Sticking to the "creation" word, stopping at the "creation" word, creation means "creativity", "innovation", and "invention". The often-mentioned term "idea" is a condensed version of these several "creations". Since November 17, 2006, the Entrepreneurship Network (www.cye.com.cn) has launched a new column called "Profitable Golden Ideas News Broadcast", encouraging people to listen to these "golden ideas", broaden their thinking, and unlock the door to wealth. At the same time, this column welcomes submissions. Submission email: chuangye#vip.sohu.com (please change # to @).
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December 12, 2006, Issue No. 26
Why is Nan Hengshun called "a dragon"?
There is a small alley behind the Houmen Gate in Beijing with a clear and famous mutton restaurant called Nan Hengshun Mutton Restaurant. However, few people know its original name, but its nickname "a dragon" is widely known, not only in Beijing, but also in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, etc., "a dragon" is well-known.
Why is that?
Speaking of "a dragon," there is actually a story.
The small business "Nan Hengshun" was originally founded by a retired official surnamed Han from Hanjiacun, Feixian County, Shandong Province during the Qing Dynasty Qianlong period, and it has been around for more than 200 years.
Why is "Nan Hengshun" also called "a dragon"?
It is said that Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty once ate at Nan Hengshun, so he himself called it "a dragon." From then on, Nan Hengshun became prosperous. However, the real reason for Nan Hengshun's prosperity is not because it is called "a dragon," but because its hotpot mutton, green bean noodles, and sesame pancakes are very distinctive.
Regarding the entrepreneurial history of Nan Hengshun, there is another story.
Around the 44th year of the Qing Dynasty Qianlong period, or 1779 AD, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old young man surnamed Han from Hanjiacun, Yucheng County, Shandong Province, came to Nanjing from his hometown to make a living. Through someone's introduction, he became an apprentice at a mutton shop near the West Four Archway.
At that time, the West Four Archway was a key route between Nanjing and Tongzhou, with many passersby and extremely prosperous trade. This mutton shop sold both raw mutton and processed cooked mutton, braised mutton, sheep head meat, and other cooked meats, as well as sesame paste pancakes and other foods, with good sales. Young Han stayed in this mutton shop for three years.
Because he worked hard and respected his master, he learned all the skills of the shop. After finishing his apprenticeship, he worked at the counter for a year before starting his own business.
Initially, he just had a mutton stall east of the East Four Archway to make a living. Later, he found a place on the main street outside the Front Gate, set up three tents, and moved his mutton stall there.
This large trading location was south of the East Four Archway where he had previously apprenticed and operated his stall. He hoped that his business would always be prosperous and everything would go smoothly, so he named it "Nan Hengshun Mutton Shop."
After Nan Hengshun opened, the business was indeed very good, and he was too busy to handle it alone, so he brought a teenager from his hometown to be his big apprentice.
Initially, Nan Hengshun only sold raw mutton, but later added cooked meats. Because they treated customers kindly and kept the meat clean, they were especially popular.
From then on, Nan Hengshun firmly established itself in the small alleys behind the Houmen Gate. By the sixth generation of the Han family, Han Tongben, the business of Nan Hengshun Mutton Shop developed into a mutton restaurant that offered hotpot mutton, stir-fried dishes, noodles, hand-pulled noodles, and other foods, with over a dozen employees.
Around the end of the 23rd year of the Guangxu era (1897 AD), one day in late winter, among the regular customers of Nan Hengshun, two men finished eating but did not pay. One was about 20 years old, looking like a servant, and the other was around 40, looking like a master.
At that time, the manager of Nan Hengshun thought these two did not look like people who would eat and drink without paying, so he said, "No problem, please leave, you can bring the money whenever it's convenient."
The next day, a big eunuch from the palace brought the money.
Only then did they realize that the young man from the previous day was Emperor Guangxu. Nan Hengshun quickly turned the stool where Emperor Guangxu had sat into a "throne" and forbade anyone else from sitting on it.
Thus, the news of "a dragon" eating at Nan Hengshun quickly spread throughout Beijing. Curious people came to Nan Hengshun to see the "throne." From then on, Nan Hengshun was bustling with customers, and the business flourished.
At that time, people started calling Nan Hengshun "a dragon."
Three years later, in the 26th year of the Guangxu era (1900 AD), the Boxer Rebellion broke out in Nanjing with great fervor. Fires from Dazhalan spread to the alleys behind the Houmen Gate. Starting from the west end of Dazhalan, fires burned house after house, sparing only Kaishun Yong dye shop. Nan Hengshun could not escape the disaster either.
As a result, the "throne" where Emperor Guangxu had sat was also burned.
Despite this, the nickname "a dragon" continued to spread and is still in use today.