‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
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Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#2We changed the url from [1], which was more sensational and not as close to the original source.
1. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25538-how-your-ancesto...
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#3Interesting theory. The Chinese are fully aware of the "north-south" differences themselves, although they often attribute it to other reasons, such as legacy effects of numerous mongol/manchu/other "barbarian" invasions from the north through out China's history, which often times were stopped around the Yangtze River. This resulted in the north under "barbarian rule" for long period of time, while the south held refugees of original ethnic Han chinese from the north.
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#4It annoys me a little that
a) Someone thinks so many people can be divided into just two groups
b) the idea that validating an assumption should also automatically validate the reason. People in the north might be more individualistic than in the south, and yes they grow wheat and not rice but that doesn't mean one depends on the other. It just doesn't seem all too scientific to confuse correlation with cause.
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#5Interesting theory. The Chinese are fully aware of the "north-south" differences themselves, although they often attribute it to other reasons, such as legacy effects of numerous mongol/manchu/other "barbarian" invasions from the north through out China's history, which often times were stopped around the Yangtze River. This resulted in the north under "barbarian rule" for long period of time, while the south held re…
I think your analysis makes more sense to me than that article. I am from north and barbaric.
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#6Interesting theory. The Chinese are fully aware of the "north-south" differences themselves, although they often attribute it to other reasons, such as legacy effects of numerous mongol/manchu/other "barbarian" invasions from the north through out China's history, which often times were stopped around the Yangtze River. This resulted in the north under "barbarian rule" for long period of time, while the south held re…
Interestingly, I've always been taught that the difference is explained because of dryland farming vs irrigated farming (so essentially, rice vs wheat), which leads to difference in development of agriculture and so on. I'm actually surprised that there doesn't seem to be a consensus about that yet.
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#7It annoys me a little that a) Someone thinks so many people can be divided into just two groups b) the idea that validating an assumption should also automatically validate the reason. People in the north might be more individualistic than in the south, and yes they grow wheat and not rice but that doesn't mean one depends on the other. It just doesn't seem all too scientific to confuse correlation with cause.
>a) Someone thinks so many people can be divided into just two groups
Ah, but they all look the same! Surely dividing them up into two groups is already doing them a favour.
>b) the idea that validating an assumption should also automatically validate the reason. People in the north might be more individualistic than in the south, and yes they grow wheat and not rice but that doesn't mean one depends on the other. It just doesn't seem all too scientific to confuse correlation with cause.
Who cares? It's called the "Rice Theory" and it's about the Mystical East! It'll sell and it's sure to annoy a whole lot of people for various reasons. What's not to love?
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#8Interesting theory. The Chinese are fully aware of the "north-south" differences themselves, although they often attribute it to other reasons, such as legacy effects of numerous mongol/manchu/other "barbarian" invasions from the north through out China's history, which often times were stopped around the Yangtze River. This resulted in the north under "barbarian rule" for long period of time, while the south held re…
Interestingly, I've always been taught that the difference is explained because of dryland farming vs irrigated farming (so essentially, rice vs wheat), which leads to difference in development of agriculture and so on. I'm actually surprised that there doesn't seem to be a consensus about that yet.
William McNeill, in Plagues And Peoples [1], makes the point that there are disease gradients that strongly influenced the movement of peoples and the development of culture, and that this gradient in China maps almost precisely to the rice/wheat border. Southern peoples had, by virtue of the ubiquity of disease vectoring mosquitos, an inbuilt defense against even massively superior Northern armies. This may be in large part why the Mongols took so long to conquer the Southern Song, and why Vietnam was able to successfully resist them.
[1] Highly recommended: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_and_Peoples
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#9Interesting theory. The Chinese are fully aware of the "north-south" differences themselves, although they often attribute it to other reasons, such as legacy effects of numerous mongol/manchu/other "barbarian" invasions from the north through out China's history, which often times were stopped around the Yangtze River. This resulted in the north under "barbarian rule" for long period of time, while the south held re…
> Talhelm said that one of the most striking findings was that counties on the north-south border – just across the Yangtze River from each other – exhibited the same north/south psychological characteristics as areas much more distantly separated north and south.
This from the original article seems to support your "invasion stopped at Yangtze" theory more than a "rice/wheat divide" theory. Rice is grown north of the Yangtze also and the border seems to be on the hills between provinces such as Hubei and Henan.
Re: ‘Rice Theory’ Explains North-South China Cultural Differences, Study Shows
#10Social "science."