1. Why is the character "德" missing a cross

Yang Quanren, the founder of Quanjude, asked a scholar named Qian Zilong to write a plaque. This plaque has survived several storms and has been hanging for more than 130 years. However, I don't know if you have noticed that the character "德" on the Quanjude plaque is missing a horizontal character. Why?

Some people say that when Mr. Yang invited Qian Zilong to the restaurant, the two of them had a drink, and Mr. Yang learned that Qian Zilong's calligraphy was very good, so he immediately took out his pen, ink, paper and ink stone and asked Qian to write a character. Because Qian Xiucai drank two more cups, the spirit of some trance, a moment of inattention, the word "virtue" forgot to write a horizontal.

There are also people who say that when Yang Quanren started his business, he hired 13 fellows, plus 14 of his own. In order to let everyone work at ease and work together, so let Qian Xiucai wrote one less horizontal, indicating that everyone's heart can not cross a knife. Hearing this, perhaps you will ask: then add a cross, is not more to indicate a single-mindedness?

These are, of course, speculations and legends. What is the real reason? It turns out that more than a thousand years ago, the character "德" was a hieroglyphic character that could be written with or without a cross. This is evidenced by the ink writings of famous calligraphers of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. For example, now standing in the Confucius Temple in Beijing, the Qing Dynasty Emperor Kangxi's imperial script "University Tablet" in the "moral" character does not have a cross; another example of living in the same period with the founding of Quanjude in the Qing Dynasty painter Zheng Banqiao himself wrote the "moral" character, some with a cross, and some do not bring The other example is that Zheng Banqiao himself wrote the character "德" in the Qing Dynasty at the same time that Quanjude was founded.

Additionally, the character "德" can also be verified by looking at ancient Chinese coins. For example, the Jingde Tongbao minted during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1004 A.D.) does not have a horizontal character "德", while the Xuande Tongbao minted during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty (1426 A.D.) does not have a horizontal character "德". "The character "德" has a cross.

From the above analysis, it can be concluded that in the past there were two ways to write the character "德", either with or without a cross, and both ways were correct. In order to maintain the original historical appearance of its plaque, Quanjude has always been less than a cross on the plaque of the character "德".

2. The earliest written advertisement of Quanjude after the liberation of China

There is an advertisement of Quanjude in an old book published on November 1, 1950, but unfortunately the book has no book cover. Unfortunately, there is no book cover in this book, so it is impossible to know the title of the book. However, from analyzing the content of the preface of this book, it is inferred that it is a book introducing Beijing, similar to the "Beijing Guide". It can be inferred from its publication time that it is one of the earliest written advertisements of Quanjude after the liberation. It provides first-hand information for us to study Quanjude in the early period of liberation.

The upper part of this advertisement is four lines of four sentences arranged in traditional Chinese characters from right to left:

"Everyone in Beijing must go to No. 24 of the Meat Market outside the Qianmen Gate, Beijing's No. 1 Famous Roasted Duck Specialist, Quanjude, to try the Hanging Oven Roasted Duck."

The lower half of this advertisement is a vertical column of descriptions in traditional Chinese characters from right to left. Text:

"After more than a hundred years of careful research, rich in nutrients, crispy and tender, delicious and tasty, famous in China and abroad, our famous chefs make all kinds of dishes and soups, and we have a long history of flower carvings, and the seats are clean, and the service is attentive, and you are guaranteed to be satisfied once you try it.

Total*** 54 words in a row, without a single punctuation mark. Then there are four columns of small letters:

"Phone booking seven - O six six eight outside the call phone notification on time to send on without fail"

From here we can see that at that time, Quanjude's roast duck has been very famous, dining environment and elegant service is not to say that, not only can the guests dine in, but also for customers to send the duck to the door, but also "on time", and the "on time", and the "on time", and the "on time". And there are "on time", "no mistake" service commitment.

Introduction:

Quanjude, China's famous old, was founded in 1864 (Tongzhi three years of the Qing Dynasty), after several generations of entrepreneurial struggle to obtain a significant development. 1999 January, "Quanjude" was recognized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as a "well-known trademark", which is China's first case of "famous trademark". In January 1999, Quanjude was recognized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as a "Well-known Trademark", which is the first case of China's well-known trademark in the service category. The meat of Quanjude roast duck is delicious and suitable for many people to eat.

After continuous innovation and development, Quanjude dishes have formed a Quanjude cuisine with the unique Quanjude Roast Duck as the leading dish and the "Whole Duck Seat" and more than 400 specialties, which is loved by heads of state, government officials, people from all walks of life and domestic and foreign tourists, and has been regarded as the "first Chinese food". It is known as "the first Chinese food". Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of the People's Republic of China, has repeatedly chosen Quanjude's "Whole Duck Seat" as the national banquet.

"Quanjude" is both ancient and young, both traditional and modern, and is moving forward to the grand vision of "China's first catering, world-class cuisine, internationally renowned brands".