During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, a great population migration occurred in China, which had a profound impact on Chinese history.

The population migration during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties promoted cultural exchanges between the north and the south, and introduced advanced farming and other technologies to the south, laying the foundation for taking over the economic center of the north in the future. In addition, it also Some new systems of "resettlement of counties and counties by overseas Chinese" have emerged, which can be regarded as an enlightenment of one country, two governance.

This stage is characterized by the gradual shift of the economic center of gravity to the south, with economic development basically becoming balanced between the north and the south and the south beginning to overtake the north. In the late Western Jin Dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the south where the Southern Dynasties were located was further developed, and the socio-economic development in the south was faster than that in the north.

But to measure whether a region’s economic development level exceeds that of other regions, we cannot just look at its development speed. Real experience has proved that due to the low starting point of economic development, the economic development speed of economically backward countries and regions will greatly exceed that of economically developed countries and regions in the initial stage.

Reasons for the economic balance between the north and the south:

The Jiangnan region has abundant rainfall, a hot climate, fertile land, and has superior conditions for the development of agriculture. Since the late Western Jin Dynasty, a large number of people from the north have migrated southward. , brought labor force and advanced production technology;

There are relatively few wars in the Jiangnan area, the society is relatively stable, the integration of southern ethnic minorities and Han people accelerates economic development, and the hard work of the working people in the north and south.

With the unification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the economies of the north and the south experienced great development. However, before the "An-Shi Rebellion" in the Tang Dynasty, the economic center of gravity was still in the North China Plain, and the northern economy still had a certain overall advantage. It was not until the Anshi Rebellion that the economic center of gravity began to shift southward. From the Five Dynasties onwards, the southern economy began to gradually surpass the northern economy.