There are more than 896,000 Miao people in Yunnan, mainly distributed in Wenshan, Honghe Autonomous Prefecture and Zhaotong.
After the Ming Dynasty, most Miao people moved from Hunan and Guizhou to Yunnan.
Miao nationality has a long history. More than 2,000 years ago, he settled in Dongting Lake and Yuanjiang River Valley in Hunan Province, engaged in fishing and hunting and agricultural production.
After that, it migrated to the southwest after several generations.
Miao people call themselves "Meng", and there are eight units in Yunnan that call themselves Miao people, which were unified into Miao people after liberation.
Miao people live in scattered places with many branches, including seedlings, flower seedlings, white seedlings and one-horned seedlings.
Miao costumes are not exactly the same everywhere. Men usually wear cloth shorts, but Miao women generally pay attention to clothing, especially clothing, which is extremely exquisite and has many flowers. Some skirts have more than 40 layers, so they are named "pleated skirts".
The patterns embroidered on the dress are antique and colorful.
Women are good at weaving, embroidery and batik, with exquisite craftsmanship.
Miao people have always been famous for their ability to sing and dance.
There are many tunes in Miao songs, including simple and solemn ancient songs, heroic and flying songs, touching love songs, wine songs and funeral songs, each with its own characteristics and infinite charm.
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, "Walking the Flower Mountain" is the biggest festival for Miao people in this province. At that time, young men and women will gather together to sing, choose lovers and hold activities such as playing, dancing, stepping on drums and climbing flower poles.
Miao nationality originated from Jiuli in Huangdi period and Sanmiao in Yaoshun period.
Jiuli is a tribe that lived in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River more than 5,000 years ago.
After fighting with the Yellow Emperor tribe, it failed and retreated into the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, forming the "Three Miao" tribe.
Four thousand years ago, the northern tribes of China, led by Yao, Shun and Yu, fought with Sanmiao and Sanmiao was defeated.
Since then, the "Sanmiao" tribe has fallen apart.
After the failure of the "Three Miao", some of them were exiled to the "Three Risks", that is, the border area between Shaanxi and Gansu, and then left the "Three Risks" to migrate to the southeast. After a long time, it gradually entered southern Sichuan, northeastern Yunnan, northwestern Guizhou and other places, forming the Miao nationality in the western dialect. The descendants of the "Three Miao" who stayed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Central Plains gradually merged with the Huaxia people.
In Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the slow-developing part was collectively called "Nan Man", and those living in the middle and lower reaches of Hanshui River were called "Jingchu Man Yi".
Later, the advanced part of Jingchu people developed into Chu nationality and established Chu State. The backward part continued to move into the mountainous areas adjacent to Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Henan and other provinces, becoming the ancestors of Miao people in eastern and central dialects today.
From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Miao people were more widely distributed.
East to the Huaihe River Basin, west to most parts of Sichuan and the central and western Guizhou, that is, Bashu, Yelang and Songgu at that time, stretched for thousands of miles. Today, the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border region has the largest number, which was the center of Miao nationality distribution in China at that time.
Among them, there are many counties in central Guizhou (the junction of southeastern Sichuan and northern Guizhou) and Wuling (the eastern part of western Hunan and eastern Guizhou).
In Wuling County, there are the most Miao people in Yuanjiang River Basin, which was the main ethnic group known as "Wuximan" at that time.
Miao people who moved to northwest Guizhou in Han Dynasty are recorded in the Yi language Yelang Bamboo King, but the number is very small.
Miao people who migrated to the south-central part of Guizhou, through the study of many Miao cave tombs excavated by Guizhou archaeologists in this area in recent years, know that it started in the Jin Dynasty.
Ethnic surveys in recent years have found that the genealogy of some Miao people in this area dates back to more than 50 generations, which is similar to the above archaeological materials.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the distribution of Miao people changed greatly: on the one hand, most Miao people in the middle and lower reaches of Hanshui River had gradually disappeared in Chinese; On the other hand, the number of Miao people who moved into Guizhou has further increased, gradually becoming the national distribution center of Miao people, and at the same time began to enter Yunnan (except northeast Yunnan).
According to the Records of Yi History, during the years of Changqing, Dazhong and Xian Tong in the Tang Dynasty, when Nanzhao troops invaded Bozhou several times, they captured and plundered tens of thousands of Miao and Gelao people and went to Yunnan as slaves, indicating that there were quite a few Miao people in northern Guizhou at that time.
From Guiyang west to Zhenning, Guanling and Zhenfeng, there was a county called Xie in the Jin Dynasty, which was under the jurisdiction of Xie.
In the Tang Dynasty, the roe was divided into two parts. Its people were called "East Xie Man" and "West Xie Man", and in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties they were called "East Miao" and "Xi Miao".
In recent years, many Miao cave tombs have been found in Huishui, Changshun and Guizhou-Guangxi borders in southern Guizhou. After identification, except for some relics of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, most of them are relics of Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties.
During this period, the appellation of Miao began to appear in Shuman written by Fan Chuo in Tang Dynasty, Xi Man Cong Xiao written by Zhu Fu in Song Dynasty and History of Song Dynasty.
Guizhou gradually formed the distribution center of Miao nationality in China, but due to various factors, this situation was unknown at that time.
From the Yuan and Ming Dynasties to the early Qing Dynasty, due to the feudal dynasty's vigorous governance of southwest China, officials were gradually set up in ethnic areas to further understand the specific conditions of various provinces, so many facts about the Miao nationality in Guizhou were gradually revealed to the world.
Due to the large number of Miao people in western Hunan, western Hubei and eastern Sichuan, Guizhou's position as the distribution center of Miao people in China is more prominent.
According to the geographical environment where Miao people live and the different colors and styles of Miao costumes, they are called Gaopo Miao, Shoudan Miao, Long skirt Miao, Short skirt Miao, Red Miao, Black Miao, Flower Miao, Miao and Bai Miao, and there are dozens of names, so they are called "Hundred Miao".
The development of Miao society is a direct transition from primitive society to feudal society.
However, due to various reasons, this development has been very slow and unbalanced for a long time.
Guizhou was established late, far away from the culturally developed Central Plains. Therefore, the development of Miao society is slower than that of western Hunan, western Hubei and eastern Sichuan.
From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Jin Dynasty, powerful tribal leaders began to appear in Taoyuan and Yuanling areas of western Hunan.
From the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties, many powerful feudal lords appeared among the Miao people in Yuanling, Chenxi, north of Xupu, west of Hanshui River Basin and Baxia in eastern Sichuan, and were rewarded by the feudal central authorities, and they were promoted and knighted in succession. Some social economies are completely consistent with those of the Han nationality. The drum club system of clan and the consultation system of rural commune were the main social organizations at that time. Externally, it was ruled or imprisoned by slave owners and feudal owners of other nationalities: northeast Guizhou was controlled by Tian owners of Sinan and Sizhou, north Guizhou was controlled by Yang owners of Bozhou, northwest Guizhou was controlled by slave owners of Luodian, and south Guizhou was controlled by Longfang.
Some Miao people under the rule of these leaders became slaves, some became serfs, and some became dependents.
Although some remain independent, they are still attached to foreign rulers in form and are called "wild places".
Some completely maintained their independence and were called "primitive barbarians".
From the Yuan and Ming Dynasties to the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, on the one hand, the feudal dynasty enfeoffed the leaders of all ethnic groups (including Han generals with meritorious service) as chieftains to rule all ethnic groups; On the other hand, he directly sent officials to control the toast and practiced the rule of soil flow.
Due to the increase of * * * entering Miao areas, the promotion of Han culture has been strengthened, the feudalization of Miao society has been accelerated, and class differentiation has begun to be obvious.
During this period, some small and medium-sized chieftains also appeared among the Miao people, such as the Pingding Department of Ziyun and Changshun, the Jin family of Pingyue Yangchang, the family of Liangzhai in Liping, the ancestors of Yaoba in Bazhai (now Danzhai) and Duyun, which have been passed down for hundreds of years.
Among the Miao people in Tongren, Songtao in eastern Guizhou and Wuchuan and Daozhen in northern Guizhou, there were some landlords called "Fu Miao" at that time.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1573- 16 19), Wu Laodan, a Miao landlord in Luojinzhai, Tongren, was rich and powerful, and dominated the Hunan-Guizhou border for a long time. Many counties in western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou have taken refuge in him.
Today, there are many "rich seedlings" in Ping Huang, Kaili, Shibing and Zhenyuan in eastern Guizhou.
; Among them, Axi in Kaili has deep pockets and usury everywhere.
Even bribed the commander-in-chief of the provincial army to deceive others.
In the counties near Guiyang, the class differentiation within the Miao nationality also began to be obvious, and some big tribal chiefs appeared.
In the second year of King Tai (A.D. 1325), today, the mother of the Miao leader in Guiding led 100,000 families to submit to the Yuan Dynasty.
In the Ming dynasty, there were floating officials in the flat cutting area, but Miao village was still ruled by Miao Tusi.
With the development of social economy and market trade, the relationship between land sale and purchase has been further developed.
During Yongzheng period, the feudalization of social economy in Miao areas was strengthened and the landlord economy continued to develop.
Landlords have appeared in Leigong mountain area in southeastern Guizhou, and they have completely entered the feudal society.
For example, in the same year in Xi 'an, Ou Shengyang of Vu Thang Village in Taigong Hall, Pan of Wucha Hall and the widow of Danjiang Hall were all famous landlords at that time.
Landlords also appeared among Miao people in Guiyang, Longli, Guiding and Huishui in central and southern Guizhou. They bought a lot of land and forests of Tusi, Tunjun and farmers, and became "well-off households".
Since modern times, the Miao landlord economy has been developing continuously. In some areas, such as Qiandongnan, Songtao and Wuchuan, Miao landlords still occupy thousands to tens of thousands of meters of output every year.
However, from the overall situation, due to historical, geographical, ethnic and other reasons, the development of Miao landlord economy is not sufficient.
In the class structure of many Miao areas, there is a phenomenon that two ends are small and the middle is big, that is, landlords are rich and peasants are few, middle peasants are many, and poor farm labourers are few.
Except for a few big landlords, the average landlord only owns about 200 tons of grain every year (per load 120 kg), and his economic strength is very weak; Most landlords are not completely divorced from production.
In the Miao mixed area, the landlords are mostly Han and other nationalities, the Miao are almost poor farm labourers, and the landlords and rich peasants are only a few families.
Miao people have a glorious tradition of opposing oppression and exploitation.
From Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Republic of China, there were endless struggles for thousands of years.
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, there have been many recorded struggles among Miao people in Guizhou.
Most of them broke out under the influence of Miao struggle in western Hunan and eastern Sichuan.
During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, with the deepening of the influence of the central dynasty and the intensification of ethnic oppression, the Miao uprising in Guizhou gradually increased.
There were 100 struggles in the Ming dynasty alone, some of which were very large.
For example, from the 13th year of orthodoxy to the 2nd year of Jingtai (1448- 145 1), the uprising of people of all ethnic groups in the whole province was suppressed by more than 200,000 troops in the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for three years.
Miao nationality is the main force in this struggle.
According to Xianglushan, the Miao peasant army in Qingshuihe River basin in eastern Guizhou and Guiding and Fuquan areas, headed by Wei Tonglie, persisted in the end.
From the first year to the third year of Tianshun (A.D. 1457- 1459), the uprising led by the "Thirteen Fan" Miao leaders in Longli, Guiding, Bafan (Huishui) and Pingyue (Fuquan) also shook for a while.
From the 17th year to the 30th year of Jiajing (A.D. 1538- 155 1), the Miao uprising in northeastern Guizhou and western Hunan led by Long lasted for 14 years, and there were successive uprisings in the following year160,000 people.
There were many Miao uprisings in Qing Dynasty.
Among them, there were three largest uprisings: the first was the "Gan Yong Uprising" from the 13th year of Yongzheng to the first year of Qianlong (A.D. 1735- 1736), with Li Bao and Yin Hong as the leaders. Uprising spread all over southeastern Guizhou, resisting the brutal repression of tens of thousands of Qing troops in seven provinces; The second time was the "Ganjia Uprising" led by Shi and Wu in August from the 60th year of Qianlong to the first year of Jiaqing (A.D. 1795- 1796), which extended to Songtao, Tongren, Yinjiang, Youyang, Xiushan, Sichuan, and the whole Miaojiang area in western Hunan, and resisted the attacks of seven provinces180,000 Qing troops. The third time happened in the fifth year of Xianfeng (A.D. 1855) and ended in the twelfth year of Tongzhi (A.D. 1872). The "Xian Tong Uprising" was led by Zhang Xiumei, Liu Tiancheng and Tao Xinchun respectively.
The uprising took Guizhou as the center and spread to Xiangxi, southern Sichuan, northern Guangxi and eastern Yunnan, which lasted 18 years and had far-reaching influence.
The time interval between these three uprisings is 60 years, so there is a saying among Miao people that "a small change in 30 years, a big change in 60 years".
During the Republic of China, the Miao people in Guizhou participated in the Northern Expedition in cooperation with the country.
At that time, there were many Miao and Dong officers and men from Songtao, Tongren, Tianzhu and Jinping in Guizhou army, who were organized as the ninth and twelfth armies of the National Revolutionary Army. They have defeated powerful enemies many times in the war and made outstanding achievements.
During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Miao and Dong nationalities in Qingshuihe River Basin in eastern Guizhou launched the "Qiandong Incident" on 1942, resisting the tyranny of * * *.
The following year, Zhenfeng Miao people joined the Buyi uprising and went to the county town twice.
Under the leadership of Xiong, the Miao and Buyi nationalities in Wangmo launched guerrilla warfare in Mashan Township with the help of the Party.
During the war of liberation.
At that time, the third detachment of the Yunnan-Guizhou-Guangxi border column (hereinafter referred to as the border column) was active in the Yunnan-Guizhou border region, and the sixth detachment of the border column and the Weining guerrillas were active in Xuanwei, Yunnan and Weining, Guizhou, with many Miao people participating.
Songtao Miao people set up a "border cell detachment" to carry out revolutionary guerrilla warfare in Songtao and Xiangxi.
The Miao people in Guizhou have made many contributions in the struggle to overthrow the rule of * * *.