Is the word "bia" in "Summer Resort" inscribed by Kangxi really the "number one typo in the world"?
There is an extra horizontal line at the bottom of the right side of the word "请" in the "Summer Resort", which makes it the most misspelled word in the world. There are mainly the following theories;
One: calligraphy Taboo
When Kangxi wrote the inscription, when he wrote the word "evade", he thought it was unlucky. Could it be that he came here to escape the summer heat just to escape? So with a big wave of his hand, he added a horizontal line under the word "Xin". This was called "adding pen" or "missing pen" in ancient calligraphy. It was mainly to avoid certain meanings or other factors. It all depended on the writer. Based on personal opinions.
Second: Wrong writing on purpose
Add a horizontal line under the word "Xin", mainly because Kangxi believed that the path of the emperor was very difficult, and it was not easy for the Qing Dynasty to reach his own hands. In addition, I ascended the throne at the age of 8 and took charge of the government at the age of 14. I cleverly captured Obei, pacified the San Francisco, stabilized the southwest, and expelled Tsarist Russia. It was really hard work. Now I am here to enjoy it. Only I know the hardships along the way, so Added a horizontal line.
Third: Creating characters
It is said that Kangxi was magnificent when he wrote the inscriptions. After finishing the operation, he found that the word "evade" was wrong, so he made the wrong one. Anyway, he wrote the word "Minister" I didn’t dare to say too much, just so I could check my prestige.
In fact, these are the speculations of later generations of scholars. Kangxi copied a lot of calligraphy. Kangxi was not the first to write this kind of "evasive" character with a horizontal line. It existed very early in Chinese history.
"Inscription on Liquan in Jiucheng Palace"
"Inscription on Liquan in Jiucheng Palace" written by Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty writes about the discovery of Liquan in Jiucheng Palace during summer vacation by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The inscription states: The word "evacuate" for summer vacation has an extra horizontal line.
"The Road to Shu is Difficult"
Li Bai's poem "The Road to Shu is Difficult": "Avoid the tiger in the morning and the snake at night." The two characters "avoid" both have one more horizontal line.
"Sanxitang Dharma Calligraphy"
"Sanxitang Dharma Calligraphy" by Zhao Ziang of the Yuan Dynasty
These are all recorded in the "Chinese Calligraphy Dictionary" Yes, Kangxi loved calligraphy copying, so it is impossible not to know that although he did not like to write inscriptions everywhere as much as his grandson Qianlong, he still has many inscriptions left to this day. For example, in the "Huagang Guanyu" in the West Lake in Hangzhou, the traditional Chinese character "鱼" is different from other people's writings. Others have four dots, but Kangxi's has three dots. This three-dot way of writing the character "鱼" This is not the original creation of Kangxi, this writing method has been used before. Among them, Zhang Heng and Chu Suiliang in the Tang Dynasty wrote this.
Portrait of Kangxi
As can be seen from the above, this extra stroke of "evasive" character is actually a variant of calligraphy. As a calligrapher with profound calligraphy skills, Kangxi also I would not make this kind of mistake. If I really made a mistake, I would just re-examine it. Why is it still passed down to this day? Therefore, the word "bia" in "Summer Resort" inscribed by Kangxi is not the most misspelled word in the world.