Large-scale lexical and genetic alignment supports a hybrid model of Han Chinese demic and cultural diffusions

Chengkun Yang; Xiaoxi Zhang; Shi Yan; Sizhe Yang; Baihui Wu; Fengshuo You; Yue Cui; Ni Xie; Zhiyi Wang; Li Jin; Shuhua Xu; Menghan Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41562-024-01886-9

Large-scale lexical and genetic alignment supports a hybrid model of Han Chinese demic and cultural diffusions

Nat Hum Behav. 2024 May 13. doi: 10.1038/s41562-024-01886-9. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chengkun Yang^#¹, Xiaoxi Zhang^#^{2

3}, Shi Yan⁴, Sizhe Yang¹, Baihui Wu¹, Fengshuo You⁵, Yue Cui⁶, Ni Xie⁷, Zhiyi Wang⁵, Li Jin⁸, Shuhua Xu^{9

10

11}, Menghan Zhang^{12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Human Phenome Institute, Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
² School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
⁴ School of Ethnology and Sociology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China.
⁵ Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁶ Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Human Phenome Institute, Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. lijin@fudan.edu.cn.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Center for Evolutionary Biology, Human Phenome Institute, Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, School of Life Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. xushua@fudan.edu.cn.
¹⁰ School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China. xushua@fudan.edu.cn.
¹¹ Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. xushua@fudan.edu.cn.
¹² Institute of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. mhzhang@fudan.edu.cn.
¹³ Research Institute of Intelligent Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. mhzhang@fudan.edu.cn.
¹⁴ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. mhzhang@fudan.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38740988
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01886-9

Abstract

The Han Chinese history is shaped by substantial demographic activities and sociocultural transmissions. However, it remains challenging to assess the contributions of demic and cultural diffusion to Han culture and language, primarily due to the lack of rigorous examination of genetic-linguistic congruence. Here we digitized a large-scale linguistic inventory comprising 1,018 lexical traits across 926 dialect varieties. Using phylogenetic analysis and admixture inference, we revealed a north-south gradient of lexical differences that probably resulted from historical migrations. Furthermore, we quantified extensive horizontal language transfers and pinpointed central China as a dialectal melting pot. Integrating genetic data from 30,408 Han Chinese individuals, we compared the lexical and genetic landscapes across 26 provinces. Our results support a hybrid model where demic diffusion predominantly impacts central China, while cultural diffusion and language assimilation occur in southwestern and coastal regions, respectively. This interdisciplinary study sheds light on the complex social-genetic history of the Han Chinese.

Abstract

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