The following post is a project for my English class where we get to choose to work on any project that we want to. Originally, deciding on what I wanted to do as my final project for English class was a very difficult decision. There were so many things that I wanted to do. Finally, I thought, "why not just do everything I want and post it onto my blog?" Thus, I decided that my project will be a compilation of Hmong history timeline, Hmong mythology/folk tales tying in with culture/customs, and a short story. This is just the first half of my Hmong history timeline, about 1/3 of my entire project.
I've always been interested in Hmong history (hence, my blog title of Operation Fobbiness) and I'm appalled at how far we have come from being a tribal people that are constantly oppressed to a much more modernized people with the freedom that we've yearned for thousands of years. This research on Hmong history has broadened my horizons. I've come to realize that much of our history is broken into pieces, waiting to be pieced together.
Hmong mythology and folktales have been a fascination of mine. The endless stories are amazing. Yet, what’s even more amazing is how mythology ties in with the Hmong culture/customs. For example, the siv ceeb (black and white striped cloth) often used for marriages is based on the myth that the Old Dragon (Zaj Laug) gave it to a pair of siblings, the only survivors of the Great Flood. The pair of siblings got married in order to repopulate the Earth and the siv ceeb is said to provide protection and shield the newlywed from harm. There’s a reason why the Hmong do the things that they do, and I think mythology is one of many answers to the culture and customs.
By doing research on Hmong history and mythology, I will be able to write a short story that takes place in Ancient China and possibly throughout the span of Hmong history. My creativity would be used as I dig deeper into my roots.
NOTE: Miao is a term used for multiple groups of people and is often perceived as derogatory. Its definition is widely known as barbarian. Hmong only makes up about ⅓ of what is considered Miao. Therefore, Hmong is also included in much of the history regarding the Miao.
3000BCE - 2700BCE:
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| Miao's King Chiyou Photo courtesy of hmongkingdom.com |
The Hmong resided in China along the northern area of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. This era is often affiliated with Chiyou, the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi of Xuanyuan), and the Flame Emperor (Yandi of Shennong). It is unsure of whether these legendary figures really exist or not because they are often surrounded by mythical powers.
Chiyou is known as the Hmong king and is often called Txiv Yawg. During this era, the Hmong were better known as the Jiuli tribe. The Jiuli tribe fought against Shennong near the borders of Huangdi’s land. Chiyou was victorious with each battle. Yandi then asked Huangdi for help because Huangdi was also an enemy of Chiyou - they were both fighting for the land surrounding the Yellow river.
According to myth, Chiyou was able to conjure wind and fog, thus giving him an advantage, leading to his victorious 9 battles. It was during the 10th battle that Huangdi finally created the south-pointing chariot, a compass, to counter Chiyou’s fog. This final battle is often known as the Battle of Zhuolu, supposedly taking place at the Zhuolu plains. The compass guided Huangdi outside of the fog where he would then use the drought demon Nuba to blow away the wind, clearing the battlefield. Huangdi was finally able to defeat Chiyou at Hebei.
There are many different stories about the aftermath of the battle. Although there are different versions, it is clear that the Jiuli tribe split into 2-3 different groups, one of which would travel southwest. The group that traveled towards the southwest is often known as the Miao, or the Hmong. Some say that this group of Maio/Hmong would then establish the San Miao Kingdom.
The historical aspect regarding Chiyou may have been purely based on legends and myth. It is unsure of whether such figures existed. Perhaps such events did occur to the Miao/Hmong leading them to migrate southwards. However, there is more evidence about the existence of the San Miao compared to the Jiuli tribe.
2700BCE - 2200BCE:
Assuming that the Hmong are really a part of the San Miao Kingdom, this kingdom emerged in Sichuan and was founded by Tao Tie and Huan Tuo. Around 2400 BCE, the Huaxia kingdom (formerly founded by Huangdi) invaded the San Miao Kingdom. This war is said to have lasted 200 years. It is said that many emperors fought against the San Miao, one of them being Emperor Shun. Supposedly Emperor Shun finally defeated the San Miao Kingdom. However, when Emperor Yu (who founded the Xia dynasty and is often known as Yu The Great) came to power, he once again invaded the San Miao Kingdom, almost exterminating the San Miao population, forcing them to disperse all over China.
Many of the San Miao migrated south and southwest to Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, along with the surrounding areas of Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake.
2200BCE - 300BCE:
The San Miao that migrated south and southwest became known as the Hmong Wuxi.
The history of the Hmong Wuxi during this timeframe is currently unknown. There is a lack of evidence and scholarly research based on this timeframe. There are theories that the Hmong Wuxi were a part of the Chu Kingdom starting in 1050 BCE.
300BCE - 1000AD:
By 200 BCE, the Chu Kingdom was defeated by the Qin and the Hmong Wuxi were once again a powerless people.
It is also during the Qin Dynasty (from 221 BCE to 618 AD) that the term Miao disappeared from historical texts. The terms Man and Nan-Man were used in place of Miao. The definition of these two terms is southern barbarian.
The term Miao reappeared during the Tang Dynasty (618 AD to 690 AD and 705 AD to 907 AD). Before the Tang Dynasty, however, the Miao continued to fight against the Han Chinese to prevent expansion into Hmong territory. After the Tang Dynasty, the Miao were allowed to govern themselves, lost territory to the Han Chinese, forced to pay taxes, and were oppressed and forced to assimilate into the Han Chinese culture. This would result in a series of fighting between the Miao and the Han Chinese as they attempted to regain their freedom away from oppression.
1200AD -1360AD:
Around this time, the Mongols were in power with their Yuan Dynasty. The Miao and Han Chinese joined forces to overthrow the Mongols. Wu Tian Bao (Vwj Theeb Pov) was the leader for the Miao. (I was unable to find much evidence about Wu Tian Bao. He was briefly mentioned in An Introduction to Hmong Culture by Ya Pao Cha)The Miao and Han Chinese were able to overthrow the Mongols and Wu Tian Bao gained authority over today’s Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces. The Miao lived in peace and harmony with the Han Chinese. A few decades later, the Miao started having conflict with the Han Chinese again.
1360AD - 1600AD:
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), there were many Miao rebellions. In the 1370s, Ming Hongwu, Emperor of Ming Dynasty, sent Uyghur warriors to fight off the Miao rebels in Taoyuan county of Changde, Hunan. The Miao were defeated.
It is said that there were 3 popular Miao leaders at the time of the revolts: Meng Neng (Moob Neeb), Li Tian Bao (Lis Theeb Pov), and Li Zai Wan (Lis Txawj Vam). Unfortunately, the only evidence I was able to find of these names appearing in history is in the book that I referenced earlier by Ya Pao Cha. Supposedly there are songs written about these 3 Miao leaders. It is unknown of which revolts they were a part of besides the fact that they were a part of the revolutions in the 1400s.
The Han Chinese promised other Hmong leaders that if they betray Li Zai Wan and surrendered to them, the Hmong leaders would be offered wealth and independence. Li Zai Wan and his followers were then killed. The Hmong leaders who betrayed Li Zai Wan were also executed.
In 1449, the Miao once again revolted. General Wang Ji defeated the Miao. Miao rebellions rose in other provinces: Huguang and Guizhou. By 1460, government forces seized the town and sold many of the residents into slavery.
In the 1460s, more rebellions broke out. One rebellion took place in 1466, where both the Miao and the Yao ethnic group rebelled against the Ming, spreading the revolt to Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Guangdong. These series of rebellions would take thousands of Miao lives.
1,565 Miao boys were castrated in the 1460s. 329 of them died and the rest were turned into eunuch slaves. After the death of 329 of the boys, more Miao boys were brought in to be castrated. It is unknown whether some of these boys were Hmong or just considered Miao.
In the 1500s, 40,000 Hmong rebels were killed. The Hmong continuously fought for their freedom, raiding areas around Hunan province. The Ming then built the Hmong (Frontier) Wall to fend off the Hmong. This wall was 10 feet high and 100 miles long.
1600AD - 1880AD:
The beginning of the Qing dynasty was peaceful for everyone. However, as decades passed by with new emperors, corruption rose and the Hmong became victims of suppression by 1738. This led to a major war in which according to Professor Wu, “17,670 Hmong had been killed in combat, 11,130 were captured and executed and another 13,600 were forced into slavery. Half of the Hmong population were affected by the war.”
A second war occurred from 1795-1806 where the Hmong were led by “Ba-yue Wu, Liu-deng Shi, San-bao Shi and Tian-ban Shi”. The purpose of this war was for the Hmong to gain back their lands from the Han Chinese and Manchus. It is said that Ba-yue Wu was executed by torture, getting sliced multiple times. Other leaders were executed in front of the emperor.
After the Taiping Rebellion from 1850-1864, there was increased taxes and labor that the Qing government demanded from the Hmong. This would then result in another revolt with Xiu-me Zhang as one of the leaders for the Hmong. This revolt took place from 1854-1873 in southeastern Guizhou. “According to Professor Wu, only 30 percent of the Hmong survived the war. Seventy percent of them were either killed or ran away. Zhang, a native of Taijiang, Guizhou, was captured and taken to Changsa, Hunan where his life ended under cruel tortures.”
Many Hmong emigrated to Southeast Asia during the last two wars, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of Hmong in China.
Author’s note:
I do acknowledge that a lot of this information may not be true because these information are mainly based on theories due to the lack of Hmong written history. Some of these information, according to my sources, can be found in Hmong ritual songs such as the qhuab ke, a song to guide the dead to their respected place; or Hmong traditional songs - kwv txhiaj. I’ve skipped over a lot of information due to the lack of sources and evidence. My next part of the Hmong history timeline will be based on Hmong in Southeast Asia and forward. There will be more reliable sources for the second half of my timeline. In addition, a lot of the historical events will overlap each other due to the diaspora of the Hmong in Southeast Asia.
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