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Source Description
This mirror bears an important inscription as well as symbolic imagery of the Eight Trigrams and Heaven and Earth to express the ancient Chinese cosmological ideas. The inscription reads: <br>Circle above and square below: <br>These are symbolic of heaven and earth. <br>In the middle are the Eight Trigrams. <br>Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang. <br>Stars and constellations are well aligned; <br>The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright. <br>Circulating around [the earth] is water, <br>Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers. <br>Within are the mountain ranges, <br>To signify the lordly heights.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159163
label
Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159163
contentType
object
title
Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes
description
This mirror bears an important inscription as well as symbolic imagery of the Eight Trigrams and Heaven and Earth to express the ancient Chinese cosmological ideas. The inscription reads: <br>Circle above and square below: <br>These are symbolic of heaven and earth. <br>In the middle are the Eight Trigrams. <br>Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang. <br>Stars and constellations are well aligned; <br>The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright. <br>Circulating around [the earth] is water, <br>Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers. <br>Within are the mountain ranges, <br>To signify the lordly heights.
date
mid to late 700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60740302
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); Overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
cul
China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
accession
1995.351
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes (雙鳳上圓下方葵花鏡), mid to late 700s. China, Tang dynasty (618-907). Bronze; diameter: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); overall: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); rim: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee, 1995.351
titleInOriginalLanguage
雙鳳上圓下方葵花鏡
collection
China - Tang Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
上圓下方，象于天地。
中列八填，備著陰陽。
辰星鎮定，日月貞明。
周流為水，以名四瀆。
內置連山，以旌王岳。
inscription_translation
Circle above and square below:
These are symbols of heaven and earth.
In the middle are the Eight Trigrams,
Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang.
Stars and constellations are well aligned;
The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright.
Circulating around [the earth] is water,
Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers.
Within are the mountain ranges,
To signify the lordly heights.
didYouKnow
This mirror contains cosmological symbolism with heaven represented by a large circle at top and earth by a square at bottom.
citations
citation
Chou, Ju-hsi. <em>Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.
page_number
Reproduced: cat. no. 69, pp. 75-76 and 121
citation
Cahill, Suzanne E. "The Moon Stopping in the Void: Daoism and the LIterati Ideal in Mirrors of the Tang Dynasty." .<em>Cleveland Studies in the History of Art</em> 9 (2005): 24-41.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 38, fig.15
citation
Delacour, Catherine.<em> La Voie du Tao: un Autre Chemin de L'être : Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, 29 Mars-5 Juillet 2010</em>. Paris: Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 2010.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 136-137, cat. 11.2
creditline
Gift of Drs. Thomas and Martha Carter in Honor of Sherman E. Lee
updatedAt
2026-06-17 11:19:44.967000
sourceId
159163
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Tang Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c3747cef7719794c