Mirror Depicting Laozi

MIRROR DEPICTING LAOTZI

Song dynasty (960 – 1279)
Inventory number: XLIX:I:E.38.

In this mirror, there is a man with a water buffalo facing a kneeling man. They are in a rocky and watery landscape with a willow tree in the background. The man with the buffalo probably depicts Laozi, the mythical founder of philosophical Daoism.

According to traditional histories, Laozi lived in the 6th century BCE and supposedly a contemporary of Confucius. He worked as an archivist for the Zhou royal court and built up a following for his teachings. Toward the end of his life, Laozi became disillusioned with the Zhou leadership and decided to travel west on a water buffalo. When he reached Xiangu Pass, where the gates that lead to lands beyond China was located, a guard named Yinxi recognized the sage. Yinxi begged Laozi to write down his teachings before leaving. The result is the text called the Daodejing, or The Classic of the Virtue of the Way. This is the primary text for the Daoist religion.

This mirror demonstrates the narrative quality of later Chinese mirrors.