Is the "bronze mirror" used by the ancients to dress up really dim and vague?

Mirror is a very common thing in daily life, especially for girls, and it is indispensable for dressing up. However, in many costume dramas, we see the ancients looking in the mirror with ancient bronze mirrors, and the images are blurred. I think many people are puzzled. How can such a fuzzy mirror comb out such a beautiful hairstyle and make up beautiful makeup?

We are using a glass mirror now, and the image is very clear. So is the bronze mirror used by the ancients really as vague as in TV dramas? Actually, it's not. The bronze mirrors used by the ancients are very clear. Most bronze mirrors are oval, with two sides, one is a mirror and the other is engraved with various auspicious patterns. The ancients had special craftsmen to polish bronze mirrors, and the polished bronze mirrors were also shiny, not as vague as in TV dramas.

In ancient times, there were also many documents that mentioned the method of making bronze mirrors. For example, it is mentioned in Huai Nan Zi Xiu Wu Xun that when the bronze mirror was just made of a model, it was also hazy and could not show a person's figure. But after being wiped by Hyun Hee and polished with white felt, people's sideburns and eyebrows can be seen clearly. Xuanxi used to polish mirrors may be a mixture of mercury and tin.

In ancient times, bronze mirrors can be said to be a luxury, and only dignitaries can use them. As we all know, copper is easily oxidized, so the bronze mirror will become dim if it is permanent. Therefore, there were also special mirror grinders in ancient times, and the mirrors grinded by the mirror grinders became very clear.

There are many exquisite bronze mirrors in the museums of Shaanxi Province, which are of great research value. On one occasion, a staff member made a bronze mirror according to the method of historical records, and the definition can be comparable to that of the current glass mirror. It can be seen that the ancient mirror grinding technology is already superb, and we can't deny the wisdom of the ancients. Later, with the development of ancient smelting technology, bronze mirrors gradually became popular and even ordinary people could afford them.