Chapter 26 Postscript One country and two dynasties, South and North

If you want to sum up the historical significance of the Southern and Northern Dynasties in one sentence, I think it is: What was there before is gone, and what was not before is gone. What's gone? Wuhu. What's there? north and south. The Wuhu is to be ablated rather than eliminated.The Xiongnu, Jie, Di, Qiang and Xianbei all integrated into the new Han nationality through intermarriage and mixed blood and changing customs.However, this change is two-way, Sinicization is also Huhua.For example, sitting on a chair with both feet on the ground is the way of the Hu people.The sitting method of the Han people is to kneel in front of the knees and sit on the ground.It may be very difficult for anyone who wants to restore the demeanor of the Han family now.

It is also difficult to change to "tops and bottoms" without wearing pants. There are many other such "nonsense", including "crazy thinking" and "nonsense".For example, taking time as the world and space as the boundary, collectively called the world; taking knowledge as wisdom, comprehension as wisdom, collectively called wisdom, is the way of thinking of Hu people.It's just that the "hu people" are not among the five Hu people, but in India. The same goes for language.In today's Mandarin, there are many Huyu Huyin.There were later Mongols and Manchus, and I am afraid there were also Five Hus back then.Some of the authentic "Central Plains Yayan" is preserved in Hokkien dialect, but unfortunately, not many people can hear it.Similarly, it is not easy to find someone who understands Xianbei.

The Wuhu and Han in history have been integrated into one. After the boundaries between Han and Hu were blurred, the north-south division became prominent.Gentlemen, in the south, they should be pure and clear, while in the north, they should be practical; in Buddhism, they should emphasize metaphysics in the south, but in the north, they should be practiced; in literature and art, they should be beautiful and beautiful in the south, and vigorous and simple in the north.Those thick grottoes such as Dunhuang, Maijishan, Yungang, and Longmen are all in the north, and literary achievements such as parallel prose and poetry are higher in the south. It is no accident.

The South and the North are like two worlds. Since then, there have been more and more claims about the differences between the North and the South, for example, the Southern Tune and the Northern Tune, and the South Fist and the North Kick.The former means that northern dialects only have different tones, while southern dialects even have different pronunciations.The latter means: southerners like to fight with fists, and northerners like to use their legs when fighting.Even if the relationship between men and women is ambiguous, there are different ways of saying it in the north and the south: in the south it is called "having a hand", while in the north it is called "having a leg".

The difference between southerners and northerners has naturally become a topic that many people talk about.Gu Yanwu said that the problem of northern scholars is that they are full of food all day long and have no intentions;Mr. Lu Xun said that the advantage of northerners is thick, but the disadvantage is dullness; the advantage of southerners is cleverness, and the disadvantage is cunning.In short, it is very different. Southerners and Northerners are like two ethnic groups. It seems unlikely that two different cultures belong to the same people.However, according to Mr. Lin Yutang, the differences in body, character and customs between southerners and northerners are no less than that of Mediterraneans and Germans.As for the original difference between Hu and Han, I can't see it at all.

All of this can be traced back to the origin of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.Without the three or four hundred years of governance and turmoil, we would not have the culture and civilization we have today.All kinds of stories are impossible to tell. It turns out that some are gone, and this is the political one country and two dynasties.Both the Southern Dynasties and the Northern Dynasties regarded themselves as the Chinese Empire, and called each other Weilu or Daoyi, as the saying goes, "One China, each expressing itself."It turns out that there are no more, and this is the cultural south and north.Since then, the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin have been running side by side, and the new China created by the Sui and Tang Dynasties will be born between the two rivers and has continued to this day.

This is the root of the influence of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties on later generations.So my statement may be "very unprofessional", but it is very cultural.Culture is far more important than profession.At least for me, it is better to be "unprofessional" than "uneducated". Of course, this is off topic.

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Notes: Volume 13 "Diseases of Northern and Southern Scholars", Lu Xun.