In the late Qing Dynasty, the Western powers forcibly opened the gate of the Qing Dynasty with strong ships and cannons, and the Qing Dynasty, which was originally sleeping in the dream of "Heavenly Dynasty and Heavenly Kingdom", woke up suddenly, and under the call of Lin Zexu and others to "open their eyes and see the world", more and more Qing Dynasty officials began to take the initiative to communicate with foreigners and even learn, rather than simply regarding them as "barbarians", and a lot of diplomatic talents emerged at a time, the best of which was Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang was famous for founding the Huai Army and the Beiyang Marine Division, and although he worked hard for state affairs in his lifetime, most of his descendants only knew that the achievements and setbacks he suffered in the military field did not know much about his diplomatic affairs.
In the twenty-second year of Guangxu (1896), Nicholas II of the Tsarist Empire began his own coronation ceremony, although as the Tsar of the Romanov Dynasty, he had already ascended the throne two years ago, but only after this coronation ceremony could he truly take over the power of the dynasty, and the importance of the ceremony was comparable to the enthronement ceremony in ancient China.
In order to make his coronation ceremony more solemn, Nicholas II specially invited many countries to send representatives to "watch the ceremony", and after receiving the invitation, the Manchu Qing sent Li Hongzhang as a representative to Moscow. After Li Hongzhang completed the "viewing ceremony" in Moscow and presented Nicholas II with blessings from the Manchu Qing court, he did not return home on this road, but stopped by to visit Europe and the United States.
When he arrived in the United States, Li Hongzhang used a very simple method to break into the circle of the United States, he asked the cook to make a lot of authentic Chinese food (Anhui Hefei cuisine), and then issued an invitation to the major upper-class people in the United States, saying that Lord Li Zhongtang from the ancient East came to invite his American friends to taste Chinese food together, so Li Hongzhang's residence in the United States soon gathered guests, and everyone came to eat Chinese food.
Dishes one after another on the ground, people in the banquet to talk about the wine, talk and laugh, not happy, a lot of information on the people to eat when the exchange, a lot of things are also negotiated at the time of eating, but just when people are eating rise, Li Hongzhang suddenly received a message from the back kitchen that the dish is gone, but the guests have not left, obviously still waiting for the dish.
Li Hongzhang himself is a very shrewd person, usually does not make the mistake of insufficient preparation, for this banquet, he has been prepared in advance for a long time, the dishes are also very well prepared, but perhaps this group of Americans once heard that there are Chinese food to eat, several days in advance did not eat much, just want to come to Li Hongzhang to eat a good meal, the result led to the dish has been served but the guests are still waiting.
Li Hongzhang was also a little stunned by this scene, but he was immediately in a hurry, and invented a dish on the spot, and he asked the chef to pour some of the leftovers that had been taken back to the kitchen, all poured together and heated up, and put together a large plate to serve out. Those Americans who were waiting with their eyes full of praise for this "finale dish" asked Li Hongzhang one after another: "Lord Zhongtang, what is the name of this dish?" ”
Li Hongzhang did not understand, just smiled and said: "Delicious to eat more, good to eat more ..." As a result, this is just the pronunciation of "chowder" in English, so americans think that this dish is called "chowder", they have to promote to family and friends after eating, so "Li Hongzhang chowder" swept the United States, and to this day I still see that there are many Chinese restaurant signs that say "Li Hongzhang Chowder".