When Liu Bang entered the Qin palace after its fall, he found a magical mirror — four feet wide, five feet nine inches tall. When a person stood before it, their reflection appeared reversed. When they placed their hand on their heart, the mirror revealed their internal organs.
The phrase "明镜高悬" (a bright mirror hung high) became the Chinese symbol for impartial justice — a judge who sees through all pretense, who reveals the truth hidden beneath the surface, who cannot be deceived by appearances.
高祖入咸阳宫，有方镜，广四尺，高五尺九寸。表里有明，人直来照之，影则倒见。以手扪心而来，则见肠胃五脏。
高祖入咸阳宫，有方镜，广四尺，高五尺九寸。表里有明，人直来照之，影则倒见。以手扪心而来，则见肠胃五脏。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
True justice sees not the face but the heart. The bright mirror hung high reveals what the eye cannot see — and what the guilty hope to hide.
The magical mirror of Qin is one of the most enduring images in Chinese legal culture. Courtrooms traditionally displayed a mirror above the judge's bench, symbolizing the ideal of transparency and truth.
The mirror's power is specifically about seeing through deception: it reverses external appearances and reveals internal reality. This is what justice aspires to — not the judgment of surfaces, but the revelation of hidden truth.