The old plaque with the old name of "Du Yi" was inscribed in an oval shape by Qianlong

Located on Qianmen Street, the long-established "DuYi" baked wheat restaurant in Beijing has a legendary history, and there are many stories, and today I will only talk about this plaque.

There are two plaques in "All In One Place", one is placed in the store hall, sitting north and facing south, oval shaped, with gold characters on a black background, orthography, and a bat head with a point of gold eyes on the upper and lower left and right. This plaque is rumored to be the imperial inscription of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, called the bat head plaque, commonly known as the old plaque. Another piece hanging outside the door of the store is also a gold character on a black background, a book, written by Mr. Guo Moruo.

The style of this bat head plaque inscribed by Qianlong Ye alone is different from other decent plaques. The plaques of the shops are usually rectangular, and the bat head plaque inscribed by the Qianlong Emperor for "Du Yi" is oval. That's a long story.

It is said that on the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve more than 200 years ago, the Qianlong Emperor returned to the palace after having a full meal at the "Wang Ji Liquor Store" outside the front door, and still touched the taste of the wine and food of the liquor store outside the front door. Especially this Chinese New Year's Eve night, the shops in the capital are closed, only his family is still open for business, and it is convenient for people, it is really rare, so they have to take advantage of the inscription plaque to show praise. He then ordered a piece of rice paper as large as a plaque to spread on the dragon case, and then picked up the foot ruler lake pen and dipped it in the pine smoke emblem ink. He thought about it for a while, and with a stroke of his pen, he wrote down the three big words "all in one place", and then let people make a plaque accordingly.

Three days later, the plaque was completed and the Qianlong Emperor was asked to look at it. When Qianlong saw it, it was the kind of rectangular plaque commonly found in the shop, and he was immediately displeased, and he wanted to make a new one, and ordered: "This plaque should be different and show the style of the Son of Heaven." ”

Three days later, a brand-new plaque was made, and Qianlong was asked to look at it again. However, I see that this plaque is oval in shape, with a manta head with golden eyes on the upper and lower sides, and the style is unique. The Qianlong Emperor looked at it for a while, and even claimed that it was good.

Why did the Qianlong Emperor take a big liking to this plaque? It turns out that this plaque has a lot of meaning. This oval shape represents the fullness of the circle, and the bat head on the left and right sides resembles two magnolia flowers, and each has nine petals, representing the longevity of the heavens and the earth, and also implies that this plaque is written by the emperor. "Nine" is the pole number of the yang number, that is, the largest number of the singular number, symbolizing the supreme supreme, mostly attached to the emperor, and there is a saying of "the dignity of the nine and five". The bat pattern of the plaque also has an allegory, bat is referred to as "bat", "bat" and "fu" are harmonious, mostly to indicate blessing, fulu shouxi auspicious.

The next day, several eunuchs sent the plaque of the Qianlong Emperor's imperial inscription to the "Wang Ji Liquor Store" and explained their intentions. The treasurer heard that this plaque was given by the emperor of the dynasty, and he quickly bowed to Xie En, and then hung it in the most conspicuous place in the entrance door. Since then, the "Wang Ji Liquor Store" has been renamed "Du Yi", and the business has flourished because of the plaque given by Qianlong, and it has continued for more than 200 years.

When the "Cultural Revolution" broke the "four olds", this plaque was in danger of being unexpected, thanks to the master Yang Haiquan in the shop, who was anxious and wise, hid it under the firewood stack, so that the bat head plaque given by the Qianlong Emperor could be preserved. When the old brand was restored in 1981, the plaque was removed again and placed in the middle of the store hall, thus becoming the "treasure of the town store".