Article ID: CBB817596810

A Revealing Reflection: The Case of the Chinese Emperor's Mirror (2012)

unapi

Mirrors have a long history in both Western and Asian cultures. In the East, besides their standard uses, mirrors have been associated with special or 'magical' powers. Several early Chinese texts present accounts of mirrors that were capable of a particular medical capability — seeing the internal organs of the human body. How should we read such accounts? The Chinese work known as the Xijing Zaji ('Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital'), dating from around C.E. 500, provides one such account. What is particularly interesting is that this and other texts on these strange mirrors include not just 'fantastical' language, but also what appear to be technical descriptions. The explanation may be found in the Chinese art of 'magic mirrors', with their technologically sophisticated design involving dual reflecting surfaces.

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Authors & Contributors
Qu, Anjing
Tang, Quan
Yuan, Min
Ben-Dov, Jonathan
Brown, David
Brown, Miranda
Journals
Nei Menggu Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Ziran Kexue Ban)
Ziran Kexueshi Yanjiu (Studies in the History of Natural Sciences)
Chinese Annals of History of Science and Technology
Historia Scientiarum: International Journal of the History of Science Society of Japan
Journal for the History of Astronomy
Journal of Dialectics of Nature
Publishers
A.K. Peters
Harvard University Press
Ke xue chu ban she
Routledge
Hempen Verlag
Concepts
East Asia, civilization and culture
Astronomy
Calendars
Mathematics
Magic
Technology
People
Paracelsus, Theophrastus von Hohenheim
Yi-He
Agrippa von Nettesheim, Cornelius Heinrich
Time Periods
Ancient
Han dynasty (China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.)
15th century
16th century
Renaissance
Six dynasties (China, 220-589)
Places
China
Greece
India
Iran
Korea
Mesopotamia
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