During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), there lived a beautiful and intelligent princess named Lechang in the State of Chen. She and her husband, Xu Deyan, loved each other dearly. Fearing an invasion by the Sui Dynasty, they had a premonition that they might be separated during the coming chaos. As a symbol of their unity, they broke a bronze mirror in two, each keeping one half. They agreed to take their halves to the Lantern Festival fair on the 15th day of the first lunar month, hoping to reunite and join the mirror pieces together.
Their fears soon came true. Amidst the war, the princess lost touch with her husband and was taken as a mistress by the powerful minister Yang Su.
The following year at the Lantern Festival, Xu Deyan went to the fair with his half of the mirror. There, he saw a servant selling the other half. Recognizing it immediately, he inquired about his wife. Upon hearing of her plight, he was moved to tears. He wrote a poem on her half of the mirror:
"You left me with your broken mirror,
Now the mirror is back but not you.
I can no longer see your reflection,
Only the bright moon, not you."
The servant returned the inscribed mirror half to Princess Lechang. Reading the poem, she sobbed for days, knowing her husband was alive and missed her, yet believing they could never meet again.
Minister Yang Su discovered this exchange. Moved by their true love and realizing he could never win Lechang's heart, he sent for Xu Deyan and allowed the couple to reunite.
From this story comes the idiom "A broken mirror joined together," symbolizing the happy reunion of a separated couple.