On the afternoon of October 15th, on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of East China Normal University, the "Qin and Han Dynasty Water Stops - Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirror Exhibition" hosted by the East China Normal University Museum opened in the museum exhibition hall on the second floor of the Bochuang Building on the Putuo campus.
With the theme of "Stopping Water in the Qin and Han Dynasties", the exhibition is divided into four sections: "Mirror Identification", "Extraordinary Interest", "Flying Dragon in the Sky" and "Skillfully Carved Articles", displaying 100 precious bronze mirrors from the pre-Qin to Qin and Han dynasties.
This batch of bronze mirrors, spanning from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties, has a long time span and rich types, covering a variety of decorative types such as geometric patterns, animal patterns, and inscriptions. By showing the evolution of the back decoration of the bronze mirror from simple geometric patterns, animal patterns to inscriptions, and the subtle differences between string buttons, round buttons, and lianfeng buttons, the artistic characteristics and historical value of bronze mirrors from the pre-Qin to Qin and Han dynasties are described, and the development and artistic characteristics of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors are presented in an all-round and multi-angle manner.
These bronze mirrors not only show the exquisite skills of ancient craftsmen, but also contain profound historical and cultural heritage and national wisdom, allowing the audience to appreciate the unique charm of China's excellent traditional culture.
The bronze mirrors in this exhibition are generously donated by Mr. Wang Ganghuai, a senior engineer, consulting professor of Tsinghua University, and an expert in the study of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors, and Zhida Group. Mr. Wang Ganghuai has devoted himself to the collection and research of bronze mirrors for many years, and has published 31 monographs such as "Research on Qin Mirror Culture" and "Atlas of Han Mirror Inscriptions".
Bronze mirror is a daily necessities mainly used by the ancients to decorate the face, and the casting history of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors can be traced back to the Qijia culture 4,000 years ago. Most of the bronze mirrors in this exhibition are round mirrors with buttons, and the mirror buttons also play an important role in the use of copper mirrors. The various forms of ornamentation and rich inscriptions on the bronze mirror are also important carriers of ancient culture, art, philosophical thoughts, social customs, etc., which contain distinctive cultural characteristics and rich ideas, and have important practical significance for promoting Chinese traditional culture and highlighting the subjectivity of Chinese culture.