Miao people

The Miao people are an ethnic minority group who live primarily in the mountainous regions of southern China. The term Miao is the official name used by the Chinese government to refer to four distantly related linguistic groups: the Hmong, Hmu, A-Hmao, and Qo Xiong. Miao populations outside China generally consider the name to be derogatory and prefer to be called by their specific cultural identities. In China, the Miao are among the largest of the nation’s fifty-five recognized ethnic minorities, with an estimated population of more than 11 million. Traditional Miao culture is base in agriculture, with close-knit families and animistic religious beliefs. In China, many Miao categorize their ethnic identities by the color of their women’s clothing, such as the Red Miao, Striped Miao, and Big Flowery Miao.

Background

China has one of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth, with roots dating back about four thousand years. According to myth, the earliest Chinese civilization arose at around 2600 Before the Common Era (BCE). However, the first historically recorded ancient civilization dates back to about 2000 to 1600 BCE. After a centuries-long period of warfare, Qin Shi Huang conquered the last of the warring Chinese states in 221 BCE, bringing them under his control as the first Chinese emperor. Although the Qin dynasty lasted only about fifteen years, it laid the foundation for the Chinese nation and led to a series of successive dynasties that endured until 1912. For almost four decades, China was an independent republic until Communist forces emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

In 2024, China’s population was over 1.4 billion, the most of any nation in the world. According to Chinese census data, 92 percent of the population are Han Chinese. China also recognized fifty-five official minority populations, with the Zhuang people being the largest at 1.27 percent of the population. The other fifty-four minority groups make up 6.73 percent of the population, with the five largest being, in order, the Hui, Manchu, Uyghur, Miao, and Yi.

Overview

According to 2020 Chinese census data, the Miao population was about 11 million people, or 0.79 percent of the total population. About half of that number lives in the south-central Guizhou province, 20 percent lives in the neighboring Hunan province, and 13 percent in the Yunnan province on the borders on Laos and Vietnam. Smaller populations of Miao also live in the Guangxi, Sichuan, Guangdong, and Hubei provinces. Most Miao communities in these regions are located in rural, mountainous areas.

One Miao legend states that the people were once part of a larger group that was defeated in battle by the mythical founder of China, Huang Di, and the Huaxia people. The Huaxia went on to become the Han people, while the defeated group split into the Miao and Li peoples. Historians believe that the Miao may have branched off from an ancient southern people during the Zhou dynasty, the precursor of the Qin.

The term Miao was first used during this era to refer to the non-Han peoples in China. At the time, it had a connotation similar to “barbarian.” For this reason, outside of China, where more than two million Miao reside, the term is considered insulting. In 1949, the leaders of the newly formed People’s Republic of China combined four ethnic groups—the Hmong, Hmu, A-Hmao, and the Qo Xiong—under the name Miao and declared them an official minority. In this context, the term Miao means “weeds” or “sprouts.” These four cultures had distinct identities and were only distantly related through some linguistic and cultural similarities. In general, the Hmu people reside in Guizhou, the Qo Xiong in Hunan, the A-Hmao in Yunnan, and the Hmong in Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Yunnan.

Despite different cultural backgrounds, the Miao people in China accept the term and many have adopted it to describe their cultural identity. Still, Miao culture in China differs from region to region. In many cases, the Miao people categorize themselves based on the color of clothing worn by women. For example, the Qo Xiong are known as the Red Miao, the Hmu as the Black Miao, the A-Hmao as the Big Flowey Miao, and the Hmong as the Green Miao, the Small Flowery Miao, or the White, or Striped Miao.

The Miao languages are part of the Miao-Yao language family, which is sometimes referred to as the Hmong-Mien family and is distinct from Mandarin and other Sino-Tibetan languages. The family is made up of five main languages, with three dialects spoken by the Miao in China. These dialects—the western Hunan dialect, the northern Guizhou dialect, and the Sichuan-Guizhou-Yunnan dialect—can also be broken down into subdialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible among Miao populations.

Miao communities tend to be very insular and family-oriented. They are primarily comprised of rice farmers, but also grow corn, sweet potatoes, and grains, depending on the region. Many also fish and raise chickens and livestock. The Miao are also accomplished at weaving, embroidery, and jewelry-making. Clothing is very important, with many outfits featuring bright colors and intricate patterns. To the Miao, clothes can tell the story of the people or a community, with special clothes worn for special ceremonies.

Traditionally, the Miao religion is animist in nature, holding to the idea that spirits inhabit objects in the outside world. The spirits, called tlan, are believed to live in sacred caves, stones, trees, and other natural objects. A spiritual “mediator” known as a shaman is called upon to communicate with these nature spirits. The Miao also revere the spirits of their ancestors, who they believe protect their family and bring luck.

The Miao still offer animal sacrifices to appease the spirits, but these ceremonies are not as common as they once were. At one time, almost all the pigs in a village would be used as part of a sacrificial ritual. Today, the Miao sacrifice animals as part of their annual four main festivals. The sacrificed animals then become part of a community feast. In some cases, the head of the sacrificed animal—usually a pig or chicken—is presented to a guest of honor as a gift. Miao festivals remain a vital part of their culture and are celebrated throughout several provinces in China with a large Miao population. These festivals promote cultural identity and community and attract locals and tourists. 

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