銅鏡以天地方為形，天圓在中國古代是豐滿、完整、吉祥、美好、富足的象征，在漢語中團圓、圓滿是祥和的詞語。因此，圓形鏡一直是銅鏡的重要形式。方形是圓形之外中國古鏡中少見的造型，大部分方形鏡為正方形，也有極為罕見的長方形造型。
The bronze mirror takes the shape of heaven and place. In ancient China, Tianyuan is a symbol of fullness, integrity, auspiciousness, beauty and abundance. In Chinese, reunion and completeness are auspicious words. Therefore, the circular mirror has always been an important form of copper mirror. Square is a rare form of ancient Chinese mirror outside the circle. Most of the square mirrors are square, and there are also very rare rectangular forms.
銅鏡是中國古代青銅藝術中的燦爛瑰寶，中國銅鏡素以“裝飾繁縟、制作精美”著稱于世。各朝各代對銅鏡藝術均有創造，或古樸、或靈巧、華麗、或素雅，制作工藝更是各有千秋。
Bronze mirror is a brilliant treasure in ancient Chinese bronze art. Chinese bronze mirror is famous for its "elaborate decoration and exquisite production". The bronze mirror art of each dynasty has been created, either simple, or smart, gorgeous, or simple and elegant, and the production process is different.
中國人的鏡子情結自古就有，夢梁錄里就這樣描述銅鏡“云想衣裳花想容，寶鏡綽約映春風”是閨閣女子的情與思，《舊唐書·魏徵傳》里有這么一段話“以銅為鏡，正衣冠”是士大夫千年的行事準則。
The mirror complex of Chinese people has existed since ancient times. In menglianglu, it is described that the bronze mirror "the cloud wants clothes, the flowers want looks, and the precious mirror reflects the spring wind" is the feelings and thoughts of boudoir girls. There is a saying in the old Tangshu weizhengzhuan that "take copper as the mirror and dress properly" is the code of conduct of scholar officials for thousands of years.
銅鏡，一般是含錫量較高的青銅鑄造，光亮的一面為鏡面，反面中央設鈕以穿絳帶便于手執使用。鏡背素面外，大多數鑄有圖案和銘文，有著強烈的時代特征。
Copper mirror is usually made of bronze with high tin content. The bright side is mirror, and the center of the reverse side is equipped with buttons to wear the belt for hand holding. Most of them have patterns and inscriptions, which have strong characteristics of the times.
銅鏡最早出現在商代，多為祭祀的禮器；在春秋戰國至秦時期，一般都是王和貴族才能享用；到西漢末期，銅鏡就慢慢的走向民間，是人們不可缺少的生活用具。
Bronze mirrors first appeared in the Shang Dynasty, most of which were sacrificial ritual vessels. From the spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period to the Qin Dynasty, they were generally enjoyed by kings and nobles. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, bronze mirrors gradually went to the people, and they were indispensable tools for people's daily life.
古代女子出嫁時，銅鏡是必不可少的嫁妝，在成婚之日，新娘要向銅鏡和玉行跪拜大禮，拜鏡表示求平安，拜玉表示求子（因“玉”與“育”諧音）。
When ancient women married, bronze mirror was an essential dowry. On the day of marriage, the bride had to bow down to the bronze mirror and the jade line to pray for peace, and to pray for children.
隨著銅鏡鑄造技術的發展，唐代銅鏡手工藝人受到波斯薩珊王朝的造型藝術影響，在銅鏡制作中打破了傳統的造型，出現了各式各樣的花形鏡，成為銅鏡中的一道絢麗風景。
With the development of bronze mirror casting technology, the craftsmen of bronze mirror in Tang Dynasty were influenced by the plastic arts of Sassanian Dynasty in Persia. They broke the traditional mold in the production of bronze mirror, and there appeared a variety of flower shaped mirrors, which became a gorgeous landscape in the bronze mirror.
銅鏡的紋飾也是豐富多彩，包括四神十二生肖鏡、瑞獸鏡、瑞獸葡萄鏡花鳥鏡、瑞花鏡 、神仙人物鏡、特種工藝鏡、瑞獸鸞鳥鏡、盤龍鏡、八卦鏡、萬字鏡等；富麗堂皇的裝飾風格，彰顯著盛世的氣度與榮耀，恰如唐詩中的經典名句：“人歌小歲酒，花舞大唐春”。
The decorative patterns of bronze mirrors are also rich and colorful, including four gods and twelve zodiac mirrors, auspicious animal mirrors, auspicious animal grape mirrors, auspicious flower mirrors, immortal figure mirrors, special craft mirrors, auspicious animal Luan bird mirrors, Panlong mirrors, eight trigrams mirrors, ten thousand characters mirrors, etc.; the magnificent decoration style shows the grandeur and glory of the prosperous times, just like the classic saying in Tang Poetry: "song of man, wine of young age, flower dance, spring of Tang Dynasty" 。
古代銅鏡除了高超的藝術性外，還有著濃厚的神秘色彩。在古人的觀念中，銅鏡被普遍認為具有避邪消災的作用。例如漢代銅鏡銘文中就常見“去不祥”、“辟不祥”、“避去不祥”的辭句。
In addition to its superb artistry, ancient bronze mirrors also have a strong sense of mystery. In the ancient concept, bronze mirror is generally considered to have the function of avoiding evil and eliminating disasters. For example, in the inscriptions on bronze mirrors of the Han Dynasty, there are common phrases such as "go ominous", "avoid ominous" and "avoid ominous".
由于對銅鏡的迷信，人們還常常用鏡子來預卜吉兇，文獻中稱為“鏡聽”。“鏡聽”起源于何時，今天已無法得知，但從一些資料看，早在唐代以前就已非常普遍。唐代大詩人王建的《鏡聽詞》，就是寫一個貧家婦女憑“鏡聽”來占卜她出門在外的丈夫的歸期和吉兇。
Because of the superstition of bronze mirror, people often use mirror to predict good and bad luck, which is called "mirror hearing" in the literature. It is impossible to know today when "mirror hearing" originated, but from some data, it was very common before Tang Dynasty. Wang Jian, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote that a poor woman used "mirror hearing" to predict her husband's return and auspiciousness.
古人對鏡子的崇拜，在今天的一些民俗中也還有遺留，例如在我國北方的許多地區，人們常常在自家的大門上鑲嵌或懸掛一面明鏡，據說它可以“避邪驅鬼”。
The ancient people's worship of mirror is still left in some folk customs today. For example, in many areas of northern China, people often inlay or hang a mirror on their own door, which is said to be able to "ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts".
在古代，銅是普通人家遙不可及的器物，而銅鏡更是有錢人家才有的珍貴器物。
In ancient times, copper was a distant object for ordinary people, and bronze mirror was a precious object for rich people.
此面銅鏡鑄造極為精致，包漿自然醇厚，紅斑由內而生，紋飾由繁入簡卻又不失富麗之貴，細致生動，品相完美，實在難得。
This bronze mirror is extremely exquisite in casting. The coating is natural and mellow. The red spots are born from the inside. The patterns are simple but rich. It's very delicate and vivid. The quality is perfect. It's really rare.
