ABSTRACT
China covers a huge land area, and each region has its own natural conditions, manners and customs and sources of culture - all presenting definite differences. The regional nature of Chinese literature is apparent broadly in a north-south divide. The Book of Odes and the Songs of Chu, both products of the pre-Qin period, are works with very pronounced regional characteristics. In the Book of Odes 15 of the poems or songs are classified as Airs of the States. The very title of the Songs of Chu shows that it contains texts from the land of the Kingdom of Chu, and therefore the poems in it have a thick regional coloring. The regionalism of Han Dynasty literature is likewise found in its poetry. During the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties the difference in the northern and southern literary styles was particularly marked. The difference between the southern and northern literary styles is apparent in both poetry and prose.
