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| Frenzy on the Podium in Front of City Hall, Crazy Thursday, 2006 |
Is this the figment of imagination of a feverish mind? No, it is a fascinating instance of cultural hybridization in a globalized world, and has recently received extensive coverage in Chinese language media [ch].
On January 31 of 2008, the townspeople of Dietfurt will once again celebrate "Crazy Thursday" (Unsinniger Donnerstag). Dietfurt on the Altmühl, the "Town of the seven valleys," is a small town of 2,800 people located in Bavaria, about an hour's drive from Munich and Nuremberg. The tradition of "Crazy Thursday" dated back to 1880, but the practice of dressing up in Chinese costume in parades began only in 1928. The celebration did not become a regular celebration of the national day of Bavarian China until 1954, when Egid Prock was elected as the first emperor, Ma-Ler-Gie. Since 2001, Fritz Koller, a hospital worker, has presided as Emperor Ko-Houang-Di 高皇帝.
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| Emperor Ko-Huang-Di Presiding Over Crazy Thursday, 2006 |
However, the association of Dietfurt with China, as manifested by not just the Chinese Carnival, but also by its alternate name of Bavarian China and its inhabitants calling themselves Chinese, appears to have dated much farther back in time. There were documents dated in the 1860s that referred to the town as "Chinatown" (Chinesenviertel) and the people as "Chinese" (Chinesen). In the central square of Dietfurt is a Chinese fountain, with a fat and squat Chinese mandarin with his arms outstretched and sprouting water. Near the fountain is a stone tablet with the inscription "Dietfurt, Bavarian China." There are even two versions of a national anthem of Bavarian China.
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| Chinese Fountain, Central Square of Dietfurt |
How did this association of Dietfurt with China, culminating in the annual Chinese Carnival, come about? According to local lore, during medieval times the bishop of Eichstatt sent an agent to collect from Dietfurt when taxes were in arrears. The townspeople of Dietfurt thwarted the tax collector by barricading themselves inside their town walls. The collector reported back to the bishop, comparing the Dietfurters to the Chinese who shut themselves in with their Great Wall.
The Chinese media [ch], however, preferred a second explanation. Several hundred years ago Dietfurt traded with China, exchanging its silver and handicrafts for Chinese silk, porcelain and tea. The townspeople became fond of Chinese culture over time, and created their own version of Chinese festivities. It is unclear whether this account favored by the Chinese reports is based on local accounts, or whether it represents speculations by the Chinese. The latter may be more likely as the German Web sources make no mention of this version of how Dietfurt came to develop its association with China.
What is interesting, however, is that the first version emphasizes the insularity of the Chinese, while the second version signifies China's global connections and the allure of Chinese civilization for foreign peoples even in the distant past. The second version, therefore, is in keeping with the Chinese government's current goals of pursuing a peaceful rise and extending Chinese soft power in the global community.
The Chinese Carnival in Bavarian China has been known to the Chinese since the 1990s if not earlier: in 1997 a high-ranking delegation from Beijing visited Dietfurt during the Crazy Thursday celebrations. Why then the recent flurry of mainland Chinese media reports on Chinese Bavaria? Could it be, as one Taiwan source speculated, part of a concerted effort by the Chinese government to mend fences with Germany [ch] after relations took a nose dive following Chancellor Angela Merkel's Sept. 23, 2007 meeting with the Dalai Lama?
If so, then perhaps this picture of a Bavarian China lady [ch], wearing a Chinese costume displaying a design with the Olympic rings and a Chinese dragon, which features prominently in Chinese media coverage of Dietfurt, is symbolic of the desire of the Chinese for better relations with Germany and also a successful Olympic Games in Beijing.
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| Dietfurt Lady in Chinese Costume with Olympic & Dragon Motifs |
Multimedia Supplement (German language sources only)
Dietfurt's official Web site has a lot of information and multimedia features on the town, including: Tourism Promotional Video with brief clip of Chinese Carnival (Quicktime): English; Chinese; Photo gallery of the emperors of Bavarian China since 1954
www.chinesenfasching.info: Bayrisch China feiert. Ein Faschingsfest das am Unsinnigen Donnerstag in ganze Stadt Dietfurt feiert
Fotogalerie aus Neumarkt Oberpfalz - Chinesenfasching
KBUMM: Dietfurt - ChinesenFasching
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