bronze mirror, marriage, princess lechang, promise, respect, xu deyan

Essential Uses that Round Bronze Mirrors Played in Ancient China

Bronze mirrors were used as one of the daily essentials for the ancient Chinese people. They were used to check one’s appearance and for young ladies to apply make-up and style their hair. They were also esteemed as a kind of handicraft.   Additionally, they were also used as funerary objects. Ancient people believed that placing ...

Emma Lu

A Chinese bronze mirror.

A Broken Mirror Joined Together Again

The Chinese idiom, “a broken mirror joined together again,” expresses the idea of a couple being reconciled or reunited after a period of separation. It has its origins in a story about Princess Lechang of the Southern Chen Dynasty and her husband, the scholar and poet Xu Deyan. In the last years of the Northern ...

Helen London

Princess Lechang.