History - 历史 (Lìshǐ)
The present divisions of the Chinese language developed out of the different ways in which dialects of Old Chinese and Middle Chinese evolved.
Most Chinese living in northern and south-western China are native speakers of a dialect of Mandarin. The prevalence of this linguistic homogeneity in northern China is largely the result of geography: much of northern China is covered by plains and is flat. In contrast to this, the mountains and rivers of southern China have promoted linguistic diversity.
