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Jing Ming Yu auspicious - Western Jin Dynasty "bit to the three gong" mirror
"Take copper as a mirror ( mirror ) , you can wear a crown; take the ancient as a mirror, you can know the xingdi ..." A sentence by Tang Taizong Li Shimin has been passed down through the ages, and people are familiar with the ancient cultural relics of the bronze mirror. The mainland was one of the first countries in the world to cast and use copper mirrors. The original bronze mirror was only a high-end luxury that could only be used by the princes and grandchildren. In the Han Dynasty, the bronze mirror gradually went to the folk, was endowed with a strong atmosphere of life and good wishes, many inscriptions and ornaments that symbolized auspiciousness appeared on the bronze mirror, which were used to decorate, gift, pray for good fortune, and convey friendship.
In the history and culture exhibition hall of the Cangzhou Museum, there is an inscription mirror excavated in 1988 in the Western Jin Tomb of Liu Fatzhuang in Cangzhou City. This copper mirror is round, the button is decorated with a variety of ornaments such as string pattern, cirrus pattern, ctenophore pattern, etc., the layout is ingenious, the pattern is smooth, and there is a symmetrical "bit to three gong" inscription on the back of the mirror, so it is named "bit to three gong" mirror.
In the inscription mirrors from the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties, the four characters of "bit to three dukes" are very common. According to the "Shang Shu Zhou Guan": "Li Taishi, Taifu, Taibao. The three dukes, on the Tao, on the state, on the yin and yang, the officials are not necessary, but their people. The "Three Dukes" in the Book of Rites refer to Sima ( 司馬 ), Situ ( 司图 ) , and Sikong ( 司空) . Du You of the Tang Dynasty said in the Tongdian : "Before xia and shang, Yun Tianzi had no lords, and the three dukes had no officials. ...... Qin made Cheng Xiang, Tai Wei , and Yu Shi Dafu the Three Dukes. Han took The Chancellor, the Grand Sima and the Imperial Historian as the three dukes... Sui made Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong the three dukes, and the Tang Dynasty was therefore the same. It can be seen from this that "three dukes" is the title of the highest official in ancient times, but the dynasties and dynasties have referred to different and said different things. In addition to "bit to the third duke", some bronze mirrors are also engraved with the words "position to the secretary of state", the two meanings are similar, are praise and wish for the prosperity of the official, the official position is honorable auspicious. People cast the "Position to the Three Gongs" on the bronze mirror, expressing the beautiful expectations of the high-ranking official Houlu under the Confucian idea of "learning and excellence".
This kind of inscription mirror with auspicious words, which has been popular since the Han Dynasty, has the function of being given as a gift to express high hopes for children and blessings for relatives and friends, which is a vivid embodiment of people's values and outlook on life at that time. As an important carrier of traditional Chinese auspicious culture, such inscription mirrors were still cast until the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. To this day, although the bronze mirror has withdrawn from the historical stage, auspicious words such as the title of the gold list, the Wishing you prosperity, and the head of the good fortune are still visible in some daily objects.
Author Zhang Yajun