| One Nation, Sort Of | |||||||||||||||||
| by Jared Madsen | |||||||||||||||||
|
The Yangtse, or Chang Jiang, river is a beautiful piece of water as well as a natural division line in China. Those who live to the north of the river retain traits different from those who live to the south of it. One can tell the differences of these two groups through physical and verbal traits, as well as their lifestyle in general. China seems to have these two different cultures and often times people from one part of the country that go to the other feel out of place, almost as in a different country. Southerners constitution generally seems to be smaller than their counterpart in the north and their skin is often darker than Northerners. It seems the further one goes in a direction the more apparent these traits are. An example of this is people in Harbin are known for their large stature, whereas people from Guangdong are usually fairly short. The way Southerners and Northerners speak is different as well. Northerners tend to speak Mandarin (standard Chinese) with relatively little to no accent. Southerners on the other hand usually speak a local dialect at home and speak Mandarin in school. Generally speaking, Southerners have trouble pronouncing the "sh", "ch" and "zh" sounds which are commonly used in Chinese. After speaking with someone for a little bit it is quite easy to tell if they are from the south or the north. Northerners tend to be more political than Southerners. The north holds China�s capital and many political centers, which is one explanation why the Northerners are more concerned with politics than the Southerners. The south on the other hand, being near Hong Kong and Taiwan, seems to be more business oriented and do not seem to care much about politics. Southerners clothes also are often newer and more stylish than people in the north, because of a heavier influence from Southeast Asia. These characteristics divide the country even further. Northerners and Southerners personalities seem to be different in many ways too. Some general stereotypes made about Southerners are they are more reserved, suspicious, not as open, tend to be secretive, more sophisticated, stingy and personally not as close to people. Stereotypes often made about Northerners are they are more giving, do not care so much about lending and spending money and are closer to people. With all these different characteristics, the northern and southern parts of China almost seem to be two different countries. Often times Southerners who move to the north feel out of place and vice versa. The first time I came to China I spent a majority of my time in Beijing. I learned about Chinese culture, language, etc. in the north. After spending over a years time there I felt accustomed to living in China. My first trip to the south was to Fuzhou. After just spending a little bit of time there I could feel there was a big difference between the north and the south. Aside from verbal and physical differences, I could feel that the peoples personality was different. I felt like I was learning about Chinese society and culture all over again. | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|
This page has been visited
|