻畫(劃)之精巧、文字之瑰奇、辭旨之溫雅，一器而三善備焉者莫鏡若也”。一面面小小的漢鏡不僅反映漢代的冶煉技術(shù)、鑄造工藝，也反映當(dāng)時人們豐富的精神生活和繁榮的文化藝術(shù)，展示出大漢帝國蓬勃發(fā)展的盛世雄風(fēng)，對后代銅鏡文化的發(fā)展起著承前啟后的作用，在我國銅鏡發(fā)展史上占有極其重要的地位。
For a long time, the rotating composition layout of the Han mirror centered on the mirror button and radiated around was broken in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. It was changed to the vertical and horizontal layout with the mirror button as the center. A straight inscription mirror appeared. Once there was a clear fixed position, this was the biggest change in the composition of the bronze mirror in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. Bronze mirrors developed into the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and their decorations and inscriptions appeared in a new "axial symmetry" layout, breaking the previous "heart symmetry" layout that used mirror buttons as the center to surround and symmetrical up and down.
With the development of the casting industry of bronze mirrors in the Han Dynasty, bronze mirrors quickly became civilians and became the daily necessities of ordinary people at that time, which also contained rich historical and cultural information. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, once said: "A husband uses copper as a mirror to get his clothes straight; to use ancient times as a mirror to know the rise and fall; to use people as a mirror to know gains and losses. I always keep these three mirrors to prevent myself from passing."
The bronze mirrors of the Han Dynasty are exquisitely crafted, beautifully decorated, and rich in content. Just as the "Ancient Mirror Illustrated Records" said: "The exquisite depiction (drawing), the magnificence of writing, and the gentleness of the purpose are all one thing but three good preparations. ". A small Han mirror not only reflects the smelting technology and casting craftsmanship of the Han Dynasty, but also reflects the rich spiritual life and prosperous culture and art of the people at that time. It shows the flourishing and prosperous style of the Han Empire, and plays a role in the development of the subsequent generations of bronze mirror culture. The role of linking the past and the future holds an extremely important position in the history of the development of bronze mirrors in China.
