A Study Of Confucian Ethics Reflect On The Bronze Mirror Inscriptions Of The Han Dynasty

Bronze mirror inscription began to appear in the early Western Han Dynasty,with the popularization,secularization and commercialization of the use of bronze mirrors,bronze mirror become a necessity in people’s daily life,bronze mirror inscription also become a text material reflect the people life and social status,to some extent,it reflects the ideological trends,spiritual beliefs and cultural customs of the time and has great historical value for studying and corroborating the related history of the Han Dynasty.In the past,the Scholars research on the bronze mirror inscription of the Han Dynasty mainly focused on the interpretation and textual research of the inscriptions,the evolution and use of Chinese characters,Taoist thoughts,commercial advertising culture,general situation of bronze smelting.In recent years,the Scholars had gradually shifted the focus of attention to the research of Confucian ethics in the bronze mirror inscription which achieved more results,but lack of academic achievements of specialized research and comprehensive arrangement.Confucianism established the status of official orthodoxy in the Han Dynasty and gradually into all aspects of society,the outline of its transmission is also reflected in the bronze mirror,bronze mirror inscriptions became an effective vehicle for the spread of Confucianism,which have an impact on people’s ideology and spiritual consciousness,therefore,it is feasible to study Confucianism through the bronze mirror inscriptions.This article will be based on the previous research results,to make specialized research and comprehensive arrangement of the Confucian ethics seen in the bronze mirror inscriptions of the Han Dynasty and better excavate the historical value of the bronze mirror inscriptions.The structure of this article is divided into seven parts:general example,introduction,main content,conclusion,appendix,references and postscript.The main content is divided into three parts,the first part classifies the collected inscriptions of 509 bronze mirrors,a total of 14 types of inscription systems are divided,they are:Xiangsi wu wang ming(相思毋忘铭类),changshou gui fu ming(长寿贵富铭类),ri you xi ming(日有憙铭类),zhaoming qingbai jiao guang ming(昭明清白皎光铭类),riguang ming(日光铭类),qing yin tong hua ming(清泿铜华铭类),shan tong ming(善铜铭类),xianren shenshou pi buxiang ming(仙人神兽辟不祥铭类),shangfang ming(尚方铭类),zuo jia jing ming(作佳镜铭类),wuzuo ming(吾作铭类),renming xingshi ming(人名姓氏铭类),jinian ming(纪年铭类),za ming(杂铭类),only in this way can we understand the expression content,thoughts and emotions,characteristic forms of the inscription.Based on the first part,the second part further explores the Confucian ethics seen in the bronze mirror inscription,which Summarize three aspects:Xiao(孝),Zhong(忠),“Wuchang”ideology(“五常”思想,Ren(仁),Yi(义),Xin(信))and analyze the cause of their appearance,thus the theoretical framework for the study of Confucian ethics as seen in the bronze mirror inscriptions of the Han dynasty is constructed systematically.The third part mainly studies the role played by the bronze mirror inscriptions in the spread of Confucianism,this is reflected in three aspects:firstly,it reflected the cultural policy of the ruling class in the Han Dynasty that respected Confucianism,and promoted the implementation of this cultural policy and expanded the influence of Confucianism;secondly,it has a subtle influence on the quality shaping and moral cultivation of the people at the bottom,and played an important role in maintaining the rule of the Han Dynasty and stabilizing social order;thirdly,Confucianism and Taoism in the inscription promoted the exchange,integration and reference of Confucianism and Taoism,it also provides a specific platform and new connotation for the development and innovation of Confucianism.In addition,Appendices I and II separately discusses the Confucian ethics with bronze mirror decoration and shapes.