The interesting migration history of Chinese Miao
Who are the Miao?
The Miao people are an ethnic group inhabiting mainly in China and southeast Asia. Over the past several thousand years, they have migrated numerous times throughout China, and these journeys are reflected in their unique handmade embroidery, silver jewelry, and batik artwork. Reasons for this movement varied a lot, but wars were the main cause.
The first big migration
Over 5,000 years ago, the Miao resided in the Yellow River and Yangtze River areas of central China. Chi You, a brave soldier, was their headman. Legend has it that he had a pair of horns projecting from his copper head, and his forehead was as strong as iron. The first law in China is the criminal law Chi You created in his tribe.
Chi You led the Miao to victory over many tribes. They were so clever that they could make various kinds of weapons, like swords, arrows, and spears.
However in a severe war against another big tribe, Chi you and his people were crushed. After he was killed, his body and head were buried in two places far apart. Like Miao stories say, the first maple tree was from his blood.
Chi You was dead, however his soul and story even touched the heart of his opponents, who drew his picture on their flags to inspire their soldiers.Afterward, he was respected as the god of war by the Chinese emperors.
Today the Miao commemorate Chi You by wearing a silver headdress decorated with silver horns. And a maple tree is thought to be a special totem in the Miao areas.
After Chi You died, some Miao groups were seized and merged into the Chinese Han nationality. However the majority of Miao had to abandon their home and migrated to the south of China.
Continued movement
Throughout most of Chinese history, the Han nationality has been the most powerful and has generally dominated the whole country. As minority group, the Miao were always persecuted and suppressed by the Han emperors and local officials. Due to wars and persecution, the Miao had to persistently move throughout China.
The Miao people started to reside in the mountainous areas of southern and southwestern China as early as 2,000 years ago.
Then just over 700 years ago, some Miao people moved to the countries of southeast Asia, like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. With the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970's, some homeless Miao people escaped to America and Europe. Today about 280,000 Miao people live in western countries.
Today
Despite widespread migration, the Miao have kept their unique culture and tradition alive to this day.
They don't have historical texts, so they have invented a special way to remember the past----embroidery. Once you check their embroidery carefully, you will know that each embroidered piece has a meaning relating to their culture, history, and religion.
C. Liu has been studying interesting Miao culture for a few years. She sometimes supports the work of some Miao silversmiths. Go to her website to learn more about Miao culture and see fine Miao silver jewelry here.
