Splendid History and Culture

2019 Jan-30

History

The city's name, Shenyang, literally means "the Yang side of the Shen River", referring to the fact that the Hun River, formerly called the Shen River, is at the south side of the city. According to Chinese tradition, a river's north bank and a mountain's south slope are considered to be the "sunny" – or "Yang" – side.

Culture

Shenyang dialect

People native to Shenyang speak the Shenyang dialect, a variant of Northeastern Mandarin. Shenyang Dialect was formed in early period of Qing Dynasty. Shenyang dialect is similar to the other Northeastern dialects and also to the national standard of Mandarin, Putonghua, but is known as a form of Dongbeihua and has a wide range of vocabulary that is not part of the country's official language. As Shenyang dialect is mutually intelligible with most forms of Mandarin, some people prefer to characterize it as an "accent" rather than a different "dialect."

Art

Two northeast folk dances, Er Ren Zhuan and Yang Ge, are very popular in Shenyang. The Big Stage Theatre (大舞台剧场) near Middle Street is famous for its Er Ren Zhuan and Chinese comedy skit performances by Zhao Benshan and his disciples. Due to the popularity enjoyed by many Shenyang-based comedians, the city is nationally recognized as a stronghold of Chinese comedy.

Shenyang is home of many performance art organizations, such as Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe of China, Liaoning Song and Dance Ensemble, and Liaoning Ballet. Many artists are from Shenyang, such as Zimei, Na Ying and the pianist Lang Lang.

Museums

• Liaoning Provincial Museum (辽宁省博物馆), the largest museum in Northeast China. The museum hold many ancient relics and artefacts, including a selection of inscriptions in Chineseand Khitan that are some of the earliest known forms of writing.
• Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum (沈阳蒸汽机车博物馆), with 16 steam engines from America, Japan, Russia, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia and China.
• 9.18 Historical Museum (九·一八历史博物馆), a museum in memory of Mukden Incident on September 18, 1931. The museum has a shape of an opened calendar, and is located on the site where the Japanese troops destroyed the South Manchuria Railway, the prelude to the invasion of Manchuria.
• Xinle Relic (新乐遗址), located on the location where the Xinle civilisation was first discovered, containing a reconstructed Xinle settlement and housing artefacts discovered there.

Religion

The Shenyang city government legally recognizes five religious beliefs—Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. During the period between 1949 and 1976, religious practices were significantly repressed, but have recovered since the end of the Cultural Revolution. As of 2012, Shenyang has seven city-level religious organizations, with 289 legally registered places of worship, 483 clerics and about 400,000 followers.

Famous religious sites include:

Buddhism

• Chang'an Temple (长安寺), a Zen Buddhism temple, first built during the Tang dynasty
• Banruo Temple (般若寺), built during the Qin dynasty
• Ci'en Temple (慈恩寺), a Pure Land Buddhism temple,
• Wugoujingguang ?arīra Pagoda (无垢净光舍利塔), a 33-m-high Buddhist pagoda erected in 1044 during the Liao dynasty
• Shisheng Temple (实胜寺), once known as Royal Temple (皇寺), a Tibetan Buddhist temple built in 1636 for the Qing royal family
• The East Pagoda (东塔), North Pagoda (北塔), West Pagoda (西塔) and South Pagoda (南塔), collectively known as the "Four Pagodas of Early Qing" (清初四塔; Qīngchū Sì Tǎ) are four white Tibetan Buddhist pagodas built by Hong Taiji in 1639.

Taoism

• Taiqing Palace (太清宫), built in 1663
• Pengying Palace (蓬瀛宫), the only female Taoist temple in Northeast China, built in 1994
• Doumu Palace (斗姆宫), formerly the second largest Taoist temple in Shenyang

Christianity

• Sacred Heart Cathedral of Shenyang (沈阳圣心教堂), a Roman Catholic cathedral
• Dongguan Church (东关教会), one of the largest and oldest Protestant churches in Northeast China, also known as the cradle of Christianity of the Koreans in China and in the Korean Peninsula
• Xita Church (西塔教会), a Protestant church for the Korean Chinese

Islamism

• South Mosque (清真南寺), the largest mosque in Northeast China, built in Qing dynasty