Historically, European titles have been common. According to the rank, it can be divided into five types, namely duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron. Among them, the earl appeared first. In the 11th and 12th centuries AD, the counts were mostly princes on the town guard side.
In 1633, Scotland, the country that was later incorporated into England, established an earl title called earl earl. At that time, China was the sixth year of the Ming Dynasty Chongzhen, one was a great country in the East, the other was an ancient country in Europe, and no one expected that after 227 years, the name of this title had committed a heinous crime on the land of China.
The person involved is James Elgin, the eighth generation of the Elgin title, and the victim is the world-famous large-scale royal garden Yuanmingyuan, which takes place in the context of the Opium War.
During the Opium War, due to the decay and incompetence of the Qing Dynasty, foreign military operations were repeatedly lost. Land was cut off and a series of unequal treaties were signed. The Second Opium War took place from October 1856 to October 1860. At that time, Elgin's position was british plenipotentiary envoy to China.
After the capture of Beijing, in addition to plundering the treasures and artworks of the Yuanmingyuan, Erjin also ordered the burning of the Yuanmingyuan. The reason is that this is not enough to cause great shock to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
Because of this, to this day, the name Erjin is still deeply imprinted in the minds of the Chinese people. As everyone knows, after the burning of the Yuanmingyuan, Erjin also did one thing, which is also indignant.
Here's the thing.
After the war is over, the following is the peace talks. As a result, everyone knows that the Sino-British Beijing Treaty was signed. At that time, the representatives of the two sides were Erjin and Prince Gong Yixin.
Since it is a peace talk, it is indispensable to sit at a table. How to sit? The average person may not seem to care, and the two sides of the table are casual. However, in ancient times and on some important occasions, these are exquisite and sloppy. Isn't that what the liquor store is all about?
At that time, Erjin ran fast and ran directly to the left side of the table and sat down. Then look at Prince Gong, the meaning is very simple, I sit on the left and you sit on the right. One left and one right are very different in history.
During the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, China honored the right, so the imperial relatives and nobles were called right relatives, and the family clan was called right or right surname. The right respect and the left are manifested in the construction of housing, the rich family will occupy the right side of the urban area, and the common people will occupy the left of the urban area.
In ancient times, the official seats were different from each other and were very strict. The high official is the superior position, and the low official is the inferior position. The ancients were still right, with the right as the respect, and "left migration" meant degrading officials.
As for social occasions, the seat is on the left. Because the ancients sat facing north and south, the left was east and the right was west, so the left was honored. According to the "Chronicle of the Duke of Wei", Xin Lingjun held a banquet for guests to welcome Hou Sheng of Yimen. And "ride from the car, empty left", personally go to meet.
From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the Two Song Dynasties, China has gradually formed a system of left respect and right inferiority. During this period, the left servant was higher than the right servant, and the left servant was higher than the right servant. After the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty, they changed the old system and stipulated that the right was respected, and the right minister at that time was above the left minister. Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and restored the system to respect the left, which was used for more than five hundred years by the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now classical plays are staged on the theater stage, and guests and honored elders always sit on the left side of the master and junior, which reflects the Ming Dynasty's etiquette of advocating the left.
After dealing with Qing officials for many years, Erjin naturally knew these details. The purpose is very simple, nothing more than to suppress the Qing Dynasty officials and show their prestige. Prince Gong naturally did not agree, and the two sides quarreled. According to the French, there was a dispute over who would take the seat first. What's the end?
After a long period of negotiation and negotiation, the two sides took their seats at the same time.
Although he did not succeed, Erjin naturally felt good, and a trip to the Yuanmingyuan also snatched up a lot of treasures, and the Queen's award was indispensable. But people were watching, and later they went to India to be governors, and before long, Erkin's residence was struck by lightning and ignited a fire. The Celestial Cycle, more or less.