Analysis Of Bronze Mirror In Jin Dynasty

China’s earliest bronze mirrors were discovered in the Qijia Culture in the late Neolithic period,prevailed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,flourished in the Han Dynasty,developed slowly in the Period of Wei,Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties,and peaked in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.Since the Song,Liao and Jin Dynasties,bronze mirrors have showed a declining trend.However,the bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty are of paramount unique compared with that in other areas in the same period,because they were embellished with sophisticated technique and stunning patterns.In this thesis,through the analysis of archeological excavation documents and supplemented by heirlooms,the excavation sites of the bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty are classified.In addition,they are divided according to Jin’s origin homeland,Jin’s occupation in the land of the Liao Dynasty,and Jin’s occupation in the land of the Song Dynasty.Based on the similarities and differences of the bronze mirror patterns of the Jin Dynasty,the bronze mirrors can be divided into three categories,namely,mirror with plants and animals,mirror with personal stories,and mirror with other decorative patterns.And those discovered bronze mirrors are typologically analyzed.According to the relationship between the excavation sites and the features of the bronze mirror patterns,the characteristics of the discovered bronze mirrors in different cultural areas are discussed.It is believed that Jin’s origin homeland can best reflect the features of Jurchen culture;Jin’s occupation in the land of the Song Dynasty can better show the Han culture represented by Confucianism and Quanzhen religion（Taosim）;and the Jin’s occupation in the land of the Liao Dynasty reflects the integration of Khitan,Han and Jurchen cultures.As Jin deepened its rule over the Central Plains,the influence of Han culture became increasingly obvious.After the comparative analysis of the bronze mirrors in the Jin,Liao and Song Dynasties,it is believed that Liao’s mirror had a single shape with animals and Buddhist contents as patterns;Song’s mirror shapes were diversified with embellishment styles concentrated,mainly flowers and Taoist contents.While the bronze mirrors of the Jin Dynasty absorbed the shapes and decorations of the mirrors from the Liao and the Song Dynasties and developed its own characteristics.With the relatively strained bronze resources controlled by the Jin Dynasty and the great demand for bronze in the early period of the founding of the dynasty,the bronze prohibition policy was emerged.In this thesis,the impact of the policy on the production quantity of bronze mirrors,the changes of mirror patterns and the content of the engraving are analyzed.It’s found that there were various reasons behind the richness of bronze mirrors patterns in the Jin Dynasty.Apart from the integration of the unique traditional ethnic culture of the ethnic group with the surrounding ethnic cultures,a number of factors such as policy controls,art and people’s ideological changes had also exerted huge impacts.