The Phoenix Mirrors...

[antraxx_argadi]

Why do said mirrors have no actual mirror surface? Are they just so old that the glass deteriorated long ago? Their undersides look like glass may have been there before. Or is the term “mirror” only because they look like each other and are activated by touching them together?

[Wolfie]

They are made of stone, they were never reflective.

I think mirror just refers to the mirror image of the phoenix and dragon in the stars/sky.

[-__-]

Google "Chinese mirror". They're not mirrors in the conventional sense.

[Kamamura]

In mysterious kungfu movies, things are never what they seem. If the Phoenix mirror actually reflected light as other mirrors do, it would have been immensely vulgar and direct. Instead, a mirror that is actually terrible at mirroring things serves as a metaphor for unfulfilled potential, the hidden quaity that is overlooked to the untrained eye. If you, however, after 12 years of training, concentrate so deeply that falling bird droppings in front of you freeze in the air, you will see the reflection of the whole universe in an absolutely non-reflective mirror.

Or something.

[KenW77]

I think they are supposed to be ancient Chinese magic mirrors. The front is a polished surface that could be used as a mirror and the back has a design on it (like the Dragon and Phoenix in Shenmue). I think they were usually made from bronze not stone though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_magic_mirror

[R3N]

The phoenix mirror was probably based of this mirror. Looks almost exactly the same.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/ancient-wonders-real-life-magic-mirrors-of-the-far-east_1352868.html

[chrisjfinlay]

The above answers are pretty much spot on, but in case you wanted some more information from the game:

At the end of disc 3 of Shenmue 2, Yuanda Zhu reveals the secrets of the mirrors and what they are used for. In a dark room, he lights a candle beside the mirror and blows smoke over the top of it. In the smoke, the constellation The Big Dipper is seen. It is this reflection that makes it a mirror, of sorts.

Plus, you know. The actual ancient Chinese bronze mirror stuff too.

[antraxx_argadi]

Damn. These things are really fascinating; Ive been reading up on them. Apparently only a few peole left alive who know the secret to making them (affordably). Can’t believe I’ve never bothered to look this up after playing Shenmue(s) all those years ago.

[-__-]

Interesting how making these mirrors is becoming a lost trade. An undercurrent of Shenmue is, I think, a changing world.

Shenmue is set during the final years of the Shōwa period in Japan, where the youth are becoming somewhat Westernised (Ryo too, with his leather jacket and fondness for motorcycles), and the economy is leaving places like Dobuita to rot.

Shenmue 2 is similar in showing a modernising Hong Kong, but also contrasting that against areas that are still very traditional like Guilin and parts of Kowloon.

I could be reading into all this, of course.

[chrisjfinlay]

Originally posted by -__-:

Interesting how making these mirrors is becoming a lost trade. An undercurrent of Shenmue is, I think, a changing world.

Shenmue is set during the final years of the Shōwa period in Japan, where the youth are becoming somewhat Westernised (Ryo too, with his leather jacket and fondness for motorcycles), and the economy is leaving places like Dobuita to rot.

Shenmue 2 is similar in showing a modernising Hong Kong, but also contrasting that against areas that are still very traditional like Guilin and parts of Kowloon.

I could be reading into all this, of course.

No I think you're absolutely right, there's a very blatant juxtaposition between old and new in the games, especially in 2