Northern and southern China

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Northern China (Template:Zh) and southern China (Template:Zh)Template:NoteTag are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.

Extent

The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between northern and southern China. They approximately coincide with the 0 degree Celsius isotherm in January, the Template:Convert isohyet, and the 2,000-hour isohel.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Huai River basin serves a similar role,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the course of the Huaihe has been used to set different policies to the north and the south.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Template:See also Historically, populations migrated from the north to the south, especially its coastal areas and along major rivers.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":22">Template:Cite book</ref>

After the fall of the Han dynasty, The Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589) ruled their respective part of China before re-uniting under the Sui dynasty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the Qing dynasty, regional differences and identification in China fostered the growth of regional stereotypes. Such stereotypes often appeared in historic chronicles and gazetteers and were based on geographic circumstances, historical and literary associations (e.g. people from Shandong, were considered upright and honest) and Chinese cosmology (as the south was associated with the fire element, Southerners were considered hot-tempered).<ref name="smith">Template:Cite book</ref> These differences were reflected in Qing dynasty policies, such as the prohibition on local officials to serve their home areas, as well as conduct of personal and commercial relations.<ref name="smith" /> In 1730, the Kangxi Emperor made the observation in the Tingxun Geyan (庭訓格言):<ref name="smith" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The people of the North are strong; they must not copy the fancy diets of the Southerners, who are physically frail, live in a different environment, and have different stomachs and bowels.{{#if:|

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During the Republican period, Lu Xun, a major Chinese writer, wrote:<ref name="young">Template:Cite journal</ref>

According to my observation, Northerners are sincere and honest; Southerners are skilled and quick-minded. These are their respective virtues. Yet sincerity and honesty lead to stupidity, whereas skillfulness and quick-mindedness lead to duplicity.{{#if:|

|}}{{#if:Lu XunComplete works of Lu Xun (《魯迅全集》), pp. 493–495.|

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Today

Climate

Northern regions of China have long winters that are cold and dry, often below freezing, and long summers that are hot and humid.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Transitional periods are short. The ecology is simple and not resilient to droughts.<ref name=":22" />

Many southern regions are subtropical and green year round. The winters are short. They often experience typhoons and the East Asian monsoon in the summer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The ecology is complex, and floods are more common.<ref name=":22" />

Diet and produce

File:China agricultural 1986.jpg

Northern regions often cultivate wheat, while rice is more prevalent in the south

The northern regions are easier to cultivate.<ref name=":22" /> Hardy crops such as corn, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat are grown, and one to two crops are produced each year.<ref name="smith" /> The growing season lasts four to six months. Wheat-based food such as bread, dumplings, and noodles are more common.<ref name="eberhard">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":1" />

Cultivation of the southern regions began later in history.<ref name=":22" /> Warm temperatures and abundant rainfall help produce rice and tropical fruits.<ref name=":1" /> Two to three crops can be grown each year, and the growing season lasts nine to twelve months.<ref name="smith" /> Rice-based food is more common.<ref name="eberhard" /><ref name=":1" />

Language and people

File:China linguistic map.jpg

Northern regions are predominantly Mandarin-speaking, while southern regions speak southwestern Mandarin, Eastern Mandarin, and non-Mandarin. ("Mandarin" and "Southern" on this map refer to Sinitic languages, while other groups are not Sinitic.)<ref>Source: United States Central Intelligence Agency, 1990.</ref>Template:NoteTag

Jones Lamprey, a British army surgeon in 1868,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> writes that northerners have lighter skin tones than southerners, although the shade can change greatly from season to season depending on an individual's exposure to sunlight when performing manual labor outdoors.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Northerners are often taller than southerners.<ref name="lu">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Variants of Mandarin are widely spoken in northern regions and often with a rhotic accent.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":0" /> Ethnic groups are comparatively more diverse in southern regions.<ref name="smith" /> Rhotic accent is usually absent from the Mandarin spoken there. Different dialects are less mutually intelligible, and additional languages such as Cantonese or Hokkien are spoken.<ref name=":0" /> Patrilineage organizations are larger and more integrated in rural southern regions, possibly due to merges and competition for territory.<ref name=":22" />

A series of studies on regional differences in China suggest that people from places that grow wheat have different social styles and thought styles from those in rice-growing regions.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="TaSci">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Respondents from northern China are found to be more individualistic, think more analytically, and more open to strangers. Those from the southern regions are more likely to think holistically, interdependent, and draw a larger distinction between friends and strangers. The difference was attributed to the growing of rice, which often requires the sharing labor and managing shared irrigation infrastructure.<ref name="TaSci"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Transportation

Traveling between places tends to be easier in northern regions where the terrain is more even.<ref name=":22" />

Economy

File:Gdp per capita of the administrative division in China.png

GDP per capita in 2021. The disparity in terms of wealth runs in the east–west direction rather than the north–south direction. However, the southeast coast is still wealthier than the northeast coast in per capita terms

As China modernized, the north initially developed faster during the era of planned economic policies and Soviet aid, forming a concentration of construction and resource extraction industries. After market reforms, however, the south took the lead due to manufacturing and eventually high-tech industries, as well as continued internal migration into the region. The north's share of China's GDP decreased from 42.9% in 2012 to 35.4% in 2019.<ref name=":3" />

Health

A research showed that life expectancy was slightly higher in southern China compared to northern China. In 2018, it was 76.66 years for north and 77.35 for south.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The shorter life expectancy in northern China can be partly attributed to outdoor air pollution due to winter district heating.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> According to the data from a survey in 2011, people in southern China were 10.51% less likely to be obese and overweight compared to the North.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Cultural regions in China
• List of regions of China
• Nanquan (Southern Fist)
• Global North and Global South
• North–South divide in Taiwan

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
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• Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Liu, Kwang-chang. (1999). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press.
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• Muensterberger, Warner (1951). "Orality and Dependence: Characteristics of Southern Chinese." In Psychoanalysis and the Social Sciences, (3), ed. Geza Roheim (New York: International Universities Press).