Korean bronze mirrors as a pattern of China’s cultural influence

Abstract
This article highlights the issue of borrowing and adapting the cultural achievements of the Chinese civilization by nearby regions. According to the example of the emergence, distribution and adaptation of bronze funerary mirrors from China dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Korean Peninsula, as well as the further promotion of the traditions of using bronze mirrors in Japan, the issue of the cultural influence of China in adjacent regions is considered. There is a tendency to transfer the functionality of bronze mirrors as an important attribute of the funeral ritual of noble people. Of particular interest is the study of the design of mirrors, more precisely, the reverse side of the mirror, which, as a rule, was decorated with a special ornament that differs depending on the historical era, beliefs and region. Mirrors borrowed from China eventually adapted on the Korean Peninsula and later on the Japanese islands; local mirrors already had their own peculiarities in the form of design features. It is also necessary to study the issue of the appearance of devices for fixing a mirror: depending on the region, there was a change from one lug-loop on the back of the mirror to the prototype of the handles, also attached on the back or on the sides.

For the study, material sources were used - bronze mirrors from open electronic exhibitions and collections of the state museum of the Republic of Korea.

Keywords: China, Korea, bronze mirrors, archeology of China, archeology of Korea.

For citation: Silakova S.A., Gajnullina L.A. Korean bronze mirrors as a pattern of China’s cultural influence. Modern oriental studies. 2021; 3(3).