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Abstract
This paper consists of personal research notes collected by a Hmong-American scholar during a 2004 visit to Miao communities in China. The author provides his personal observations related to conditions in Miao villages and cultural and social exchanges between Hmong-Americans and Miao. A short related discussion is provided of what is known of Miao history and the status of Miao in contemporary China. The author supplements his informal observations with photos taken during the visit.
(ProQuest Information and Learning: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
Introduction
In the Hmong Diaspora of the Post-War Period, Kou Yang (2003: 296) writes:
Many Hmong Americans continue to guide the souls of their loved ones to return to China, the land of their ancestors. Many elders continue to tell their children and grandchildren stories and songs of the Hmong and the Yellow River... the River that only exists in their oral stories or songs. Many Hmong [American] individuals have [recently] gone to study and visit China. Some of them have gone to where no Hmong outside of China has ever gone before ... to visit the Ci You tomb, believing it to be the tomb of the ancient king of the Miao in China (and possibly the Hmong king as well). Other individuals have visited some Hmong historical sites, such as the South Wall in China, which was built by Han rulers to separate the Miao from the Han - the wall that their parents have never heard of.
These pages of informal research notes attempt to provide an example of what and how Hmong Americans learn about their history and connect to their Miaoi cousins in China. The paper begins by providing a brief overview of the history of the exchange between the Hmong in the United States and their cousins in China. The second part covers the geographical setting of the areas visited by the Fulbright-Hay Group Project, ii the areas that are home to the largest concentration of the Miao in China. The third section outlines notes from the trip to China, and finally, a short discussion of Miao history and the status of Miao in contemporary China concludes the essay.
In 2004, the author of the notes provided in this essay led a group...