What is the relationship between the Miao and Hmong?

The Hmong are a subgroup of the Miao, an ethnic group native to China:

The Miao

A term for four groups of people who are distantly related by language and culture:

• Hmu people of southeast Guizhou
• Qo Xiong people of west Hunan
• A-Hmao people of Yunnan
• Hmong people of Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Yunnan

The Hmong

An indigenous group in East and Southeast Asia. The Hmong are best known in these areas, and are the dominant subgroup of the Miao.

The Hmong diaspora

A large community of Hmong people in the United States, with smaller communities in Australia and South America.

The Hmong have a long history of migration, including:

• Internal migration from the north to the south, and from central China to southwest China
• Escape from oppression in Vietnam, Laos, and other Southeast Asian countries
• Forced migration out of Asia to the West after the Vietnam War

The Hmong and Mien languages are a highly tonal language family spoken in mountainous areas of southern China and northern Southeast Asia.