#荷兰的 why "Li Hongzhang Hotel" has this name #
The Hague, the Netherlands, is a coastal city. On the seaside of the city, sits a magnificent building, the famous Kurhaus Hotel in The Hague, which translates to the Kurhaus Hotel. However, the local Chinese in The Hague call this hotel "Li Hongzhang Hotel". What's going on? Is this hotel related to Li Hongzhang, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty?
This is related to Li Hongzhang's visit to Europe and the United States more than 100 years ago.
On March 28, 1896, Li Hongzhang, with Li Jingfang, Li Jingshu and other relevant retinues, set off from Shanghai and took a boat to Russia to participate in the coronation ceremony of Tsar Nicholas II on May 26 of that year, and took the opportunity to visit Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Britain, the United States, and Canada.
Li Hongzhang's itinerary for his visit was arranged in this way. The first stop visited Russia, followed by the second one visited Germany. Germany borders the Netherlands, so Li Hongzhang ended his visit to Germany and went straight to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands was a projectile country in northwestern Europe, but in the 17th century, the Netherlands was the world's seafaring and trading power. The Dutch East India Company has 15,000 branches and accounts for half of the world's total trade. At that time, there were 20,000 ships in the world, and the Netherlands had 15,000 ships, more than the total number of British, French, and German ships. At that time, 15,000 merchant ships flying the Dutch tricolor flag cruised over the world's five oceans.
After Li Hongzhang came to the Netherlands, he was received by the Dutch royal family. They were arranged to stay at the Kurhaus Grand Hotel in The Hague, the most luxurious hotel in the Netherlands. That night, 16-year-old Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands moved to the "Water Meditation Palace" of the Kurhaus Hotel and personally hosted a banquet for Li Hongzhang and other vips from distant China to wash the dust for them.
Since Wilhelmina was not yet an adult, she was temporarily regent by her mother, Princess Emma. However, Wilhelmina is the symbol of the Dutch state, and she came to meet Li Hongzhang, which reflects the respect and importance of Li Hongzhang.
According to the etiquette of the Dutch royal family, a song and dance party was held after the banquet hosted by the Queen of the Netherlands. Singing and dancing, singing and dancing. Li Jingshu also participated in this trip to Europe and the United States as a counselor, and he recorded the grandeur of the banquet in his memoir "The Collected Works of Li Xianhou": "After the banquet, Youling offered the skill of singing and dancing, and the pearl throat and jade appearance, and the world was unrequited. ”
Not only that, the Dutch organizers also set off wonderful fireworks over the beach that night, and what was surprising was that the fireworks formed the 5 Chinese characters of "Chitose Li Hongzhang" in the sky. It can be seen from this that in order to welcome Li Hongzhang, the Dutch side has indeed done its homework. As we know, Li Hongzhang was a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty and also a powerful minister. In the eyes of Westerners, Li Hongzhang was the most powerful person besides the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor is "long live", li Hongzhang is not "chitose"?
Of course, the information was still not smooth at that time. In fact, when Li Hongzhang visited the eight european and American countries in 1896, the positions of directly subordinate governor and beiyang minister had been removed, leaving only a virtual post of a scholar of The Mandarin Temple, and there was not much real power in his hands.
Li Hongzhang's visit to Europe and the United States this time inevitably has some unpleasant things on his journey. Now, the enthusiasm and courtesy of the Dutch people made him extremely happy, full of emotions, and wrote a poem: "Forty years in and out of Chengming, suddenly came to overseas to perform immortals." The feast is a grand event to entertain silk bamboo, and the chitose stirrup flower is spread. "This means that I have been an official for 40 years, and now I am ordered to go on an overseas wonderland in the Netherlands." The Seaside of the North Sea holds a grand event, and the lanterns are gladly displayed, including my name, which is hereby recorded. Later in the poem, Li Hongzhang adds a description of the causes and consequences of creating this poem: "Dutch literature. After this, the official gentry summoned to drink on the shore of the North Sea, Zhang Le put on the lanterns, and there were five words in the middle of the Chitose Li Mou, which can be described as a good ode to prayer. Poetry is based on jizhi. On the 25th day of May in the 22nd year of Guangxu, that is, on July 5, 1896 in the Western calendar, Li Hongzhang. ”
Later, Li Hongzhang's poems at the banquet were included in the "Collection of Li Wenzhong's Relics" (volume VI), with the title "Dutch Haikou Bathhouse Night Feast Kou Zhan", and some words were changed.
Li Hongzhang left for Belgium after visiting the Netherlands for 3 days, but he left a deep impression on the Netherlands. The Kurhaus Hotel where he stayed was known as the "Li Hongzhang Hotel" by the Dutch Chinese.
So, why was Li Hongzhang arranged to stay at the Kurhaus Grand Hotel in the first place? This is because the Grand Hotel Courhaus is luxuriously decorated and can be compared to the Royal Palace. On June 9, 1887, after the Kurhaus Grand Hotel was opened, the first celebrity to check in and sign was Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her mother, Princess Emma, regent. For a long time, the Grand Hotel Kuhlhaus was dedicated to hosting heads of state.
Many years later, Li Hongzhang's great-nephew went to The Hague and saw the poem written by Li Hongzhang at the Courhouse Hotel, and took a photo with the hotel manager.