Why do southerners have a stronger sense of identity with family clans than northerners?

As far as I know, the concept of clan identity of northerners is really not as strong as that of southerners. In the south, if two people meet by chance, they may have a conversation when they learn that the other person is the same surname as themselves, asking where the other person is from, and whether he is from the same clan. If so, they may make friends as family members and contact each other in the future. In the north, among people with the same surname, it is just the same surname. Few people will be curious about each other's native place and the origin of their ancestors. At most, they can say "they were a family 5 years ago". In fact, even the same surname was not necessarily a family 5 years ago. Why is the clan concept of southerners stronger than that of northerners? This is the ethnic cultural difference caused by different degrees of ethnic migration and integration.

Since ancient times, the Central Plains, located in the north, is the settlement of the Chinese nation and the birthplace of farming civilization. Farming civilization pays attention to rest, mutual help and development, so it has formed the characteristics of living in groups, while nomadic culture outside the Central Plains is the hegemonic thinking of conquering and abusing others. Two different civilizations and different thinking also lead to different ethnic concepts.

in ancient times, the reason was that the climate was mild and the products were rich, which was always watched by nomadic people. After the nomadic people conquered and unified each other in the Mongolian Plateau or the Northeast, they formed a climate and extended their tentacles to the Central Plains. First, they robbed people and animals and provided food and grass for food and clothing, and then they pushed their luck, directly encroaching on the territory, taking power and enslaving the Han people. In the nomadic invasions again and again, the Central Plains and North China have become battlefields for hegemony between Chinese and foreigners, and have also become hotbeds of ethnic integration.

In the history of China, the great historical events that led to the great migration and integration of ethnic groups included the "Five Wild Flowers" in the Western Jin Dynasty, the "Anshi Rebellion" in the Tang Dynasty, the "Jingkang Rebellion" in the Northern Song Dynasty, and later the Yuan Dynasty and the Manchu Dynasty. The occurrence of these great events not only changed the ethnic culture, but also changed the ethnic concept, which led to the difference of clan concept.

At the historical nodes such as "Five Wild Flowers", "Anshi Rebellion" and "Jingkang Rebellion", many Han people in the Central Plains moved to the south in order to protect the safety of their ethnic groups and escape foreign slavery. They had a mentality of being expelled from foreign countries psychologically, so they kept their cultural genes and formed their later family clan concept. In order to survive, the Han people who didn't escape from several historical events chose to submit or blend in, and became one with the nomadic people. Over time, the concept of the former ethnic group gradually faded.

Especially in the Song Dynasty, the whole Song Dynasty was robbed and abused by Liao, hanged by Jin and trampled by Meng Yuan. After the Ming Dynasty, the rule of Manchu was first impacted by the Central Plains and North China. At these historical nodes, the Central Plains and North China were almost merged by nomadic peoples, and the ethnic genes were diversified, which led to the weakening of people's clan concept. One of the most representative examples is Zhang Hongfan, a general in the early Yuan Dynasty. His ancestors were Han people in the Northern Song Dynasty, and his father was Han people during the reign of Jin Guo. Zhang Hongfan became a general in the early Yuan Dynasty and personally wiped out the Southern Song Dynasty. As for the northwest region, it has been the starting point of the Silk Road since ancient times, and it is also the birthplace of nomadic tribes. Because of the developed commerce and trade, there are many ethnic groups, ethnic integration is earlier, ethnic genes are more complicated, and ethnic concepts are even more diluted than in the south.

In fact, from the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911 and Sun Yat-sen's slogan of "expelling the Tatars and restoring China", we can feel that the Han people in the south have always kept a deficit in the Central Plains. They look to the Central Plains in the north, have a heart for China, and strive for the rise of China at any time. This is a cultural gene deeply rooted in the blood. Although the sea has changed, it has been passed down from generation to generation, and it will never change. Therefore, with the contrast between the strong and weak ethnic concepts, there is a distinction between the strong and weak clan concepts.