XOS5882233 Lobed Mirror with Heaven and Earth between the Paired Phoenixes, mid to late 700s (bronze) by Chinese School, Tang Dynasty (618-907); Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, USA; (add.info.: China, Tang dynasty (618-907) This mirror bears an important inscription as well as symbolic imagery of the Eight Trigrams and Heaven and Earth to express the ancient Chinese cosmological ideas. The inscription reads:
Circle above and square below:
These are symbolic of heaven and earth.
In the middle are the Eight Trigrams.
Making clear [the forces of] yin and yang.
Stars and constellations are well aligned;
The sun and the moon are virtuous and bright.
Circulating around [the earth] is water,
Giving identity to the Four Great Rivers.
Within are the mountain ranges,
To signify the lordly heights.); Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, USA; Chinese, out of copyright.