A Swarm of Dragons FIVE:More on the North South Divide

A SWARM OF DRAGONS FIVE
MORE ON THE NORTH SOUTH DIVIDE

Some people would see the dividing line is the Yangtze and others the Huai river.

I would say it runs roughly along the mountains south of the WEI river basin and north and east of the Han river and roughly along the Yangtze wavering over the centuries as cultures emerged in the lakelands north and south of the Yangtze.

PLEASE NOTE that POST HAN and TANG these differences lessen to southwards migration.

NORTHERN SINITIC ZONE CHARACTERISTICS

Primary Cereal Crops Wheat Millet Beans  (See Book of Songs)

Primary Textile Fibers Hemp and Silk later. Some use of furs. Horse and chariot culture. Seeing outsiders as enemy or barbarians. Limited use of stone and bamboo.

Metalworking Higher Status than Ceramics during Bronze Age up to Han era when ability to fire to Stoneware temperatures and create multicolor glazes raised status of Ceramics.

SOUTHERN SINITIC ZONE CHARACTERISTICS

RICE dominant crop. More use of Bamboo and Lacquer and Fish.
 More open to two way  interaction and trade with NON sinitic cultures in South East Asia such as the "Bronze Drum/ Dongson" groups or tolerating linguistic diversity.

Abiding preference for polychrome in  lacquer ceramics and other media.

Note I could add other factors. These are just some of the major ones.

Next post a break from this sequence and a look at a Taoist mystery.