The concepts of northern and southern China originate from differences in climate, geography, culture, and physical traits; as well as several periods of actual political division in history. For a large part of Chinese history, the North was economically more advanced than the South. The Jurchen and Mongol invasion caused a massive migration to South, and the Emperor shifted the Song Dynasty capital city from Kaifeng to Hangzhou.
The east coast of southern China remained a leading economic and cultural center of China until the Republic of China. Today, the South remains economically more prosperous than the North. During the Deng Xiaoping reforms of the 1980s, South China developed much more quickly than North China leading some scholars to wonder whether the economic fault line would create political tension between north and south.
During the Qing dynasty, regional differences and identification fostered the growth of regional stereotypes. In modern times, North and South is merely one of the ways that Chinese people identify themselves, and the divide between northern and southern China has been complicated both by a unified Chinese nationalism and as well as by local loyalties. Nevertheless, the concepts of North and South continue to play an important role in regional stereotypes.
About the stamps
The first stamp is one of the two issued in May 23, 2012 to mark the 70th Anniversary of Publication of - Talks at Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art. The second stamp was issued on May 20, 2012, to mark the 110th Anniversary of Nanjing University. The third stamp, entitled Zhonghua Book Company, was issued on February 23, 2012. The fourth stamp is part of a set of four, belonging to the series Protecting the common homeland of mankind, about which I wrote here. The fifth is part of a set of two, belonging to the same series Protecting the common homeland of mankind, about which I also wrote here.
References
Northern and southern China - Wikipedia
Sender: Kun Hu (direct swap)
Sent from ??? (??? / China), on 20.07.2013
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