Although the half-month train journey is still long, it is still much better than taking a boat. No matter how steadily the passenger ship drives, it cannot be compared to the train on the track.
Zhang Deyi also took this opportunity to learn some Western knowledge from Li Yuduo. Although he graduated from the early Tongwen Hall and was even one of the people trained by the Qing court, due to the background of the times and personal abilities, Zhang Deyi's overall scientific literacy was still very lacking.
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In addition, Li Yu will certainly not be idle, and will continue to carry out his calculations every day. When he has nothing to do, he will also learn Russian from Zhang Deyi's entourage.
But Russian is really difficult!
English and German use the Latin alphabet, which feels somewhat familiar, but the alphabet used in Russian is really unfamiliar.
The complicated word conjugation, conjugation forms, case transitions, etc. are so complex that it makes people collapse. Originally, a simple sentence in Chinese would need a super long sentence when spoken in Russian. It’s no wonder that Russians speak so hard.
So fast.
Li Yu could only learn some daily expressions, and then practice the maddening tongue-picking for a while every morning.
Siberia is vast and inaccessible, but the scenery along the way is very beautiful.
Li Yu once dreamed of being able to take such a long-distance train without any worries.
Sheldon, the protagonist in the TV series "The Big Bang Theory" that he likes to watch, is also a train addict, and even dates with Amy in the train car.
The train stopped in Chelyabinsk, spent an extra day heading north to Yekaterinburg, and then continued by train to Moscow. After changing trains again, it finally arrived at St. Petersburg Railway Station.
St. Petersburg is now the capital of Russia. When Peter the Great moved the capital here, it had a bit of a meaning of "the emperor guarding the country." The status of Moscow is a bit like Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, as a companion capital.
After Li Yu and Zhang Deyi got out of the car, two people immediately came to greet them.
"Hello!"
Li Yu heard this somewhat stiff Chinese sentence and turned sideways to see two Russians.
"Are you a carp?" Another sentence in slightly stiff Chinese.
Li Yu immediately understood that they must be Markov and Lyapunov.
Li Yu immediately greeted them in the Russian he learned on the train: "Zderastway!"
Although it is just a Russian "Hello", it already has a tongue-licking sound. It took Li Yuguang half the morning to say this...
But in the end, when I was nervous, I mistakenly pronounced "Zi" on my first flick of the tongue.
Markov laughed loudly after hearing this, and continued in Russian: "You guys are so easy to recognize. Let me introduce, I am Markov from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and this is Lyapunov, professor of mathematics at St. Petersburg University."
Li Yu could understand this simple introduction, but he was really confused, so he asked the translator to help translate: "Yes, I am Li Yu. I didn't expect you to come to the station to pick me up."
Markov said: "I have friends in the Engineering Bureau. I knew when you arrived in Yekaterinburg that you should arrive as soon as possible."
Li Yutong shook hands with the two cordially: "I am really grateful to have your help!"
Markov said: "We all want to meet you, this new star of science, especially the book "Fractals and Chaos" you wrote recently. It really amazed us. The chaotic mathematical symbols flowing on the tip of the pen actually became a
A beautiful concerto.”
It took a lot of effort to translate it well. Russia has a high latitude and a long period of cold weather. People love thinking and literature, and they often use all kinds of metaphors.
Li Yu smiled and said: "It will help me a lot if you can control the eyes."
Lyapunov interjected: "Let's go back to St. Petersburg University first. The school has arranged a lecture. Be sure to make good use of your time in St. Petersburg."
Li Yu glanced at the translator. Although he knew Russian, it was impossible for him to understand mathematical terms, so he said: "It's just that I don't speak Russian. Can I..."
Lyapunov said: "No problem. You underestimate us at St. Petersburg University. Most of them can still speak English or German. Besides, mathematical symbols are universal languages around the world. We can understand what you write on the blackboard.
."
That's because he hasn't read the Qing Dynasty's calculus textbook...
But Li Yu was still relieved. Thinking about it, St. Petersburg University is the strongest institution in Russia no matter what, and Russia is in a geographically complex Europe. There are many exchanges between different universities. It is normal for students and professors to understand two or three languages.
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Markov said: "Let's go to the university together, we have already called the carriage."
Zhang Deyi has nowhere to go now, so he has to go to St. Petersburg University with Li Yu first. If he has time, he may also visit the Qing Embassy in Russia.
The carriage drove onto the most famous Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. Until the 21st century, Nevsky Prospekt was also the most prosperous street in St. Petersburg.
Nevsky Prospekt has high sightseeing value, with various cathedrals and historical sites on both sides, giving it a bit of a Shanghai Bund feel.
Markov pointed ahead: "Look, that's the Kazan Cathedral."
Li Yu has never been to Russia and was very interested in seeing these buildings, but unfortunately he couldn't take a selfie.
Zhang Deyi on the side first exclaimed: "What a magnificent building."
Li Yu knew about the Kazan Cathedral and said to Zhang Deyi: "When you have nothing to do, you can go in and take a look. I heard that the statue of Our Lady of Kazan inside will appear."
Of course Li Yu didn't believe this, but Zhang Deyi really believed it, "Really? I really want to go in and pay my respects."
"But first you need to know something about Orthodox Christianity." Li Yu added.
Zhang Deyi couldn't tell the difference between Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism. He only had Christianity in his mind and said, "I know, just go in and make the sign of the cross and say Amen."
Li Yu smiled and said: "I think you should go to the embassy to learn it first. If you follow the painting method just now, you will be in trouble when entering the church."
"What's wrong? Aren't they all Jesus?" Zhang Deyi asked.
China has not had religious beliefs in the strict sense since ancient times. It is impossible to understand that a national war could break out because of such a thing. Li Yu quickly stopped him: "It's very different. Anyway, you'd better learn it first."
"It's really troublesome. I thought it was like saying goodbye to Grandma Taishan!"
Zhang Deyi is like ordinary Chinese people. When he sees Buddha, he worships and takes care of things. He doesn't care about trivial matters.
Li Yu smiled and said: "It's not the same land, the gods are all different."
The Kazan Madonna has appeared several times in history, and these were times when Russia was at stake. One time was during the Russo-French War, and she told Kutuzov in a dream that the cold wave would repel Napoleon.
The other time was during the Soviet-German War, and another dream was given to the Orthodox Patriarch (it’s a bit complicated, nine of the 15 Orthodox autocephalous churches have leaders called patriarchs, and the rest are called metropolitans or archbishops, let’s understand them as the pope), saying
Cold snap will beat back Hitler again...
Of course, if you believe this story or not, just listen to it~
This is not the most interesting thing. What is really interesting is that since 1932, the Kazan Cathedral has been turned into the National Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism.