Analysis:
The word "de" on the plaque of Quanjude is missing a horizontal line.
After Yang Quanren, the founder of Quanjude, opened the Quanjude roast duck shop, he asked a scholar named Qian Zilong at that time to write a plaque. This plaque has weathered several storms and spanned several dynasties, and it was 130 years. But I wonder if you have noticed that the word "de" on the Quanjude plaque is missing a horizontal line. Why is this? Please guess.
Someone guessed: At that time, Boss Yang invited Qian Zilong, and the two had a good drink. Yang Quanren learned that Qian Zilong's calligraphy was very good, so he immediately took out a piece of paper and ink and asked Qian Xiucai to write a word. Because Qian Xiucai drank two cups more, he was in a trance. When he didn't pay attention, he forgot to write the word "De".
Others said: At that time, when Yang Quanren started his business, one * * * hired 13 guys, plus one *** 14 of himself. In order to let everyone work with peace of mind and make concerted efforts, Qian Xiucai was asked to write one less line, indicating that everyone can't cross a knife in their hearts. When you hear this, you may ask: wouldn't it be more wholeheartedly to add a horizontal bar?
These are, of course, speculations and legends. What is the real reason? It turns out that as early as more than 1000 years ago, "De" was like a polyphonic character. It was written in multiple ways, with or without a horizontal line. This point can be confirmed by the ink of famous calligraphers in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. For example, the word "De" in the Imperial Book "University Monument" by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, which is now located in the Confucius Temple in imperial academy, Beijing, is not horizontal; Another example is the word "De" written by Zheng Banqiao, a painter in the Qing Dynasty who lived in the same period as the founding of Quanjude, some with a horizontal line and some without a horizontal line. This shows that in the past, the two ways of writing the word "de" were correct.
In order to maintain the original historical appearance of Quanjude plaque, the word "De" on the plaque has been missing a horizontal line.