This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? Excessive Violence Sexual Content Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id: WHEBN0000615151 Reproduction Date:
The Yao nationality (its great majority branch is also known as Mien; Traditional Chinese: 瑤族, Simplified Chinese: 瑶族, Pinyin: Yáo zú; Vietnamese: người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south. They also form one of the 54 ethnic groups officially recognized by Vietnam. In the last census in 2000, they numbered 2,637,421 in China, and roughly 470,000 in Vietnam.
The origins of the Yao can be traced back 2,000 years ago, starting in Hunan Province. The Yao and Miao people were among the rebels during the Miao Rebellions against the Ming dynasty. As the Han Chinese expanded in southern China, the Yao retreated into the highlands between Hunan and Guizhou to the north and Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, and stretching into eastern Yunnan.[1] Around 1890 the Guangdong government started taking action against Yao in northwestern Guangdong.[2]
The first Chinese exonym for "Yao people" was the graphic pejorative yao 猺 (犭"dog radical" and yao 䍃 phonetic) "jackal", which 20th century language reforms changed twice; first with the invented character yao 傜 (亻"human radical") "the Yao", and then with yao 瑤 (玉 "jade radical") "precious jade; green jasper".
During the Laotian Civil War, Yao tribes of Laos had a good relationship with U.S. forces and were dubbed to be an "efficient friendly force". They fought in favour of government against the communists.[3] This relationship caused the new communist Laotian government to target Yao tribal groups for revenge once the war was over. This triggered further immigration into Thailand, where the tribes would be put into camps along the Thailand-Laos border.
After obtaining refugee status from the Thai government and with the help of the United Nations, many Yao people were able to obtain sponsorship into the United States (although many remain in Thailand). Most of the Yao who have immigrated to the United States have settled along the Western part of the U.S., mainly in Central and Northern California such as Visalia, Fresno, Oakland, Oroville, Redding, Richmond, Sacramento, but also in parts of Oregon like Portland, Salem, and Beaverton as well as the state of Washington in Seattle and Renton. See Mien American for those identified as Mien.
The typical houses of the Yao are rectangular and they have structures made of wood and bamboo. Normally it has three rooms: a room and two dormitories in the lateral side. Each one of these rooms has a small oven to cook.
The men and the women cover their heads with a black or red scarf. Some women substitute this scarf by a turban that can adopt different forms.
The traditional suit of the women is of bright colors. They also decorate their shirts with decorations made out of silver.
In Vietnam, Yao people celebrate many exciting and meaningful festivals such as Nhơn chung lỉnh (literally: Red rice, Green rice"), Nhiang chằm đao (literally: Jumping Festival).
The Yao, or Iu Mien, practice Yao Taoism, a religion based on medieval Chinese Taoism,[4] although many have converted to Buddhism and few to Christianity. Though some people have converted to other religions, many still practice their native traditions.
Marriage is traditionally arranged by go-betweens who represent the boy's family to the girl's parents. If the union is acceptable, a bride price is negotiated, typically ranging from three to ten silver bars, worth about $100 U.S. dollars each, a partial artifact from the opium trade. The wedding takes place in two installments, first at the bride's house, followed by a procession to the groom's house where a second ceremony occurs.
There are several distinct groups within the Yao nationality, and they speak several different languages, The Iu Mien make up 70% of the Yao populace.
In addition to China, Yao also live in northern Vietnam (where they are called Dao), northern Laos, and Burma. There are around 60,000 Yao in northern Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes. The lowland-living Lanten of Laos, who speak Kim Mun, and the highland-living Iu Mien of Laos are two different Yao groups. There are also many Yao living in the United States, mainly refugees from the highlands of Laos who speak the Iu Mien language. The Iu Mien do not call themselves "Yao". Not all "Yao" are Iu Mien. A group of 61,000 people on the island of Hainan speak the Yao language Kim Mun 139,000 speakers of Kim Mun live in other parts of China (Yunnan and Guangxi), and 174,500 live in Laos and Vietnam.[5]
The Bunu call themselves Nuox , Buod nuox [po˦˧no˩˧], Dungb nuox [tuŋ˧no˩˧], or their official name Yaof zuf [ʑau˨˩su˨˩]. Only 258,000 of the 439,000 people categorised as Bunu in the 1982 census speak Bunu; 100,000 speak Zhuang, and 181,000 speak Chinese and Bouyei.
Mao Zongwu (2004:7-8)[6] gives a detailed list of various Yao autonyms (i.e., self-designated names) and the Chinese names of various groups and clans associated with them. The autonyms are written in the International Phonetic Alphabet with numerical Chao tones.
Groups considered to be "Plains Yao" (Pingdi Yao 平地瑶) include:[7]
Tim Doling (2010:82-83) lists the following Yao (spelled Dao in Vietnamese orthography) subgroups in northern Vietnam.[11]
According to Doling (2010), only Kim Mun, Kim Mien, and Lô Gang may be found outside Vietnam.
Nguyen (2004:14-15, 128) lists Đại Bản, Tiểu Bản, Khố Bạch, and Làn Tiẻn as the 4 primary subdivisions of ethnic Yao in Vietnam.[14]
In China, Yao peoples are distributed primarily in the provinces Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Ethnic groups derived from the Yao of China are found in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
The Yao of Guizhou are found in the following locations (Guizhou Province Almanac 贵州志 2002).[15]
The Yao of Guizhou have various autonyms, such as:[16]
Some subgroups of ethnic Yao in Hunan include:[17]
The Hunan Province Gazetteer (1997) gives the following autonyms for various peoples classified by the Chinese government as Yao.
The Yao of Shaoyang Prefecture are found in the following locations (Shaoyang Prefecture Gazetteer 1997). Population statistics are from 1990.
The Shaoyang Prefecture Gazetteer (1997) reports that the Yao of Shaoyang Prefecture, Hunan speak the following languages.
The following population statistics of ethnic Yao in Hunan are from the 1990 Chinese census, as given in the Hunan Province Gazetteer (1997).
(Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >1% of county population.)
After the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (in session from 1977 to 1982), the Guangxi Nationality Institute and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences together created a new Yao writing system which was unified with the research results of the Yao-American scholar Yuēsè Hòu (Traditional Chinese: 約瑟·候/Simplified Chinese: 约瑟·候). The writing system was finalized at a one-day conference in 1984 in Ruyan County, Guangdong, which included Chinese professors Pan Chengqian (盤承乾/盘承乾), Deng Fanggui (鄧方貴/邓方贵), Liu Baoyuan (劉保元/刘保元), Su Defu (蘇德富/苏德富) and Yauz Mengh Borngh; Chinese government officials; Mien Americans Sengfo Chao (Zhao Fuming), Kao Chiem Chao (Zhao Youcai), and Chua Meng Chao; David T. Lee.
American linguist Herbert C. Purnell developed a curriculum and workshop presentations on language learning in East and Southeast Asia, as well as Yao Seng Deng from Thailand. The US delegation took the new writing system to the Iu Mien community in the United States where it was adopted with a vote of 78 to 7 by a conference of Mien American community leaders.[13] This writing system based on the Latin alphabet was designed to be pan-dialectal; it distinguishes 30 syllable initials, 121 syllable finals and eight tones.
For an example of how the unified alphabet is used to write Iu Mien, a common Yao language, see Iu Mien language.
There is a separate written standard for Bunu, since it is from the Hmong/Miao side, rather than the Mien/Yao side, of the Miao–Yao language family.
Some people think that a variety of Yao is, or was, written in Nüshu, an indigenous script in Southern part of Hunan Province in China. But this connection between Yao language and Nüshu is disputed, because Nüshu more likely recorded local Chinese dialect which might be also known by Yao people in Hunan.
Officially illiteracy and semi-literacy among the Yao in China still stood at 40.6% in 2002.[21]
Tai Isan (Northeastern Thai) · Khorat Thai · Khün · Lao · Lao Ga · Lao Krang · Lao Lom · Lao Loum · Lao Ngaew · Lao Song · Lao Ti · Lao Wieng · Lu · Northern Thai (Tai Yuan) · Nyaw · Nyong · Phu Thai · Phuan · Saek · Shan · Southern Thai · Tai Bueng · Tai Daeng (Red Tai) · Tai Dam (Black Tai) · Tai Gapong · Kaleun · Tai Nüa · Tai Wang · Thai (Central Thai) · Yoy
Malayo-Polynesian Cham · Filipino · Malay · Moken · Moklen · Urak Lawoi’
Austroasiatic Bru · Chong · Kensiu · Khmer (Northern) · Kintaq · Kuy · Mani (Negrito) · Mon · Nyah Kur (Chao-bon) · Nyeu · Pear · Sa'och · So · Vietnamese
Khmuic Khmu · Lua · Mlabri · Phai · Pray · Tin
Palaungic Blang · Lamet · Lawa · Mok · Palaung (De'ang)
Tibeto-Burman Akha · Bamar · Bisu · Karen · Kayah (Red Karen) · Lahu · Lisu · Lolo (Yi) · Mpi · Pa'O · Phrae Pwo · Phunoi · Pwo · S'gaw · Ugong
Chinese Thai Chinese (Teochew · Hakka · Hainanese · Cantonese · Hokkien · Chin Haw · Phuket Baba)
Hmong–Mien Hmong · Yao/Iu Mien
Other Australians · Burmese · Farang (Caucasians) · Indians · Iranians · Japanese · Koreans · Nepalis · Pakistanis
Vietic Chứt · Mường · Thổ · Việt (Kinh)
Tai–Kadai Bố Y · Giáy · Lào · Lự · Nùng · Sán Chay · Tày · Thái · Cờ Lao · La Chí · La Ha · Pu Péo
Hmong–Dao Dao · H'Mông · Pà Thẻn
Non-Vietic Austroasiatic Ba Na · Brâu · Bru-Vân Kiều · Chơ Ro · Co · Cờ Ho · Cơ Tu · Giẻ Triêng · Hrê · Kháng · Khơ Me · Khơ Mú · Mạ · Mảng · M'Nông · Ơ Đu · Rơ Măm · Tà Ôi · Xinh Mun · Xơ Đăng · Xtiêng
Ethnic Chinese Hoa · Ngái · Sán Dìu · Taiwanese
Malayo-Polynesian Chăm · Chu Ru · Ê-đê · Gia Rai · Ra Glai
Tibeto-Burman Cống · Hà Nhì · La Hủ · Lô Lô · Phù Lá · Si La
Other Indian · Japanese · Korean · Jewish · Nigerian
Bangkok, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand
Hanoi, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand
Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Vientiane, French Indochina
Singapore, Cantonese, Taiwan, Standard Chinese, Hakka Chinese
Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Basketball, Macau
Yunnan, Guangxi, Digital object identifier, Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang
Yunnan, Guangxi, Yao people, Tibetan people, Tibet Autonomous Region
Yunnan, Guangxi, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yao people, Han Chinese
Yunnan, Guangxi, Tibetan people, Tibet Autonomous Region, Yao people
Miao people, Chinese language, Yi people, Hui people, Manchu language