The 74-year-old Li Hongzhang visited China as a joke, asking questions from east to west, which made westerners very unhappy.

1896, 74-year-old Li Hongzhang was ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to visit Russia, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and other European and American countries.

Because I am old and weak, I am afraid that I can't stand the bumps of my trip to Wan Li. It is said that he set out with a coffin board.

Wherever Li Hongzhang went, he was warmly received by his master, and there was an endless scene. But because he was not familiar with foreign customs, he made many jokes.

When attending the welcome banquet hosted by the King of Belgium, Li Hongzhang became addicted to cigarettes. He even smoked some cigarettes. This behavior is obviously disrespectful to the host. The king didn't stop him, but took care of his face and simply took out cigarettes and gave them to other guests.

Every time Li went to a country and saw people with status, he took the other person and asked, how old are you and how much do you earn? In the west, these two questions are personal and it is very impolite to ask them.

His entourage was very upset about this and had to remind him that westerners are very taboo about these two questions, so don't ask them. Regardless of this, Li Hongzhang still wants to ask, just like himself.

When visiting a factory in England, he asked the factory owner, "How much do you run in such a big factory a year?" The factory owner faltered, "I have no income, only salary."

Zhi Li chased after him and pointed to the diamond ring in the owner's hand and asked, "But where did this diamond come from?" This incident was reported by the media and spread in Europe as a joke.

When Li Hongzhang visited the family of the late old friend and British general Gordon, Gordon's descendants gave him a valuable pet dog to enhance friendship. A few days later, Gordon's family received a thank-you letter: "I'm so glad I got the treasure." He ate pet stew, which surprised Gordon's family.

After all, Li Hongzhang is old and has a lot of phlegm. According to records, in front of the National Library of Washington, he vomited a mouthful of phlegm at random. The library staff is very selfless. Stop him at once and clean him up. Li Hongzhang ordered his entourage to wipe it, but the staff disagreed and was finally punished.

Li Hongzhang's current visit was a diplomatic activity that attracted worldwide attention in the late Qing Dynasty. Because he didn't pay attention to diplomatic etiquette, he left a lot of laughing stock abroad, which is often mentioned so far.