From 1636, when Huang Taiji changed his country name to Qing in Shengjing City, to 1912, when the last Qing emperor abdicated, the Qing Dynasty lasted for 276 years. To Huang Taiji's great surprise, a commercial street that rose with the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty did not decline, and the "middle street" in Shenyang remained prosperous after more than 371 years.

after Shenyang became the capital of the Qing dynasty, it began its initial prosperity and gradually became the political, economic and cultural center of the whole northeast. From 1625 (five years tomorrow, ten years later) to 1631 (four years later, Emperor Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty and five years later, Emperor Tiancong of Jin Dynasty), the brick city built in Ming Dynasty was rebuilt and expanded in the latter. According to the saying that "the left side of the palace is the ancestral temple, the right side of the palace is the social altar, the front of the palace faces south, and the market is set behind the palace" circulating in China history, it is said that. That is, today's Shenyang Road, Zhongjie Road, Chaoyang Street and Zhengyang Street. At that time, Zhongjie Road was called "Siping Street", which means "Peace in the Four Seasons" or "Peace in All Seas". There is a bell tower and a drum tower on the east and west sides. The street is 579.3 meters long and 11.7 meters wide.

... Zhongjie in the late Qing Dynasty

At that time, the center of the whole city was in the center of the word "well" in Fangcheng, that is, where the palace was located, and the word "well" surrounded the palace and officials at all levels. The places where people are concentrated naturally form various service industries, and the places where princes, nobles and dignitaries live become the best places for traders to make money. Therefore, because of its geographical location, the surrounding area of the Palace has gradually become the most prosperous and lively place in Shenyang. Night market, gold and silver market, copper market, leather market, book market, pear market, bird market and other folk markets have gradually formed on both sides of Zhongjie. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Zhongjie was already a northeast commercial center with large and small businesses.

... Jishun Building in Zhongjie

One day in p>1644, Shan Wenli and Shan Wenxing, brothers from Huangxian County, Shandong Province, stepped on the melodious bells floating from the bell tower and came to this street to open the first silk workshop called "Tianhe Heli", which was later called "Heavenly Harmony". Their move made this street an important commodity distribution center in Shenyang and even in Northeast China in the next 211 years. In 1914, Lin Yunsheng, who operated the name of "Ji", invested more than 51,111 yuan to build a two-story "Ji Shun Silk House" in the north of Zhongjie Road, and soon became the boss of the same industry. Out of comparison and competition, "Heavenly Harmony" built a three-storey business building, while Jishun Silk House demolished the old building and built a five-storey business building with elevators, fans, heating, which is known as the "second department store" in Zhongjie.

... the middle street in the Republic of China

was the same as it is now. At that time, the middle street was already full of land and gold, and a story is enough to illustrate it. At that time, there was a small grocery store called "Tongyicheng" next to the Jishun Building. This grocery store was opened by the old mulberry family. The shopkeeper of Jishun Silk House once said that as long as the mulberry family agreed to sell the land, they could buy the land at the price of buying the whole silk house. But the Sangs said they wouldn't sell anything. So that the building built by Jishun Silk House had to leave this land out. This is the story of the famous "Jishun Building is missing a corner".

... in the middle street in the 1921s

At that time, there were five most famous middle streets: the largest department store-Jishun Silk Room; The largest watch optical shop-Hendry; The largest pharmacy-Tianyitang; The most famous brush shop-Li Zhanzhang; The smallest foreign goods store-Tongyicheng (the smallest appearance). During this period, there were nearly a hundred famous firms operating in Zhongjie. Therefore, some people call Zhongjie "the road where money flows and the street where money flows".

zhongjie has a history of more than 381 years since it became a commercial city in 1636 when Huang taiji ascended the throne. From the glory of the imperial edict of the Qing Dynasty to the well-known prosperity today, Shenyang's commercial civilization and urban development history have been interpreted, and time-honored brands such as six silk houses, eight gold shops, Tianyitang, Hengdeli and Zhonghefu have been created.

zhongjie, originally called "Siping street", was renamed as "zhongjie" because it is located in the center of Shenyang and has the landmark building "central temple" in it.

the central temple is located outside the north wall of the main hall of Shenyang Imperial Palace (formerly known as Chunmingli Hongqiangzi Hutong), between Shenyang Imperial Palace and Zhongjie. There is only one temple house, which is a hard-mountain-style single-eaves building with blue bricks and tiles. The doors and windows have been changed. Only the patterns of flowers, pines and deer carved in gables, pressed bricks and pillars still exist, which is the witness of the prosperous years in the past. The central temple is a famous building at the central coordinate point of Shenyang ancient city in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some say it is the "Tai Chi" in the center of the Four Elephants and Eight Diagrams in Shenyang City, while others say it is one of the "two instruments" in the Tai Chi map, that is, an eye of the "Yin and Yang Fish". This temple is said to have existed in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, Shenyang City was a cross-shaped street with four gates in the east, west, south and north. The central temple is located at the center of the cross, so that the four doors can't see each other and form a "T-junction" for defense. Then the ancients thought that the central point of the city had the so-called "town system" function, which could be "unlucky" and so on. Since the Qing Dynasty, people in Shenyang City have had many legends about this temple.

... central temple

The "loyalty temple" became a "central temple". The Manchu people worshipped Guan Yu as a "martial sage" and built the Guandi Temple very early. King Lao Han fought against Ming and won successive victories. He thought it was the blessing of Guan Gong, so he built Guan Di Temple wherever he moved the capital. After Jin moved the capital to Shenyang in 1625, he chose the most central position in the city, respectfully offered the statue of "Guan Laoye" in the temple, and asked someone to write a gold plaque with the words "loyalty and righteousness for a thousand years" and hang it in the temple. People also called this temple "loyalty and righteousness for a thousand years". Later, Pharaoh thought that there should be a plaque with the name of the temple in front of the temple, so he asked someone to write it. Because the place where the plaque is hung is too small to write down the words "loyalty and righteousness temple", it is simply written as "loyalty temple". After hanging it out, the old Han king thought that this name would make his ministers loyal to the king and patriotic like Guan Yu, and it had a good meaning and praised it. In the past, because the name of the temple was written vertically, some people pronounced the word "loyalty" as the word "center", but it just corresponded to its position. Later, people called this Guandi Temple "center temple".

... Land Goddess

The central temple is for the land Lord. It is said that after the old Han King came to power, he wanted to build more temples for the gods, but there were no other gods except Buddha and Guan Gong, so he sent people to Beijing to ask the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to give him an idol. The Ming emperor looked down on the old Han king, so he asked his ministers to choose the most humble idol and give it to him. The minister picked and chose a rustic, short and ugly redneck. People who went to Beijing brought the idol back to Shenyang. When the old Han king saw it, he flew into a rage and wanted to go to the Ming emperor himself to change it. However, a minister of the Han nationality standing by said repeatedly, "Han Wang Daxi, Han Wang Daxi". Old King Han thought that this man was gloating and would kill him if he drew his sword. The minister asked slowly, "Lord Han, what god did Emperor Daming give us?" King Han said, "Isn't it land? ！” The minister said, "Yes! Land is a mountain! Daming wants to give Jiangshan to us. Isn't this a happy event? " After listening carefully, the old Han king nodded yes, and then said, "This land Daming can't be given to us for nothing, but it can only be occupied and held by the Eight Banners by winning more battles. Just put this land god in Guandi Temple and let Master Guan be his master. " As a result, there is another land god in the central temple.

The central temple is dedicated to the mountain god Yeshan, which was one of the gods revered by Manchu people when they hunted in Changbai Mountain in their early years. According to the Manchu people, the mountain god is the incarnation of the tiger, the king of beasts. All those who go into the mountains to hunt wild animals, collect medicinal materials and dig ginseng ask for his blessing.

It is said that when Nurhachi was young, he once went to the mountains with several partners to collect ginseng. I walked for half a month and got nothing. That night, several people were worried in the shack, only to hear a gust of wind outside. A colorful tiger came to the door of the shack, and everyone was busy kowtowing to the "Mountain God", but the tiger just wouldn't leave. Everyone thought that someone must have offended the mountain god, so they took turns throwing their hats in front of the tiger. According to the custom, whoever the tiger took away his hat had to follow the tiger. Strangely enough, when others threw hats, the tiger didn't even smell them, but Nuerhachi just threw them out and was picked up by the tiger. There was no choice but to say goodbye to his friends, kowtow to his parents in the direction of his hometown, and go out of the shack to follow the tiger.

But the tiger didn't eat him. Instead, he led him to a nearby hillside, circled around a big tree and put his hat under it. Nuerhachi went to the place where he put his hat and pulled open the grass. When he saw it, there was a big wooden stick (ginseng) with eight leaves. This was a rare treasure, and it suddenly dawned on him that it was the mountain god who showed him the way to find ginseng, so he knelt down and kowtowed to the tiger. The tiger nodded at him and went back to the mountains.

Nurhachi found his friends, dug up ginseng and sold it at a high price in Fushun's horse market. He not only bought daily necessities for everyone, but also made bow and arrow armor and recruited soldiers. Everyone knows that he is a man of great fortune and great wealth, and he is willing to follow him to start a business. Later, when Nuerhachi became the old Han king, he never forgot the great kindness of the "Mountain God". Although he moved the capital to Shenyang City, which is located in the plain, he still provided the mountain god in the temple closest to the palace, so the central temple also provided the mountain god.

Guan Yu escorted Emperor Qianlong. It is said that one year after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, Emperor Qianlong came to Shengjing (Shenyang) to pay homage to the mausoleum and lived in the Imperial Palace in Shenyang. When he went to court and returned to the palace for several days in a row, he found the sound of hooves behind him. When he looked back, he was very puzzled. After careful thinking, he thought that he might be the "real dragon emperor" who had returned to his hometown and lived in the ancestral palace.

when I returned to the palace this evening, I heard the sound of horses' hooves again. Without looking back, Gan Long stopped and asked "Who is the escort", only to hear a voice from the back answer "Second Brother Yun Chang". After listening to it, Qianlong suddenly realized that he was Liu Bei's reincarnation, and Guan Yu (Guan Yunchang), the sworn brother, was riding a red hare to protect him. Then he thought that Guan Yu had become a god and must know where Zhang Fei was, so he decided to try again, so he then asked, "Where is the third brother?" A voice answered "guarding Liaoyang" at the back. After hearing this, Qianlong was pleasantly surprised. Immediately after returning to the palace, he sent a message to summon Liaoyang company commanders to see him in Shenyang overnight.

... Loyalty and Righteousness Guan Gong

said that the company commander of Liaoyang was a military commander with a decent personality and honest and frank temperament, and he often offended his boss because he could not flatter his boss. During the emperor's east tour of Shengjing, he learned that a relative of the imperial family took the opportunity to exploit the people, and was writing the memorial at home all night to report the corrupt official to the emperor. Suddenly, I heard that Ganlong announced him to the palace overnight. I mistakenly thought that the treacherous court official and the wicked had complained first and wanted to kill him by the emperor's hand. I thought, I will die in vain even if I die, so I can't let the bad guys succeed, so I wrote a memorial to let my family turn it over to the emperor and committed suicide at home.

gan long regretted receiving the memorial and ordered to investigate and deal with corrupt officials. Before driving back to Beijing, he went to the central temple to burn incense for Guan Gong, thanked him for his kindness, and ordered Shengjing officials to rebuild the temple and offer sacrifices on time.

No matter whether Guan Gong in the central temple really showed his spirit or not, the incense here has become more and more popular since Gan Longdong visited the mausoleum. The reason is that the merchants in the shops in Zhongjie are thriving, and they have come to the temple to burn incense and offer sacrifices. In the past, the people not only respected Guan Gong as a "martial sage", but also regarded him as "Wu Caishen" (the god of wealth was Zhao Gongming). This is because in the past, all serious businessmen took "childlike innocence, genuine goods" and "loyalty in the Jianghu" as their creed, and Guan Gong in the Three Kingdoms was immortalized with the word "loyalty", so merchants regarded him as a fairy who could bring them a good reputation, and gradually became "Wu Caishen". From the Ming Dynasty, Zhongjie was the most prosperous commercial street in Shenyang, and in the prosperous period of Qing Dynasty, there were many shops and businesses, and the natural incense in front of Guan Laoye's throne in the central temple grew stronger every day.

"I didn't go to the central temple, so I didn't go to Shenyang." The central temple is the smallest temple in Shenyang, covering an area of only half an acre. When people come to the central temple, they will notice a phenomenon, that is, although the temple is very close to the Forbidden City, the palace wall in the north has deliberately turned a corner here, leaving a clearing for the temple gate outside the red wall behind the main hall. Legend has it that when the emperor built the Forbidden City, he not only didn't tear down this small temple close to the palace, but also gave an imperial edict out of respect for the gods in the temple, and "respected the Duke Guan, the land, the mountain gods, the city god and the god of wealth" in the temple, which added up to one foot and five feet. Together with the original street in front of the temple, the present open space was formed. The central temple is located in the north of Dazheng Hall of the Forbidden City in Shenyang, which is the center of the ancient city of Shenyang in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, so it has become the symbol of the center of the ancient city of Shenyang and its position is very important.

The central temple is dedicated to Wu Caishen's "Guandi Shengjun". The fifth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the "God of Wealth", and lanterns are usually held from the first to the fifth day. In the twenty-first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1388), Min Zhong, the commander of Shenyang Wei, presided over the rebuilding of Shenyang City on the basis of the old cities of Liao, Jin and Yuan. Four city walls opened one gate each, corresponding to the main street in the city, forming a "cross street" pattern, and the central temple was located at the intersection of two streets, which became the central coordinate of the city. After the capital was moved to Shenyang in the tenth year of the late Golden Destiny (1625), the Qing Taizu Nurhachi built the Khan Palace, the Dazheng Hall and the Ten Kings Pavilion along the north-south Tongtian Street. In the second year of Chongde in Qing Dynasty (1637), after Emperor Taizong of Qing Dynasty turned the ancient city into Bachengmen and Jingzi Street, the central temple was still the central coordinate of Shengjing ancient city.

therefore, zhongjie has both the meaning of "center" and "loyalty".