From the folk to the court, and then from the court to the folk, Quanjude has gone through 153 years with an oven and a duck pole, inheriting Quanjude people's unremitting pursuit of old craftsmanship and gold medal service.
The Roast Duck Museum founded by Quanjude
During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, Yang, the founder of Quanjude, left his hometown because of the flood, and came to Qianmen outside the capital to make a living, feeding chickens and ducks by the moat and selling them on Qianmen Street.
Yang
After three years of Tongzhi (1864), Yang learned that there was a dried and fresh fruit shop named "Dejuquan" in the hutong of the meat market outside Qianmen, and Yang decided to set up this shop and open a small stove shop to do roast duck business. But he was worried that the business here was not good, so he invited a feng shui gentleman to check the feng shui of this shop.
Mr. Feng Shui walked around the alley and said to Yang, "This is a treasure trove of Feng Shui. Unfortunately, the original owner did not manage it well. "
Yang listened to the in the mind secretly happy.
Mr. Feng Shui told him, "Rou Shi Hutong here and Jinger Hutong behind it are like two sedan chairs. If you change this small shop into a two-story building in the future, it will be more like eight sedan chairs, and business will definitely be booming. "
"What is the font size of the small stove?" Yang then asked.
Mr. Feng Shui told Yang: "You can reverse the word' all virtues' and call it' all virtues', so that you can get rid of bad luck, embark on a smooth road and have a prosperous business."
After listening to Yang's words, he did it one brace up: the name "Quanjude" was exactly what he wanted. On the one hand, his name has the word "power", on the other hand, "Jude" means gathering virtue, and he can flaunt his career and talk about virtue. So he named the store "Quanjude".
Then, Qian Zilong, an accomplished scholar in calligraphy, was asked to write the three characters "Quanjude" and made a gold plaque to hang on the lintel. That word is vigorous and eye-catching, which adds a lot of color to the shop.
Quanjude's first plaque
The following is a short story about Quanjude plaque. I wonder if you have noticed that the word "de" in the above picture is missing a horizontal line?
Some people say that at that time, Boss Yang invited Qian Zilong, and they had a good time. When Yang learned that Qian Zilong's calligraphy was very good, he immediately took out his pen and ink and asked Qian Xiucai to write an inscription. Because Qian Xiucai drank too much and was in a trance, he forgot to write a horizontal word "Yu" when he was not careful.
Others said that when Yang started his business, he hired 13 people, plus himself 14 people. In order to let everyone work with peace of mind, Qi Xin made a concerted effort to make Qian Xiucai write one line less, indicating that everyone can't cross a knife. Hearing this, you may ask: isn't it more specific to add a horizontal line?
Of course, these are all guesses and legends. What is the real reason? It turned out that "De" at that time, like polyphonic characters, meant "write more", with or without horizontal lines. They are both right. This can be confirmed by the ink of famous calligraphers such as Emperor Kangxi and Zheng Banqiao.
After the story is finished, get down to business.
1On July 9, 864 (the sixth day of the sixth lunar month), Quanjude opened in a noisy firecracker.
Under the careful management of Yang, Quanjude's business is thriving. Yang is clever and capable. He knows that if he wants to prosper, he must rely on a good cook, a good boss and a good shopkeeper. Therefore, he often goes to various roast duck restaurants to explore the secret of roast duck and visit the roast duck master.
When he learned that Jinhua Pavilion, which specializes in making royal roast duck for the imperial court, had an old master named Sun, he made great efforts to make friends with him, often drinking and playing chess together, and their relationship became closer and closer. Master Sun was finally persuaded by Yang and was hired to Quanjude with a large sum of money.
Quanjude hired Master Sun, which is equivalent to mastering all the techniques of hanging roast duck in Qing Palace. Master Sun changed the original oven into a hanging oven. The oven has a large height and a wide hearth, and one oven can roast more than a dozen ducks. You can also roast duck facing inward. The roast duck baked by him is beautiful in appearance, fat and full, bright in color, purplish red in color, crispy in skin and tender in meat, fragrant and crisp, fat but not greasy, thin but not firewood, which has won the reputation of "delicious in Beijing, better than a duck" for Quanjude roast duck.
Roast duck in quanjude flavor
In a restaurant, besides the chef, the waiter is also very important. When Quanjude recruits new employees, it depends not only on whether they are smart, but also on whether they have the strength. There is a big bucket behind Quanjude store that can hold 300 Jin of swill. Newcomers usually try this vat to see if they can lift it, and leave those who can afford it and those who can't afford it. Quanjude had more than 30 employees in 1930s and 1940s, all of whom were smart and capable.
Quanjude, which spans three centuries, has also formed a set of nine-character shop rules passed down from generation to generation: ducks should be good, people should be able, and words should be sweet.
Ducks are better: it is about honesty and morality. "Good duck, roast duck sells duck", the old shop is genuine, honest and childlike.
People should be able to: having both ability and political integrity is the "ability". The selection, employment and education of old stores are based on the standard of "doing your best until you die", so that people can do their best and get their place, so that talents can come forth from generation to generation and their skills can be passed down forever.
Be sweet: customers are the parents of businesses. Old shops, cupboards, kitchens, even waiters and handymen should be polite to Xiu De, greet guests with a smiling face, keep their promises, serve them wholeheartedly, teach them virtues and repay their patronage.
Each of these nine words embodies the business philosophy of Xiu De Xingye, the predecessor of Quanjude, and takes business ethics and character as the basis of all codes of conduct.
Quanjude branch
After the founding of New China, Quanjude established a public-private partnership, set up a new semicolon and expanded its old shop, which was loved by celebrities and ordinary people at home and abroad and was praised as "the first food in China". Visitors from all walks of life in Beijing feel the same way: It's a pity not to eat Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck until you reach the Great Wall in Wan Li!