Liubiju is the most famous old sauce garden in Beijing. Legend has it that it was originally run by six people. When Yan Song asked for a plaque, Yan Song wrote "Six Habitats", but he thought it was impossible for six people to work together, so he added a apostrophe to the word "letter" and became "Six Habitats". A note in the Qing Dynasty, Tan Cheng Ji, also said that Liu was written by Yan Song, but this is an isolated evidence that has not been found in other unofficial history notes. After the Republic of China, Jiang Zhihui wrote "The Story of Dumen": "When the famous book market in Du Zhong recruited plaques, the Boxer Rebellion was chaotic, and the soldiers were destroyed, but Yan Song's" Six Habitats "and Yan Shifan's" Crane Hall "were independent, which was even more unreliable. But some people think that Liubiju was originally a pub. In order to ensure the quality of brewing, there must be "six unique skills", that is, "the millet should be neat, the tillers should be solid, the porcelain should be clean, the temperature should be good, and the water should be fragrant", hence the name "six unique skills". This statement is widely circulated.
However, according to He Yongchang, the former manager of Liubiju, "Liubiju" is not six people, but a small shop opened by three Zhao brothers in Linfen, Shanxi Province, specializing in daily necessities. The name of the store is based on the theme of "seven things open to the door, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", and the other six things are sold except tea. Even later, I also handled wine, sold vegetables and made pickles (Beijing, Literature and History Publishing House, 1986 edition). According to this explanation, the original intention of Yan Song's "Six Habits" topic selection is untenable.
According to Ye Zufu's Old Story of Yan Dou (China Bookstore, 1998 edition), Liubiju was indeed a small hotel at first, but it didn't produce wine itself. It only buys wine from other hotels, processes it into "Fu wine" and "steamed wine" and then sells it ("Fu wine" was bought and sealed in an old jar, and it was not opened until three days and a half later). "Steaming wine" I checked the information and didn't record how to do it. Later, it became a sauce garden for making high-grade pickles. More importantly, in the 1960s, Deng Tuo verified that Liubiju was not built in the early years of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, but between the 19th year of Kangxi (A.D. 1680) and the 59th year (A.D. 1720). Moreover, it was not originally called "Six Habitats". In the sixth year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1728), it was called "Sheng Yuan", and it was not until the sixth year of Qianlong (A.D. 174 1 year) that the name of "Liubiju" appeared. This is an extremely important discovery of Deng Tuo. This is the irrefutable evidence that Liu Biju was not established in the Ming Dynasty, so why did he come to Yan Song to write an inscription? I have read Deng Tuo's History of China (Sanlian Bookstore, 1979 edition). I know that in the 1960s, in order to study the budding phenomenon of capitalism in the Ming Dynasty, he investigated and studied a large number of contracts and account books, such as firms and coal mines in Beijing. At first, he may still think that Liu was an old firm in the Ming Dynasty, but a physical investigation found that it was a firm in the Qing Dynasty, which was inconsistent with the age of his research topic, so "On the History of China"
It can be seen that the inscription for Yan Song is nothing more than Mr. Liu's use of people's popularity to seek commercial interests for Yan Song. In today's words, is it called "celebrity effect"? In fact, assuming that Liu Biru really started his business in the early years of Jiajing, he wouldn't go to Yan Song to write a plaque, because Yan Song was still working in Nanjing at that time, and he was still sitting on the bench in his fifties, and there was no popularity at all.
Of course, Yan Song's plaque has no inscription. So some people think that he is a traitor, and the inscription was dug up by later generations. Another example is that Mr. Wu Xiaoling, a famous scholar, thinks that The Heniantang Pharmacy was written by Yan Song, and he has no reason to ask for advice. He Niantang is also an old brand, which is said to have been founded at the end of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. There is a saying that the name of Henian Hall was originally a hall name of Yanfu Garden in Rope Craftsman Hutong. After the fall of Yan Song, this piece of Yan Song walked out of the book plaque and later became the name of the store. There is also a plaque of "Xihe Niantang" outside the store, which is said to have been written by Yan Song's son Yan Shifan, which is even less credible. In the past, the plaques and vertical plaques in the Hall of the Year of the Crane were handed down by Qi Jiguang and Qihe, both loyal ministers. In particular, Yang Jisheng died in prison while impeaching Yan Song's top ten crimes. Isn't it a slippery record to match the treacherous plaque of loyal ministers? This is actually the superficial expression of the owner's culture. Furthermore, Yan Song was very popular in the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, and he was the cabinet records (there was no prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, and the cabinet university students collectively exercised administrative power, and the university position headed by the foreman was the most important, called "records", which was equivalent to the prime minister), and he was above ten thousand people under one person. How could he write plaques for pubs (Liubiju) and small pharmacies at that time again and again with respect for "records"?
Heniantang
Suppose Yan Song falls, and the plaque of "He Niantang" comes out. At that time, 10,000 people hated Yan Song and wanted to be dismembered. How dare the owner of Heniantang drugstore, which opened after the fall of Yan Song, hang Yan Song's plaque in public? If the Crane Year Hall wants to hang Yan Song's plaque against the world, it will definitely be smashed by angry people. It's not good to cut out the inscription. Yan Song was a master of poetry, calligraphy and painting in those days, and the Ming Dynasty had to admit that he was "an ancient poem with a good reputation", and he was famous all over the world for writing "Qing Ci" (a Taoist style with excellent poetry and books), but he could not hide it from people's eyes.
Because Yan Song is a traitor, his calligraphy, like Qin Gui and Cai Jing, has not been handed down. If there are objects, you can also identify and compare them. Judging from the plaques of Henian Hall and Liubiju, the fonts are vigorous and the strokes are correct. Is Yan Song's handwriting this style? According to "The Old Story of Yandou", Qiu Zhensheng, the boss of Baoguzhai in Liulichang, had seen the original rock pine. In 1930s, someone from Yuci, Shanxi Province came to Beijing to ask for the album of Ming Dynasty letters, one of which was a letter from Yan Song. The content is a personal letter he wrote to his subordinates, signed by Yan Song. This book is in the style of two kings, and its handwriting is quite beautiful. Qiu Zhensheng later became a well-known expert in China. He has only seen this page of Yan Song's original works in his life (the same album page and Wen Zhiming's notes of Ming Dynasty celebrities), and thought it was the original works. Therefore, Mr. Ye Zufu, who studies the anecdotes of old Beijing, came to the conclusion that the so-called Yan Song inscriptions by Liu and others are completely different from the original works. The old Beijing brand plaque is also said to have been inscribed by Yan Song, such as Liuquanju. When I was a teenager, I heard from my elders that there is an interesting story here, which seems to have happened on the way to relegation in Yan Song, which is even more impossible. The legend of the plaque of Ming Dynasty Palace Huacheng in Shahe, Beijing, was also written by Yan Song. Of course, the font is still blurred. Check the official history, the city was built by Yan Song to persuade Emperor Jiajing. But after Yan Song's death, it is customary to replace his inscription.
Yan Song is a famous figure in the history of China. In addition to the official history, there are many folk songs, such as the Peking Opera "Playing the Songs of Yan". Other zaju, such as Zhao, a pinch of snow, Wanhualou, Ji and so on, which are thought to be the main characters and involve Yan songs. Let the people know this adulterous father and son well. Another example is the corridor from the Confucius Hall in Shandong Province to the Second Hall. For hundreds of years, there has been a long bench painted in red. According to "Anecdotes of Confucius" (Tianjin People's Publishing House, 1983 edition), when Yan Song was impeached, he went to Confucius' house and asked the duke of feast to intercede with the emperor for him. This is the bench on which he sat. Yan Song's granddaughter married Kong Shangxian, the sixty-fifth grandson of the Duke of Feast. However, people who have a little knowledge of literature and history and are familiar with the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty will not believe that the legend of "bench" is true.
Although the legend is a legend, it is still passed on by word of mouth, which seems to be the attractive side of the old Beijing brand? During the Cultural Revolution, several stories were produced to protect these plaques. These plaques are still there today. I am sure that the real inscriptions on these plaques should be unknown literati at that time, and their names cannot be verified by the passage of time. The only scientific attitude is not to spread false information. For example, a collection of Beijing's new and time-honored famous plaques published by a publishing company marked "Yan Songshu" under the photos of "Liu Biju" and "He Niantang", and especially pointed out that "its history and calligraphy value are high", which is contrary to the truth. Beijing Fine Arts Photography Publishing House once published a "Beijing Famous Monument", and also included photos of the inscriptions of Liu and He Niantang. The annotation says that the author's name is unknown, which is correct, because there is no misleading child.