Chinese sun and moon mirrors Chinese sun and moon mirrors The yángsuì 陽燧 or sun-mirror was an ancient Chinese burning-mirror that concentrates sunlight to ignite tinder and the fāngzhū 方諸 or moon-mirror was a device that collects nighttime dew by condensation. These two bronze implements are literary metaphors for yin and yang, associating the ""yang"-mirror" "yangsui" with the sun (a.k.a. "tàiyáng" 太陽 "great "yang""), fire, dry, and round, and the ""yin"-mirror" "fangshu" with the moon ("tàiyīn" 太陰 "great "yin""), water, wet, and square. There are numerous Chinese names for the fire-producing "yángsuì" 陽燧 "sun-mirror" and water-producing "fāngzhū" 方諸 "moon-mirror". Yángsuì < Old Chinese *"laŋsə-lu[t]-s" can
Chinese sun and moon mirrors respond with fire: the pure essence of "yang". When placed before the moon—the ultimate "yin" 陰 phenomenon in the world—they respond with water: the pure essence of "yin". Thus mirrors offer the paradigm for "proper responsiveness": they reflect the true essence of the ultimate "yin" and "yang"—the alpha and omega of phenomena in early Chinese cosmology." (Carr and Ivanhoe 2000: 56) Erin Cline says the early Chinese attributed mirrors to have a mysterious power and great religious significance. The ceremonial bronze "fusui" 夫遂 and "yangsui" 陽燧 mirrors were seen as active, responsive objects because they could be used to produce