Bronze Mirrors from Xi’an Reveal Shifting Central Policies and Commercial Patterns in the Han Dynasty

Bronze Mirrors from Xi’an Reveal Shifting Central Policies and Commercial Patterns in the Han Dynasty | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Bronze Mirrors from Xi’an Reveal Shifting Central Policies and Commercial Patterns in the Han Dynasty Yihan Huang, Xue Ling, Xiuyuan Hong, Luxi Peng, Jian Cui This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8018389/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Bronze mirrors, as important components of the handicraft and trade networks of the Han Dynasty, had their mineral sources, production locations, and distribution channels deeply influenced by state policies. Previous interpretations of lead isotope data from bronze mirrors have mostly remained at the level of identifying the sources of raw materials, while neglecting the connection with policies, and particularly lacking systematic research on bronze mirrors unearthed in the Xi’an region, a political and economic center. This study conducts typological dating on 31 bronze mirrors excavated from the Han Dynasty tomb complex at Meibei Lake in Huyi District, Xi’an City, and analyzes their alloy composition, metallographic structure, and lead isotope ratios; the obtained data are combined with those of 130 Han Dynasty mirrors from previous studies in China, to comprehensively explore the economic and trade details of the Han Dynasty reflected by these bronze mirrors. The results show that all the mirrors were cast from high-tin bronze, mostly conforming to the "typical formula" for bronze mirrors of copper:tin:lead = 14:5:1, and it is speculated that this formula gradually matured by the middle Western Han Dynasty. In terms of lead isotope ratios, the lead isotope ratios of early to middle Western Han Dynasty mirrors are relatively concentrated and indicate that the possible source of the raw materials was Luoyang, Henan, reflecting that under the early Han policy of suppressing commerce, lead materials were only transported over short distances and had a single source; after Emperor Wu implemented the Junshu Pingzhun policy, the lead isotope ratios of Han Dynasty mirrors from Xi’an became dispersed and overlapped with data from contemporary southern mirrors, reflecting the nationwide circulation of raw materials under state regulation; during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the lead isotope ratios of the mirrors gradually shifted closer to those of southern Chinese lead, reflecting the southward migration of populations affected by warfare in the late Western Han Dynasty and the gradual decline of the mirror-casting industry in the north during the Eastern Han Dynasty. In summary, the various policies of the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties directly affected the supply and transportation of raw materials, and the bronze mirrors unearthed in Xi’an, as an economic and political center, sensitively recorded the changes in central policies and regional trade details across different stages of the two Han Dynasties. Bronze mirrors Lead isotope Economic policy Xi’an Han dynasty Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Rawdataofleadisotopeanalysis.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 29 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 05 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8018389","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":545144674,"identity":"c0475689-22dd-45cc-aeff-d0d13971f0bb","order_by":0,"name":"Yihan Huang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northwest University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yihan","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":545144675,"identity":"76ff36dd-399f-417e-a20e-d0c7fc96a69a","order_by":1,"name":"Xue Ling","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northwest 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Previous interpretations of lead isotope data from bronze mirrors have mostly remained at the level of identifying the sources of raw materials, while neglecting the connection with policies, and particularly lacking systematic research on bronze mirrors unearthed in the Xi’an region, a political and economic center. This study conducts typological dating on 31 bronze mirrors excavated from the Han Dynasty tomb complex at Meibei Lake in Huyi District, Xi’an City, and analyzes their alloy composition, metallographic structure, and lead isotope ratios; the obtained data are combined with those of 130 Han Dynasty mirrors from previous studies in China, to comprehensively explore the economic and trade details of the Han Dynasty reflected by these bronze mirrors. The results show that all the mirrors were cast from high-tin bronze, mostly conforming to the \"typical formula\" for bronze mirrors of copper:tin:lead = 14:5:1, and it is speculated that this formula gradually matured by the middle Western Han Dynasty. In terms of lead isotope ratios, the lead isotope ratios of early to middle Western Han Dynasty mirrors are relatively concentrated and indicate that the possible source of the raw materials was Luoyang, Henan, reflecting that under the early Han policy of suppressing commerce, lead materials were only transported over short distances and had a single source; after Emperor Wu implemented the Junshu Pingzhun policy, the lead isotope ratios of Han Dynasty mirrors from Xi’an became dispersed and overlapped with data from contemporary southern mirrors, reflecting the nationwide circulation of raw materials under state regulation; during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the lead isotope ratios of the mirrors gradually shifted closer to those of southern Chinese lead, reflecting the southward migration of populations affected by warfare in the late Western Han Dynasty and the gradual decline of the mirror-casting industry in the north during the Eastern Han Dynasty. 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