My system is not decent

Chapter 1798 Using copper as a mirror, travel through ancient and modern times

Although he didn't get much information, Chen Wenzhe determined through some clues that there should be at least one mirror in Yangluo.

As early as more than 2000 years ago, my country's bronze smelting technology had reached its peak.

Especially in the pre-Qin and Warring States period, the origin of bronze civilization, bronze products with exquisite craftsmanship emerged in an endless stream.

The uncanny advanced technology is incredible.

In archaeological excavations, there are often amazing appearances of "things that pass through", and there are also miraculous phenomena that modern science cannot explain.

However, with the gradual collapse of ritual and music after the Qin Dynasty, bronze wares gradually withdrew from the stage of history.

However, the small and practical bronze mirror suddenly emerged and became the mainstay of bronze products for more than two thousand years.

After Wei Zheng's death, Tang Taizong said a famous saying: "With copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes; with people as a mirror, you can understand gains and losses; with history as a mirror, you can know success and failure."

Some people may wonder, since glass mirrors have always been used, how did the ancients use copper as a mirror?
The ancients cast copper blocks with smooth shapes and uniform thickness, and then polished one side of them into a mirror surface that can shine on people, restoring the original color of the metal, so as to achieve the purpose of facing the face.

From the earliest primitive tribes until the introduction of glass mirrors in the Ming Dynasty, Chinese people have been using bronze mirrors for thousands of years to trim their makeup, dress their hair and tie their hair.

After the Han Dynasty, people's requirements for life improved, so they decorated the other side of the bronze mirror with exquisite patterns or auspicious words.

Because bronze mirrors are necessary for daily life, there are countless bronze mirrors unearthed in the history of archaeology.

Therefore, whenever a bronze mirror is unearthed in a tomb, most archaeologists are not surprised.

However, the magical appearance of this Han Dynasty bronze mirror made everyone present jump up, because it is the legendary rare and rare "light-transmitting mirror"!
The mirror has a diameter of 7.4 cm and a net weight of about 50 grams.

Now it looks unremarkable, just a small lightweight hand mirror.

However, when you point the light source at its front, there will undoubtedly be some reflections.

The amazing thing is that the image reflected by it turned out to be the back of the bronze mirror, including inscriptions and decorations!

It should be noted that the light source hits the front of the copper mirror, but never touches the back.

However, the reflected image shows the pattern on the back.

As if the light source passes straight through from the back, the bronze mirror seems to be in a "hollowed-out" state, which is very mysterious.

That's why it is known as a "light-transmitting mirror", so what is its principle?

This kind of bronze mirror with illusion ability has been regarded as a "divine object" by the ancients for a long time.

Unfortunately, this technology has been lost since the Song Dynasty.

So far, among the hundreds of thousands of bronze mirrors collected in museums all over the country, only half a hundred have the light transmission effect, and most of them are from the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the light-transmitting mirror of the Han Dynasty is also known as the highest peak of ancient "black technology"!
The light-transmitting mirror is not only a star model in China, but also enthusiastically sought after abroad.

Western countries call it a "magic mirror", but even the world's high technology cannot replicate the same Han Dynasty light-transmitting mirror.

In order to explore this eternal mystery, experts have devoted themselves to research for several years, and finally discovered the secret of the "magic mirror".

It turns out that the reason why the copper mirror transmits light is due to the uneven thickness distribution.

However, this uneven difference is very small, only a few microns, and cannot be recognized by the naked eye.

Moreover, the formation of this special elastic deformation is also related to how the craftsmen polished the mirror at that time.

Explained in scientific language: the curvature of the thick place is small, the reflected light is scattered, and the projection is slightly dim;
The thinner part has a larger curvature, the reflected light is more concentrated, and the projection will be brighter.

Obviously, the place with inscriptions and patterns is thicker, and the rest is thinner, so two different thicknesses will reflect projections with different brightness.

It looks like the pattern on the back, piercing through the past.

Of course, not every copper mirror will obtain the light transmission effect, which has a lot to do with the polishing process.

Therefore, it can be said that the appearance of the "light-transmitting mirror" brings great luck, which can be said to be rare!
Knowing that there is such a "magic mirror" in the Han Dynasty, are you surprised?

Friends who have studied cultural relics may not be unfamiliar with bronzes, and may even say something like "bronzes with inscriptions are more valuable", which is indeed the case;
But here we want to talk about a "special" bronze inscription, that is, "bronze mirror".

Looking back at history, after the Warring States period, the traditional "rites and music" gradually collapsed, the princes conquered each other, and the bronze culture that symbolized royal power and theocracy gradually declined.

But the bronze mirror suddenly emerged at this time, becoming the protagonist of the bronze world;
At present, there are tens of thousands of bronze mirrors discovered by archeology, which also lowers their value to some extent.

However, the "magic mirrors" displayed in various large museums are national treasures that have been "difficult to replicate until now".

The reason why Chen Wenzhe traced to Nanhe was because of a grinding mirror in the Dahai City Museum.

Through him, Chen Wenzhe saw the ancient tombs on the Yangluo side.

Of course, the piece in the Dahai City Museum is not from Nanhe, but from Beihu.

To say this, we have to go back to the winter of 1982. The Beihu EZ Museum was conducting field archaeological work. A group of ancient tombs of the Han Dynasty was discovered in the depths of Jiutou Mountain in Yufeng District, and a "rescue excavation" was carried out;
Briefly speaking, the archeology has gained a lot, and the unearthed cultural relics include not only bronzes, pottery, jade, etc.

The archaeological team also found rare copper coins from the period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, including three ancient bronze mirrors.

Here we only talk about one side, the mirror is nearly perfect circle, with a radius of 3.7 cm, a diameter of 7.4 cm, and a net weight of about 50 grams;
Its back is decorated with diamond-shaped patterns, and the outer ring of the bronze mirror is cast with the eight-character inscription "seeing the light of the sun, the world is bright", so experts call it the mirror of "seeing the light of the sun".

As mentioned above, there are not a few bronze mirrors discovered so far, and there are also many with inscriptions, but why do experts say it is "special"?

To be fair, at first glance, this bronze mirror seems to be no different from ordinary bronze mirrors.

However, if the mirror surface is illuminated, the projection generated after reflection will appear spots;

Perhaps some impatient friends will say, "What's so strange about this?

The surface of ancient copper mirrors is not as smooth as today's glass mirrors, and of course there will be uneven shadows on the surface when reflected.

Experts say this phenomenon is 'wonderful', isn't it a bit uncommon?

It seems reasonable at first glance, but the "wonderful" thing that experts say is not the light spots reflected on the surface of the copper mirror.

Instead, it presents the patterns and inscriptions on the back of the bronze mirror, as if the light directly penetrates the bronze mirror and reflects the patterns and characters on the back;
What is particularly amazing is the inscription on the back of the mirror that reads "Seeing the light of the sun, the world is bright", which looks novel and somewhat "scary".

(End of this chapter)