ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.008
Picturing Drama: A Bronze Mirror with Figures in Landscape
Jinghuo Zhang1, Yuejun Wu2,*, Yichao Liu1, Junzhu Nie1
1School of Innovation and Creation Design, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong, China.
2College of Art and Design, Beijing Technology University, Beijing 100124, China.
*Corresponding author: Yuejun Wu
Published: July 23,2025
Abstract
Research on Song period bronze mirrors reveals not only advances in metal-working but also the emergence of mirrors as carriers of popular narratives. This study examines a rare eight-lobed mirror decorated with figures in a landscape—combining pavilion, bridge, woodland, and the motif of a rabbit—arguably illustrating the Tang era tale of Pei Hang and Yun Ying rather than the commonly proposed mountain monastery, Emperor Xuanzong’s Moon Palace, or King Mu of Zhou legends. By situating these objects within the broader commercialization of civic culture under the Song dynasty, comparing pictorial compositions with other visual media, and assessing parallel finds in Korea, this paper argues that mirror makers employed modular decorative moulds to assemble richly ambiguous scenes that invited multiple readings. The proposed “Pei Hang” interpretation aligns most closely with the extant iconography and highlights how narrative imagery contributed to mirror design as both a commodity and a medium of cultural exchange across East Asia.
Keywords
Song dynasty; Bronze mirrors; Narrative imagery; Pei Hang legend; Modular decoration; East Asian visual culture
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How to cite this paper
Picturing Drama: A Bronze Mirror with Figures in Landscape
How to cite this paper: Jinghuo Zhang, Yuejun Wu, Yichao Liu, Junzhu Nie. (2025) Picturing Drama: A Bronze Mirror with Figures in Landscape. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(7), 1293-1297.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.008