{"id":14777,"date":"2019-07-01T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14777"},"modified":"2019-06-28T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T22:22:08","slug":"chinas-stereotypical-distinction-between-north-and-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/chinas-stereotypical-distinction-between-north-and-south\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Stereotypical Distinction between North and South"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

Whenever Yu Juan, my Yunnanise friend, recalls her time in Beijing she\u2019s pouting. She graduated from a famous university, but didn\u2019t enjoy her stay in the capital city. \u201cThe food there is not spicy enough, and the people are so different\u201d, she explains. \u201cDifferent?\u201d, I ask, and she elaborates:<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u5317\u65b9\u4eba\u813e\u6c14\u51f6\u66b4<\/strong> (b\u011bi f\u0101ng r\u00e9n p\u00ed q\u00ec xi\u014dng b\u00e0o, people from the north have a violent temper<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u5357\u65b9\u4eba\u5462\uff1f<\/strong> (n\u00e1n f\u0101ng r\u00e9n ne?, and people from the south?<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u5357\u65b9\u4eba\u6027\u683c\u7ec6\u817b<\/strong> (n\u00e1n f\u0101ng r\u00e9n x\u00ecng g\u00e9 x\u00ecn\u00ec, people from the south have delicate character<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Yu Juan is not the only one to say these kind of things. The Chinese society is full of stereotypes (\u523b\u677f\u5370\u8c61 k\u00e8 b\u01cen y\u00ecn xi\u00e0ng<\/strong>) about people who come from different parts of the country. Different characteristics are attributed to Chinese from different provinces and different cities. But the most basic distinction is between those born north of the Yangtze River (\u957f\u6c5f ch\u00e1ng ji\u0101ng<\/strong>) and those born to the south. Chinese believe people from the north and people from the south differ by more than height, language, and cuisine.<\/p>\n

The personal differences (\u533a\u522b q\u016b bi\u00e9<\/strong>) between north and south have even been demonstrated in several scientific studies in recent years. A study titled Moving chairs in Starbucks: Observational studies find rice-wheat\u00a0cultural differences\u00a0in daily life in China<\/em> (2018), by Chicago Booth Behavioral Scientist Thomas Talhelm, for example, observed 8,964\u00a0people\u00a0sitting in Starbucks cafes in six different cities (\u57ce\u5e02 ch\u00e9ng sh\u00ec<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

The study found that people from southern China cities, like Shanghai and Hong Kong, were less likely to be sitting alone. The researchers also moved chairs together so that they were partially blocking the way. They found that people in northern China cities, like Beijing and Shenyang, were more likely to move the chairs out of the way, whereas people in southern China were more likely to squeeze through the chairs. The study reports that people from the south showed interdependent behaviors, like sitting in groups or squeezing themselves through narrowly placed chairs. Whereas people from the north often displayed individualistic behaviors, like sitting alone or actively moving chairs that blocked their way.<\/p>\n

The study suggests the reason for such differences lies in the traditional agriculture of the different regions of China. The different crops (\u5e84\u7a3c zhu\u0101ng ji\u00e0<\/strong>) grown by the Chinese for generations on the opposite sides of the Yangtze river, are affected by the different climate: rice (\u5927\u7c73 d\u00e0 m\u01d0<\/strong>) in the south, wheat (\u5c0f\u9ea6 xi\u01ceo m\u00e0i<\/strong>) in the north. Rice is grown on irrigated land, and requires a canal and dike system between the fields. Rice farmers must work together to develop and maintain such an infrastructure. Wheat is grown on dry land, relying on rain for moisture, enabling the farmers to be more independent. The study claims that the traditional interdependent rice-farming culture of southern China has resulted in today\u2019s residents being more interdependent. It\u2019s easier for them to adjust themselves to the environment (\u73af\u5883 hu\u00e1n j\u00ecng<\/strong>). Their countrymen from the north, on the other hand, are more likely to try to exert control over the environment.<\/p>\n

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Image via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

Some oppose<\/a> the various studies of Talhelm on the psychological differences between south and north populations (\u4eba\u53e3 r\u00e9n k\u01d2u<\/strong>) in China. But, he is not the only one to attribute Chinese modern personal traits to the traditional rice farming. Malcolm Gladwell devotes a whole chapter in his book Outliers: The Story of Success<\/em> (2011) to the connection between rice paddies (\u7a3b\u7530 d\u00e0o ti\u00e1n<\/strong>) and math tests. According to Gladwell, success has less to do with\u00a0nature\u00a0and more to do with\u00a0nurture. He believes that many factors lead human beings to success, one of them is legacy. In his book, he describes the hard work of rice farmers, and claims their diligence and persistence is ingrained into Chinese culture (\u6587\u5316 w\u00e9n hu\u00e0<\/strong>) due to this hard work on the paddies. In his opinion, the agricultural heritage of Chinese (and other Asians) give them advantages over western cultures in math.<\/p>\n

The differences between south and north also play a role in the Chinese economy. In the shared bicycles business, for example. China\u2019s two bike rental companies are founded by two ambitious young Chinese from the different sides of the river: Dai Wei from Jiangsu province (\u7701 sh\u011bng<\/strong>) is the founder of Ofo, launched in Beijing; Hu Weiwei from Zhejiang province is the founder of Mobike, launched in Shanghai. Grace Gu, principal at ZhenFund investment fund, said at the 2017\u00a0ChinaBang Awards<\/a>, that Ofo\u00a0has showed a very typical northern China style (\u65b9\u5f0f f\u0101ng sh\u00ec<\/strong>) of expansion while Mobike has displayed the southern China style of expansion. According to her, southern style is more detailed in planning and building the business model before execution, while the northern style is first to expand wide to win the market share, and then slowly optimize their service.<\/p>\n

The next time you meet with some Chinese friends, consider bringing this subject up. It can lead to an interesting discussion. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Text vocabulary<\/u><\/p>\n

\u5317\u65b9\u4eba b\u011bi f\u0101ng r\u00e9n = people from the north<\/p>\n

\u5357\u65b9\u4eba n\u00e1n f\u0101ng r\u00e9n = people from the south<\/p>\n

\u523b\u677f\u5370\u8c61 k\u00e8 b\u01cen y\u00ecn xi\u00e0ng = stereotype<\/p>\n

\u957f\u6c5f ch\u00e1ng ji\u0101ng = Yangtze river<\/p>\n

\u533a\u522b q\u016b bi\u00e9 = difference<\/p>\n

\u57ce\u5e02 ch\u00e9ng sh\u00ec = city<\/p>\n

\u5e84\u7a3c zhu\u0101ng ji\u00e0 = crop<\/p>\n

\u5927\u7c73 d\u00e0 m\u01d0 = rice (grain, not cooked)<\/p>\n

\u5c0f\u9ea6 xi\u01ceo m\u00e0i = wheat<\/p>\n

\u73af\u5883 hu\u00e1n j\u00ecng = environment<\/p>\n

\u4eba\u53e3 r\u00e9n k\u01d2u = population<\/p>\n

\u7a3b\u7530 d\u00e0o ti\u00e1n = rice paddy, rice field<\/p>\n

\u6587\u5316 w\u00e9n hu\u00e0 = culture<\/p>\n

\u7701 sh\u011bng = province<\/p>\n

\u65b9\u5f0f f\u0101ng sh\u00ec = style, way<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u597d\u597d\u5b66\u4e60\uff0c\u5929\u5929\u5411\u4e0a\uff01<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Whenever Yu Juan, my Yunnanise friend, recalls her time in Beijing she\u2019s pouting. She graduated from a famous university, but didn\u2019t enjoy her stay in the capital city. \u201cThe food there is not spicy enough, and the people are so different\u201d, she explains. \u201cDifferent?\u201d, I ask, and she elaborates: \u2013 \u5317\u65b9\u4eba\u813e\u6c14\u51f6\u66b4 (b\u011bi f\u0101ng r\u00e9n p\u00ed…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":14778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14777","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14777"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14782,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14777\/revisions\/14782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}