What did Li Hongzhang, who was given a dog when he visited Britain, do to make friends break up with him?

With the closed door of the Qing Dynasty being forcibly opened, more and more westerners came to the East, some for survival and some for plunder. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom made Tianjin its capital, it began to attack Shanghai with many concessions. In response to this threat, the Qing government began to recruit foreign officers and men. These foreigners and some China people formed a mercenary armed with foreign guns. This armed force, headed by the American outlaw Walter, is used to protect the rights and interests of foreign powers in Shanghai, and is called "foreign gun team" or "Chang".

1In September, 862, Wall led the "foreign gun team" to attack the Taiping Army in Zhejiang with the British and French invaders, and Wall was killed. After Wall's death, the United States, Britain and France fought fiercely for the command of the foreign gun team. At first, under the covert activities of Americans, Bai was entrusted with an important task. But Britain wanted the British to command the foreign gun team, so it began to contact Li Hongzhang. Then Li Hongzhang decided that Gordon, an Englishman, would be the commander of the foreign gun team.

Li Hongzhang supported Gordon, who naturally reciprocated and cooperated closely with Huai Army. With Gordon's strong support, Li Hongzhang's Huai army won battles in succession, and the two became good friends during this period. Li Hongzhang rose step by step because of his meritorious service in suppressing the Taiping Army, and finally became the Westernization Minister trusted by Empress Dowager Cixi. However, in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Li Hongzhang's 30-year hard work was destroyed, and the Qing government was also humiliated. Li Hongzhang suddenly became a traitor shouted by everyone.

Empress Dowager Cixi sent Li Hongzhang to visit European and American countries in the name of "inspection" in order to avoid disaster temporarily. When visiting Britain, Li Hongzhang remembered that this was the old country of his old friend Gordon and went to the cemetery to pay homage. At that time, Gordon's widow was still alive, and Li Hongzhang came all the way to pay homage to her dead husband, which greatly moved her.

To show her gratitude, Mrs. Gordon gave her dog to him and lived with him day and night. At that time, Mrs. Gordon's pet dog won the first prize in a famous dog competition in Britain, which was beyond the reach of many people.

After leaving England, Li Hongzhang has been taking his dog and continuing to visit other countries. After returning home, Li Hongzhang immediately sent the dog to the kitchen and ordered his own cook to taste it.

After Li Hongzhang left England, Mrs. Gordon thought about dogs all the time, and finally wrote a thousand words into a letter and sent it to Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang was very happy after receiving the letter, so he wrote back and said, Thank you very much for the gift you gave me. Dog meat is delicious. Unfortunately, I am too old to eat more. Thank you for your concern.

After seeing Li Hongzhang's reply, Mrs. Gordon was heartbroken. What's wrong with him? It happened that she wanted to give him her favorite dog, which was her own fault. Out of resentment and remorse for Li Hongzhang, Mrs. Gordon broke up with Li Hongzhang.

In Mrs. Gordon's view, it is incredible that a man as big as Li Hongzhang should eat his own pet dog.

As a matter of fact, the reason why Li Hongzhang used the dog given by Mrs. Gordon as the food was entirely due to the completely different cultural differences between the East and the West. Eating dog meat has a long history in China. For example, the Book of Rites records the court food "Gan Qing" of the Zhou Dynasty, whose raw material is dog liver. For example, in The Book of Rites and The Order of the Moon, there are "the moon in autumn dreams ... the son of heaven eats hemp dogs" and "the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival" ... the son of heaven tastes hemp with dogs and recommends sleeping in the temple first. Eating dog meat was also common in Qin and Han dynasties. Fan Kuai, the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty, originally sold dog meat.

Therefore, in the traditional concept of China people at that time, the first use of dogs was not as pets, but as food. It is this cultural difference between the East and the West that makes Li Hongzhang make such a "joke". Have you ever eaten dog meat? Do you think dogs can eat?