In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The term Hmong is the English pronunciation of the Hmong's native name. It is a singular and plural noun e. Very little is known about the native Hmong name as it is not mentioned in Chinese historical records, since the Han identified the Hmong as Miao.
The meaning of it is debatable and no one is sure of its origin, although it can be traced back to several provinces in China. Before the s, the term Miao or Meo i. Soon after, there was a political push from Hmong American politicians and activists to replace the term Miao with the term Hmong in China with little to no success. To date, China is the only country that does not recognize the term Hmong.
Historically, the term Miao carried strong pejorative connotations in both China and Southeast Asia. In modern times, however, it has lost such negative connotations in China and has since been officially recognized as an ethnicity, which includes the Hmong.
The Hmong in China are often happy or proud to be known as Miao while most Hmong outside China find it offensive. Little is known about the origin of the Miao term and the people it referenced historically, since the Han used it loosely to identify non-Han in Southern China until the Tang Dynasty when evidence of its association with the Hmong became more apparent. Thereafter it was perceived as barbaric, and resurfaced more often in Chinese historical records during the Miao's rebellions against the Ming and Qing dynasties between the s and early s that are still chanted by guides in most Hmong funerals today when guiding the spirits of the deceased individuals to their origins so they can reincarnate.
With a slight change in accent, the word "Meo" in Lao and Thai can be pronounced to mean "cat". The HmongβMien and Sino-Tibetan speaking people are known as hill tribes in Thailand; they were the subject of the first studies to show an impact of patrilocality vs.
