Mirrors With the Boju Pattern Origin; Evolution; and Meaning
Authors:   Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Chistyakova Agniya N. 
Published: December 2021

The article presents an investigation of the ancient Chinese mirrors with the TLV or Boju patternW^XX In the course of the research, the author 1) identified the evolution of the pattern names, 2) summarized and outlined composition versions, performed their time-based classification, and 3) represented the semantic interpretation of the subject. The author also discovered that the period of such mirrors' popularity coincides with the Han dynasty period, which incorporated all religious traditions of the previous periods and experienced the joining of the ‘Central' (Confucian) and the ‘Southern' (Chu state's) cultural subtraditions. This article presents the 'classical diagram of the Boju mirrors”. In general, the support is surrounded with a square with “pearls” as well as various hieroglyphic signs containing the following: “Never forget each other. Eternal Joy” Kffll'S'S Lcfi^ifeand “A person with pure thoughts. Never forgets affairs of the great kings” (''DS-MAffE'SKzEl. Another variant of signs is: “Dragon leftwards and tiger rightwards protect against disasters, the bird and Xuanwu favor yin and yang” (^ЙЁЙЗЙГ^ИВЙЗЙИЯЯ). All the signs are bless wishing. The author has established that the wide variety of names of this plot is not related to absence of any clear and unified classification of Chinese mirrors only, but also to the presence of various interpretations of designs and their origin. The compositions vary. The author has discovered that the pattern on mirrors is multilayered; includes such religions and beliefs as worshiping the Sky and the Earth, worshiping the five sacred peaks/mountains, the cult of Four Spirits (Si Shen) - tomb guards; and correlates with the concept of five elements Wu Xing, with Xi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West, the astromancy board, and the Boju, a game of immortals. The pattern in the form of calipers and triangles is related to mythological plots about deities - World Creators - Fu-Xi and Nuwa. Immortality, continuity of a life cycle form a unified universal concept that can be observed in all depictions of the pattern on mirrors of this kind. Moreover, the author has discovered that the earliest and the most widely known name of the pattern is TLV, which is commonly used by European researchers up to today. Chinese scientists supported this concept until a version appeared that all images are similar to the Ludo board game. Today, this pattern is called Boju. However, the Boju pattern displays its nonhomogeneity and variety. Following the Chinese researcher Fu Juyu, the author classified patterns into seven typed based on their popularity: 1) Boju - huddled dragon Chi (W^®®X), 2) Boju - grass and leaves (W^X^DIX), 3) Boju - four snakes Hui (W^®8X), 4) Boju - four deities Sishen 5) Boju - Shou birds and animals (ffl^SSSX), 6) Boju - geometric pattern (W^HiIrXO, 7) modified or simplified Boju (^^j(MHb)W©X ). This classification allowed reviewing pattern evolution and plots development. The author considers that this article can contribute to a more detailed time- and pattern-based classification of mirrors related to the Han dynasty period.