Tang's for the memory

In my posting titled "Historical Hokkien" last year (19 Nov), there was a claim by some anonymous source that Hokkien is the surviving language of the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD), China's Golden Age of Culture.

The email I received further claimed that Hokkiens are the surviving descendants of the Tang Dynasty, and that when the dynasty collapsed, the people of the Tang Dynasty fled South and sought refuge in the Hokkien (Fujian) province. Hence, Hokkien called themselves Tng-lang (Tang Ren or People of the Tang Dynasty) instead of Hua Lang (Hua Ren).

Now, Sunday Times reader Perry Lee has put his spotlight on the Tang Dynasty legacy.

In his letter "Why the Cantonese call themselves Tang people" today (10 Nov), he gave his take on why the Cantonese -- and other southern Chinese -- call themselves “Tang people”. He says:

"The northern Chinese call themselves “Han” as it was the Han Dynasty which brought stability and prosperity in a long period of about 400 years. Inheriting a united northern China by the barbaric Chin Dynasty, all northern Chinese were united and hence the cohesive name of Han stuck.

"In the south, it was a different story. While the Han Dynasty did conquer parts of the south, it was basically not sinicised – people there were still of various “aboriginal” roots. Chinese culture was enforced but could not take root due to the tumultuous aftermath of the Han Dynasty. A period of unrest and war – the Three Kingdoms’ rivalry, East and West Chin Dynasties and Six Kingdoms eras – was not conducive to sinicisation.

"It was only during the Tang Dynasty that Chinese culture took root in the south and people there considered themselves “true” Chinese. Hence, not only the Cantonese but also the Hokkiens, Teochews and Hainanese call themselves Tang people to this day, as opposed to Han in the north."

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Hmm, if some Americans today still persist in referring to a "Yankee North" and a "Dixie South", I wonder if there is a similar sublime Mason/Dixon Line-like undercurrent in China?

Maybe the divide is reflected in something more basic: wheat (suitable for northern climes) and rice (grown abundantly in the south). So, do the northerners, among themselves, refer to the southerns as rice-eaters while the southerners riposte by calling the northerners wheat-eaters? Hokkiens, incidentally, do have this expression, "png tang" (rice bin) when referring to someone who must have rice to accompany his or her meal.

That's my food for thought for today.