Fujin Gate

Fujin Gate

Fujin Gate, commonly known as "Dadongmen" (Great East Gate), was one of the nine gates of Shenyang City during the Qing Dynasty. It was built between the first and fifth years of the Tiancong era (1627–1631 AD) and was later demolished. Fujin Gate was reconstructed in 1998 and is located on the eastern side of the Shengjing Ancient Culture Street, facing Huaiyuan Gate to the west. Standing 20 meters tall and covering a site area of 556 square meters with a floor space of 500 square meters, it is a landmark building of Shenyang.

During the Ming Dynasty, Shengjing City had four main gates. After Hong Taiji took control of Shengjing, the four gates were expanded to eight. There is an interesting story about the architectural layout of Shengjing City during the Qing Dynasty: it is said to have been planned according to the theory of the Eight Trigrams in the Book of Changes — “the Supreme Ultimate gives rise to the Two Modes, the Two Modes give rise to the Four Images, the Four Images give rise to the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams correspond to the Nine Palaces.” These Eight Trigrams refer to the eight city gates of Shengjing. Facing east, the left gate is Neizhi Gate (Little East Gate), and the right is Fujin Gate (Great East Gate); facing south, the left is Desheng Gate (Big South Gate), and the right is Tianyou Gate (Little South Gate); facing west, the left is Huaiyuan Gate (Big West Gate), and the right is Wa rang Gate (Little West Gate); facing north, the left is Dizai Gate (Little North Gate), and the right is Fusheng Gate (Big North Gate). The eight gates were positioned opposite each other: Tianyou opposite Dizai, Desheng opposite Fusheng, Neizhi opposite Wa rang, and Fujin opposite Huaiyuan. The symbolic meanings behind their names are profound indeed. With the passage of time, most of the eight gates of Shengjing have disappeared, leaving behind only their names as place names, with the exception of Huaiyuan Gate and Fujin Gate.

"Fujin" means to pacify or appease neighboring regions. In the past, when members of other ethnic groups entered Shenyang to pay homage to Hong Taiji, they would pass through Fujin Gate, which thus served a certain ceremonial function. Additionally, as Fujin Gate is situated due east of the ancient city — the direction from which the sun rises each day — it also carries the auspicious symbolism of “purple air coming from the east” (a sign of good fortune).