In ancient times, the word "de" was written in two ways, with horizontal lines and without horizontal lines. For example, the word "Quanjude" on the plaque in Beijing has no horizontal line, and when Degang Guo signed it, the word "Germany" also lacked a horizontal line.

If you want to speak German, you have to talk about the problem of "one more horizontal and one less horizontal". Examining the writing of the word "de" in history, we can find that the reason is not simple, it reflects the evolution of the word in the history of Chinese writing.

The German Oracle Bone Inscriptions consists of four outer corners (line, Stone Avenue) and a middle part (straight, without twists and turns, without hesitation), indicating that the avenue goes straight; Some Oracle Bone Inscriptions simplified the "line" of Stone Avenue to "line". The original meaning of word creation by virtue is: see the direction of the road clearly, without confusion, and go straight on the avenue.

In addition, the earliest writing of the word "De" can be found on the bronze ware "Mai Yi" in the Zhou Dynasty. On the "double" side, only the word "four" is written, with no "ten" above, no "one" below and no "heart". However, in the Zhou Dynasty's Shi San Pan, its writing is similar to that of later generations, but there is no horizontal word "de". From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han, Wei, Six Dynasties and then to the Sui and Early Tang Dynasties, the writing styles of Da Zhuan, Xiao Zhuan, bamboo slips and silk scripts, as well as Han Li and Weibei's "De" remained unchanged.

It is said that a horizontal line is written in the middle of the word "de", which was only in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Li, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty (uncle of Li Bai), was born in the Tianbao period of Kaiyuan. Li Bai and Zeng Zeng's poem "Put pen to paper and sprinkle seal script, and the cloud collapses." He began to learn Li Si's Yi Shan Bei, but in Qin Xiao Chuan's seal script money, the word "De Li" was added in the middle of the word. This is the beginning of the horizontal word "de".