Chinese referred to all NON-HAN as Miao in china whether hmong,mien, lao, tai, and more. Yes there is lao in China. They are called Dai bc i was watching a thai movie and they went to kunming, there were some dai people speaking the language and it was 60% understandable.

miao is okay to call us if u don't understand tah we're hmong. most people don't know we're hmong, but saying tah we're miao they understand better.

but for me, i perfer to be call hmong. calling us miao is very funny because we're not use to tah yet. my friend said tah it sound like a cat saying meow. lol.

naw-uh.... it's just spelt that way.. it is really pronounce MAOW.. the I is silent..







miao, hmong, we are ONE... don't let this become a issue now mann... people!!

no we dont. there are manzu(manchu),menggu(monggol),chaoxian(korean),huizu(chinese muslim),weiwuer(uygiur),zangzu(tibetan),tajike(tajik) and etc



list of 55 minorities in china,see we dont call everyone as miao

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/56list.htm

Achang
Bai
Bonan
Bouyei
Blang
Dai
Daur
Deang
Dong
Dongxiang
Dulong
Ewenki
Gaoshan
Gelao
Hani
Hezhe
Hui
Jing
Jingpo



Jinuo
Kazak
Kirgiz
Korean
Lahu
Li
Lisu
Luoba
Manchu
Maonan
Menba
Miao
Mongolian
Mulao
Naxi
Nu
Oroqen
Ozbek


Pumi
Qiang
Russian
Salar
She
Shui
Tajik
Tatar
Tibetan
Tu
Tujia
Uigur
Wa
Xibe
Yao
Yi
Yugur
Zhuang

excellent ; )

thank you for clearing this up for folks who don't know yet...

Aww...i'm too late....I was gonna say we're just a sub-group

sub my @$$.. ^^ hahah okay now don't you go off topic about my @$$... x.x sorry mod if i violated any rules.. please excuse mea...















DOH!

But we ARE.....literally, technically, seriously etc.....a Sub-Group of Miao....

and what makes us subber's? explaination?

Miao is a group of people...Not all Miao are Hmong.....there's different sub-groups....we are among those sub-groups.....

it's just the colors of hmong that made them sub..and plus where they live, their tradition and whatever religion they are in.. but still, they are from the same ancestors.. if you disagree, prove me wrong?

exactly....SUB-GROUP....Not that it matters....but just saying we're a SUB-GROUP......

Simply,

Hmong - from ex-French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos) and Thailand

Miao - Chinese

Actually, Hmong are called Miao in China. And just to clarify, it is pronounced mee-ow. If you think otherwise, you are a fool.

The disagreement about all Miao not being Hmong is stupid. The "Hmong" in China call themselves "Miao." Whether the other Miao groups consider themselves "Hmong" can be debated, but it would not make any sense. The point is, Hmong/Miao refer to the same people group.

I also find it humorous that people would be so proud of being something that was out of their control. If you are proud, it should be over your accomplishments.

INTERESTING!!!

BUT I'LL STICK TO HMONG...

i'd rather be called miao than hmong, cause hmong was just derived from miao about 5 decades ago...i don't find the word miao derogatory or anything...

Actually it's pronounced

Myo

Unless you have been to China and asked people if they are "Myo," I suggest you stop misinforming people. And yes, this comes from a person who has been to China and talked to "Miao" people.

if translated into Hmoob language it would be "Pev Hmoob" which can refer to as us hmong or pev as a number, sounds tight eh

Yeah I think they still refer to San Miao in China even today.

"Hmong in Laos and Thailand have been known as "Meo", a derivative of the Chinese word "Miao". With a slight change in accent, the word "Meo" in Lao and Thai can be pronounced to mean "cat". It is most offensive for many Asians to be compared to an animal, a lower form of beings in their views. For this reason, the Hmong have taken exception to being known as "Meo". The Hmong in China are today reported to readily accept being called "Miao". Enwall (1992: 2) The Chinese Hmong may have raised no objection because they are not aware of the ambiguous meanings of the term, or have not been ridiculed by the use of such a name unlike their brothers and sisters in Thailand or Laos."
http://members.aol.com/hmongstudiesjrnl/HSJv1n1_LeeFr.html

i should say that the i don't know if that explanation up there is really the reason why the term Meo is thought of as derogative but i know that Meo was used derogatively towards the Hmong that's why the term Meo is disliked. also it doesn't really matter if you call Hmong person Miao or Meo because when you say it it sounds the same so the person will interpret it as the same thing and since Hmong (who are from SEA) knows the term Meo they'd think you are calling them Meo. i don't think the Hmong that immigrated to Amerca really even know the term/name Miao.

newho, the miao in china call themselves miao so they are miao and the hmong in america and elsewhere calls ourselves hmong so we are hmong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TtbAjRSqKI&eurl=

Watch this and learn.

im sorry but...do you really believe this stuff? this vid is full of nationalistic propaganda but sounds like total b.s. about Hmong history.

blonde hair/blue eyes?

Mesopotamia region, are you serious?

this video relys too much on myths and less on facts.

I don't believe much of what that video tells about the miao people and their origin. Our history dates back to more than 5,000 years ago, I doubt anyone can truthfully claim that hmongs were easy to spot because they were born with blonde hair and blue eyes back then.

You can call me whatever you want, but I'll always be hmong/american so ya take that.

i believe the blondehair/blue eyes thing is a gene defect. Seeing that it rarely happens to mainland Chinese... nor any of the other ethnic. You will only see it with Mongolians, Miao, Tiebets... and ethnics that reside in the mountain highlands. but yea...Mesopotamia...cmon now. and even listening to the girls voice made it sound faulty, she pronounced hmong, "mung" wth.

Nationalistic propaganda? Its a documentary about Hmong, made by Hmong, based on facts and research done by Scholars, Scientits, and historians. There is no more factual way to do this.

When you deal with history, you have to look into myths. Its called a theory, and people research their theory to prove what they believe is wrong or right. But you can choose to believe what you want and dont want to.




Its a video based on facts, and theories from historians, and scholars. When you deal with history all you can do is rely on myths, and research to test the theories. It seems as though many support the theories. But of course theres not truthful way to tell unless we got someone 5,000 y/o to tell us.

^^ even then no one will believe this 5000 yrs old person 'cause people are just like that... lmao.

anywho, i don't mind being called miao. i always thought it was odd that we readily accept the kingdom name of San Miao yet have an issue with 'miao'. peculiar indeed - aside from the derogatory appellations ('cause our parents and anyone whose hmong never fails to remind us of that), of course... but that could just be people manipulating a term that already exist to make it worse and wallah--- almost half a century later, we are hmong.

ionno... but i have an inkling that a lot of the "facts" getting tossed here about hmong/miao history are going to get plutoed someday. plutoed...

OMG! NO! MIAO MEANS "CAT" IN CHINESE OR THAI..OR MAYBE BOTH.. I AIN'T NO ANIMAL.. I'M HMONG & HUMAN...

hey Jinglebells, the Name of MIAO is actually a good name for us .......it doesnt mean Cats or animals.....It represent us as Hmong Kingdom........ research more about Hmong Kingdom N you'll see something about MAIO's...............

i don't have all the time in the world to research...

MIAO does mean cat.. for reals! .. i read in this one book.

wait i thought that "miao" was a bad word for hmong. i heard that it meant barbarian. the chinese called us that to insult us....

Meo is what Laotians call us. It coulda been derived from the same "Miao" word from China but in Laos, it sounds like the word "Cat" in Thai and Lao languages.


In Chinese it means something different.

Can you all make up your mind of what you guys want to be called. I don't want to be charge with discrimination law for using the wrong term. Make up your mind already. I do love Hmong women, they are so pretty.

If you can speak chinese than miao zi should be fine. I could care less what people address me.

Just like the words N*gga, GHETTO, Japanese, etc., the words themselves might have meant something else in their origin but the term TODAY is used in a DEROGATORY sense. I do not care if it used to mean blah blah back in the day! It is now a derogatory term.

THE TERM "MIAO" DOES NOT BOTHER ME AT ALL. IT STARTED OUT AS DEROGATORY TOWARDS ALL NON-CHINESE BUT IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE HMONG PEOPLE LIVING IN CHINA TODAY, THEY CLAIM THAT THEY ARE "MIAO" AND THEY WEAR THAT NAME PROUDLY.

THE DEFINITION OF "MIAO" DEPENDING ON WHAT TONE YOU USE, COULD MEAN MANY THINGS, ESPECIALLY IN CHINESE, BUT I GUESS IT WAS MEANT TO DESCRIBE ALL NON-CHINESE WHO WERE CONSIDERED "BARBARIC." THAT WAS OF COURSE 1,000 YEARS AGO AND TODAY, MOST CHINESE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT "MIAO" LITERALLY MEANS.

THE WAY I SEE IT "MIAO" MEANS HMONG, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. A THOUSAND YEARS AGO WAS A THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND TODAY IS TODAY. AS LONG AS WE'RE NOT BEING CALLED N*ggaS, OR MISTAKEN FOR chineseS AND g@@kS, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT BLACK, NOR ARE WE CHINESE AND VIETNAMESE. NOPE! WE ARE "MIAO!"

No, i am NOT ashamed AT ALL of being called Miao, preferably, i'd rather be called Miao than Hmong.

The HMONG term was only coined in the mid 20th century. Rather the term Miao, has been with us for centuries. Miao is not a derogatory term. People only say that because it sounds like the noise a cat makes.

meaning of Miao

The meanings of "Miao"

Since the Miao Nationality is a very big and diverse minority group, there's also Miao villages in America, Vietnam, and Laos. In addition, at different locations and villages, the Miao people named or called themselves differently. For example, the Miao located in the U.S. and Northeast Asia called themselves as "HMONG".

It is hard and difficult to understand and analysis titles or names for the Miao nationality at different places. However, the word "Miao" itself has four different kind of meanings. Let's look each one of them.

1. "Miao" means 心"heart", originated from the song "tree's heart". In the book <<Miao zu gu ge: feng mu ge>>， the poem "hua die ma ma“ told the beginning of mankind. It explained how an old Sugar Maple tree stood there absorbing the sunlight and the moonlight (the thought of Yin & Yang) and became a butterfly. Then, she was married with water bubbles, have 12 eggs, and out came the dragon, tiger, elephant, snake, human..etc. Till today, at many Miao villages, Miao people will praise Sugar Maple trees because they look at the trees as their ancestors. Moreover, in Miao language, "Hmongb" means "tree's heart", which has a really close pronounciation to "Miao".
2. "Miao" is 布"cloth", meaning weaving. In Miao language, it is called "Hmub". The earliest Miao ancestors first settled around the yellow river area. They plant, farm, sew, weave. The status of Miao women are highly regarded. Therefore, to acknowledge the hardworks of the Miao women and to show recognition, "cloth" or "Miao" is a way to represent the women.
3. Similar to the second meaning, except "Miao" is "wheat" instead of "cloth". History has shown us that earlier Miao ancestors were farmers and belong to the big agriculture family. In ancient Chinese poems, "Miao" is considered to be "food". Therefore, "Miao People" is also known as "farm people" or "those who plants."
4. In Han Chinese, "Miao" considers to have many different interpretations due to the many names that Miao named themselves. That is because the Miao population has expand. Before, Miao is look upon as a barbarian group. Now, with the amount of people this particular nationality has, it is consider as 众"zhong" in Han Chinese. In this case, "zhong" is "Miao" symbolizing the huge population it has. From this explanation, "Miao" is not a self-named title, but named by others.

http://c232osu.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns...w!283.entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miao_(people)

Like how Dr. Gary Yia had said, if you want a long rich history go with Miao. But if you want a short one, go with Hmong


Me? i'll go with Miao since doing so allows me to relate myself with ancient Chinese history and all that. With the term Hmong i usually think of SEA and the Vietnam/secret war/anti-communist.

The connotation of Miao isn't relevant these days... so why not take on that name? Just like how Blacks use the term "negro/N*gga" these days... same for Miao and Meo

^ I second that.

Ehh...isn't "Meo" from Thai word?

Isn't that what the Thais say?

Is that Thai or Lao who use the word "Meo" ? I'm not sure.

I read previously that the term "Meo" is derogatory.

But there is no connection and no relation with the way Chinese people use "Miao", this is totally different.

Dont put "Miao/ Meo" together like that.

There is no relation like that.

Miao is a very neutral word, no negative connotation whatsoever.

Meo is a neutral term as well. It comes from the Chinese term...it is not derogatory but it is very similar in sound to the cat word in Thai and Lao so people use it in a derogatory manner.

Pinyin: Miao
苗族 (miao zu) = Miao ethnic
描 = Cat

You see the difference here? Same pronounciation and tone. If you can read characters, you will know the difference. It looks like some people here need to learn characters and especially learn to speak and read it.

Okay,

I am proud to be called HMONG, but MIAO, I can accept that.


There is a different from using "HMONG" and "MIAO."

Please remember that

HMONG is an asserted term. It is an ethnic identity used by the people of that culture. Our ancestors called themselves HMONG, so I will go with HMONG.
MIAO is an ascribed term, given to us by the ANCIENT CHINESE. It doesn't mean anything bad. It actually derived from the word HMONG.

Call yourself Hmong and than give them a history lecture about another name. LOL

^___^
The origin of the word "HMONG" and "MIAO"

Yes. Our history is a long one and a history lesson must be given until they give you a good, "oooOoh!"

"Hmong" or "Miao" either one is fine with me. Just don't call me 'Mexician' or 'Hispanic' because I tan easily and look like one.

True, the word Miao was invented the Miao people themselves centuries ago. Later down in history other Asians added a new meaning to it, a very insulting new meaning. As far as I know, it's mostly the Hmong in SEA that do not like to be called Miao or Meo. So, can we say the new meaning was given when they migrated to SEA? My dad claimed it started when they moved to SEA and Hmong people didn't like being called wandering cats in the jungles by the Laos. There are still Hmong in China who calls themselves Miao, is it because they have no other choice or they don't find it offense? If you listen to some of Mim Haam's (Mee Hang) song, she uses the word Miao. Actually, I only know one but I'm sure there's more.

I don't mind being called Miao. Infact, I even like the word because it's ancient. Miao is an old term. When I meet Chinese and they ask what I am, I tell them I'm Hmong and they would usually become clueless. So, I know I would have to tell them I'm Miao if I didn't want to do a lot of explaining. When I do tell them I'm Miao, they go, "Oh, I what the Miao people are." Yes, I do know there are many subgroups of Miaos but oh well..