Chapter 452 Graffiti Museum
Chinese tourists generally do two things when they go to Europe: shopping and visiting churches. Everyone who comes to Cologne will go to the Cologne Cathedral.
Cologne Cathedral is the second tallest church in Germany and the third tallest in the world. Construction began in 1248 and was completed by Emperor William I in 1880, a total of over 600 years. Even today, it continues to undergo continuous renovations. When Xiao Peng arrived, minor renovations were still underway.
However, Xiao Peng came here not to visit or to worship, but to go to the basement. The 'other clues' Friedrich mentioned were in the basement.
Arriving at Cologne Cathedral, Xiao Peng was still astonished: From ground level to spire, the cathedral stood over 157 meters tall! That's the equivalent of a fifty-story building! Walter, however, was somewhat dismissive. Xiao Peng inquired and learned the reason: It turned out that in Baden-Württemberg, there was a cathedral called Ulm, over 161 meters tall, significantly taller than Cologne Cathedral. That was the tallest cathedral in the world...
It was only after arriving in Germany that Xiao Peng discovered Walter's true nature: They say the French are arrogant, but the Germans aren't bad either. They're each better than the other at playing regional gossip, constantly teasing each other. The North-South conflict is evident everywhere in Germany: South Germany considers North Germany poor, while North Germany considers South Germany too Catholic and conservative, while North Germany is more Protestant.
However, there are not many religious conflicts between them like in other places. Instead, they have coexisted harmoniously for a long time. This is also one of Germany's advantages.
Cologne is in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is in the north, while Baden-Württemberg is in the south, so the height of these two churches is the excuse most often used by the people of Baden-Württemberg to attack Cologne.
Xiao Peng couldn't figure it out. What's the big deal about a few meters high? If he were the mayor of Cologne, he would install a ten-meter-high lightning rod on the spire of Cologne Cathedral. Wouldn't that be the first...
The people of Cologne are actually quite upset. How can such a good cathedral be the second tallest in Germany? Couldn't they have built a few more meters back then?
Moreover, Cologne is not only "stupid" in its churches, but also in its city. It is obviously the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a long history and profound cultural heritage. Why is it not the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia but the small and shabby Düsseldorf?
When Xiao Peng arrived at the entrance of Cologne Cathedral, he was a little confused. Is this a Catholic church? Why did he hear the sound of the Middle Eastern "Solna"?
Then he saw a group of people dressed in white turbans and Middle Eastern clothing playing the 'Sorna' and beating drums, dancing the 'Drum Dance', saying it was promoting their national culture. Xiao Peng observed that there were quite a lot of Middle Eastern people here, as many as in France!
As he walked into the stairwell of Cologne Cathedral, Xiao Peng suddenly remembered something interesting.
A few years ago, an incident in China caused quite a stir: the "Ding Jinhao was here incident." The story unfolded as a first-year middle school student named Ding Jinhao from Nanjing, while visiting the Luxor Temple in Egypt with his family, inscribed the Chinese characters "Ding Jinhao was here" on a relief. This incident brought the issue of Chinese people's "quality" to the forefront.
Egypt also has laws that stipulate that those who intentionally destroy ancient monuments will be punished with up to five years in prison. So Ding Jinhao actually violated the laws of another country.
Graffiti on tourist attractions is absolutely wrong! It's also absolutely evidence of low moral character. But using this incident to say that Chinese people are less civilized than foreigners? Anyone who says that simply hasn't been abroad.
Foreigners are the ancestors of graffiti, right? The reliefs at the Luxor Temple have long been adorned with graffiti from tourists from around the world, but the phrase "Ding Jinhao was here" marks the first time Chinese characters have appeared on a relief at the Luxor Temple.
You can find graffiti from every country in Europe at any tourist attraction. But what about a tourist attraction like Cologne Cathedral? You can't even find a spot without graffiti along the staircase! It's like a 'graffiti museum', where you can find almost every language in the world.
Lack of character knows no borders. Using "graffiti on tourist walls" as the sole reason to prove Chinese people's low character is truly unfair to the Chinese people: Who goes abroad intending to cause trouble? Take the graffiti on the walls of Cologne Cathedral, for example. There are Chinese characters in it—perhaps only about 0.0001%—and a significant portion is in traditional Chinese. So, who, exactly, has lower character?
Don't say 'this is because there aren't enough Chinese people coming out'. If you stand at the entrance of Cologne Cathedral for ten minutes, you'll see at least a hundred Chinese tourists...
This is a conservative estimate!
Of course, the public intellectuals see foreigners' graffiti as a symbol of their greater love of freedom and informality. They see their graffiti as "art," while Chinese graffiti is considered "uncultured."
There were quite a lot of tourists here, but most of them climbed the stairs to the top platform to see the scenery, from where you can see the whole view of Cologne. However, Xiao Peng did not climb the spire, but went directly to the basement.
The basement of the church was used to store coffins and a treasure room. It is now open to the public. There are six exhibition rooms in total. The largest exhibition room is filled with sarcophagi. There is also a place to display worship supplies and clothing, including medieval sculptures, etc. Anyway, there are many tourists here.
Heidi, who was traveling with them, took them to a place that looked like an office. After they entered, they found that it was a study. A priest saw them and warmly invited them in.
Xiao Peng made a tragic discovery: the priest also spoke German, but he couldn't understand it.
German is also different from German, which is divided into High German and Low German. The written language is High German, and Low German is divided into three major systems: East Low German, Low Saxony, and Low Frankish.
The differences between the various German dialects are huge, including different vocabulary and grammar, making it difficult for them to understand each other. Although standard German was later developed, not everyone can master it.
Some people don't bother to learn and maintain traditions, while others don't have the opportunity to learn. It seems that knowing English is more convenient than knowing standard German in Germany...which is also quite strange.
"Mr. Xiao, this is Father Suboka. Mr. Friedrich has called to inform you of your coming. He has been waiting for you for a long time!" Heidi acted as an interpreter.
Xiao Peng was a little embarrassed. After all, it was his first time dealing with a priest and he didn't know what etiquette to follow.
Shake hands, there's nothing wrong with shaking hands, right? But after shaking hands with him, Father Suboka pulled him in for a hug, gave Xiao Peng a kiss on the cheek, and said something else.
"Father Suboka said that the information you want is in this book." Heidi pointed to a table on the side.
After seeing it clearly, Xiao Peng was a little confused: "You said this is a book?"
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