My system is not decent

Chapter 1799 Mysterious magic mirror, [-] million sides

Generally speaking, the bronze material is quite strong, and it is impossible for light to pass through the entire bronze mirror.

Even reflection is a natural phenomenon that appears on a relatively flat mirror surface;
Speaking of this, some friends may start to guess wildly. Is this bronze mirror possessed of ancient magic, or is it made by the special craftsmanship of the ancients?
To answer this question, we must first find the answer from historical materials.

According to historical records, bronze mirrors first appeared in the Warring States Period and flourished in the Western Han Dynasty.

Especially in the Han Dynasty, "mirror with ring and inscription" became a major category of bronze wares in the Western Han Dynasty;
Taking the "circle with inscription mirror" as an example, the ring-shaped inscription is generally used as the main decorative pattern, and there are single-circle inscription mirrors and double-circle inscription mirrors.

Ancient bronze mirrors can be divided into Zhaoming mirror, sunlight mirror, Qingbai mirror, Tonghua mirror, Riyouxi mirror and so on according to the content of the inscription.

Among them, the most common ones are Zhaoming and Sunlight, and most of them are small mirrors under six inches in Han ruler. So far, the number of discovered mirrors is the largest, and the distribution is also the widest.

In terms of production techniques, bronze mirrors are mostly round, and the surface is relatively smooth and flat when polished, and patterns are often cast on the back;
Viewed from the back side alone, ancient mirrors of the Warring States period mostly feature geometric or animal patterns.

From the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, mirrors with relief sculptures of gods and animals and portrait mirrors appeared.

In the Tang Dynasty, flat mirrors and mother-of-pearl mirrors appeared.

There are also characters and stories, flowers and butterflies, birds and beasts in the decoration on the back.

Further development, in addition to the circular system, rhombus shape and square shape also appeared.

In the Song Dynasty, hand-held mirrors with handles also appeared.

Having said so much, I just want to explain that the production of bronze mirrors in the past dynasties is similar.

Moreover, flower decorations after the Han Dynasty will become more and more complicated, and their production will naturally be more complicated than that in the Han Dynasty;
The key point is here, although the ancient mirrors of the Han Dynasty are slightly "simple" in terms of craftsmanship and flower decoration.

However, bronze mirrors that can transmit light only appeared in the Han Dynasty.

Taking the Maritime Museum as an example, there are tens of thousands of bronze mirrors in its collection.

But there are only four pieces that can show the light-transmitting effect, and all of them are products of the Han Dynasty.

Among them, the "Jianri Zhiguang" mirror is the best preserved and the effect is the most obvious.

Perhaps another friend asked, is it only modern experts who have discovered the light-transmitting effect of ancient mirrors?

If it is discovered by modern experts, it is likely to be an accidental phenomenon in the casting of ancient craftsmen.

In fact, experts have also had such a problem, but after consulting the data, they found that the ancients had already discovered this "magic" bronze mirror.

And for thousands of years, it has been regarded as a "divine object";
"Scientists" for thousands of years have all studied light-transmitting ancient mirrors.

The most important thing is that people have also researched it.

Modern people have studied this for a long time before they understand it.

And when I didn't study it clearly, I once thought that this bronze mirror was a magic mirror, a treasure.

In this regard, we really have to learn from the ancients.

For example, Shen Kuo, a man of the Song Dynasty, explained it in detail in his "Mengxi Bi Tan".

"Mengxi Bi Tan" records that "this is because the thin part is cold first when it is cast, but the back text is not thick enough, and then it cools and the copper shrinks more. Although the text is on the back, there are hidden traces on the mirror surface, so it appears in the light."

In addition, Zheng Fuguang, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also had a similar explanation.

Of course, modern experts have also done research on the "seeing the light of the sun" mirror, which seems to have uncovered the light-transmitting fog that plagued the ancients for thousands of years;

To put it simply, the inscriptions and patterns on the back of the "Jianri Zhiguang Mirror" are relatively thick.

Where there is no inscription or pattern, it is relatively thin.

It is precisely because of the uneven thickness that the copper mirror produces casting stress.

And elastic deformation occurs when the mirror is ground, so the curvature of the thick part is small, and the curvature of the thin part is relatively large.

To explain, the thickness or curvature difference here is very small, it is difficult to find with the naked eye, and it seems to be flat at first glance;
The difference in curvature corresponds to the ornamentation. When light hits the mirror surface, the reflected light from the part with larger curvature will be scattered, and the projection will be darker.

Where the curvature is smaller, the reflected light is more concentrated, and the projection is brighter, which results in brighter inscriptions or patterns appearing from the reflected image.

It seems to be more "complicated" to say this. In short, the research results of modern experts are roughly the same as the explanations in "Mengxi Bi Tan".

It can be simply understood as "the time of cooling and solidification is different, and the curvature of the thickness is different, thus forming the phenomenon of bronze light transmission";
The amazing thing is that although experts have given a "scientific" explanation, it is still impossible to create a bronze mirror with a similar effect with today's technology.

Speaking of this, some friends may not be convinced. Experts have already explained it. Besides, modern technology is far more advanced than ancient times. How could it not be possible to make it?
This question is difficult to answer, not only is it difficult to copy in modern times, but scientists have copied it for thousands of years;
In the words of experts: For more than 1000 years, this miraculous phenomenon has attracted many scholars from all over the world.

But no one can use experimental methods to confirm their guesses.

Or to be more precise, no one has actually copied the exact same mirror as the Western Han light-transmitting ancient mirror.

In this way, it is somewhat "mysterious".

But it also shows the wisdom and superb skills of the ancient ancestors, which may be the main reason why it is called the "magic mirror";

At present, the "Light of Seeing the Sun" mirror is treasured in the Haihai Museum, so Chen Wenzhe naturally can't use it to study it, and he doesn't even have a chance to take a look.

If you want to see it, you must have a favor.

However, this is not necessary at all.

Due to an accident, Chen Wenzhe discovered that there was a broken light-transmitting mirror on the Nanhe Yangluo side.

Various reasons led to his trip to Nanhe this time, and the trip this time was really not in vain.

Not to mention anything else, just learning the eight fine gold crafts is a big harvest.

Of course, if he could get the restored mirror, he would not only be able to learn the craftsmanship of the ancients, but he could also learn the top modern craftsmanship of bronze restoration.

To find that very precious mirror, the first thing Chen Wenzhe thought of was the museum.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing in the museum, so he can only find another way.

Finally, he came to a private exhibition hall, where there were many bronze mirrors on display.

He had known for a long time that there were many kinds of bronze mirrors in ancient China, and many of them survived until now. However, he really did not expect that he could see so many kinds of bronze mirrors at one time.

Moreover, the top ancient bronze mirrors in our country, the most expensive ones claiming [-] million sides, are also available here.

Bronze mirror is an ancient utensil made of bronze, and it is also an exquisite handicraft.

According to historical records, since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ancients have used bronze polishing to make mirrors, which can shine brightly and have exquisite patterns carved on the back.

It was very popular in the Warring States Period, and it was even more exquisite in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

(End of this chapter)