Sources: All information stated in this article is based on reliable information, and is summarized at the end of this article.
The Miao people, as an ethnic minority who originated in the mainland, have a very long history. According to records, after Chiyou was defeated, his descendants fled to the south, and slowly evolved into the Miao people.
However, in this era of globalization, with the continuous migration and integration of populations. About 1 million Miao people have gone to live in Southeast Asian countries, but they have never forgotten that they are part of the Chinese nation.
However, what everyone didn't expect was that there were nearly 400,000 Miao people in the United States. But even though they have the same appearance and culture as the Chinese Miao people, some of their behaviors are really embarrassing......
Relocation to Southeast Asia
In China, the Miao people live mainly in the Yunnan region, which is located at the junction of China and Southeast Asia. Most of the 380,000 Hmong people in the United States first migrated from China to Southeast Asia and then immigrated to the United States.
This period of history can be traced back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, and because the demarcation of borders between countries was not particularly clear at that time, the control of the frontier was not very strict in successive dynasties.
However, this also led to the fact that the frontier regions did not attach much importance to the emperor, and they practiced their tusi system. The Hmong people considered Tusi to be their leader and did not take the emperor seriously.
So in order to increase the power of the emperor, but also to open up a larger territory. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the central government implemented a policy of "changing the land and returning it to the stream" with the aim of strengthening its direct rule over ethnic minority areas.
This policy weakened the autonomy of ethnic minorities to a certain extent, aroused the dissatisfaction of some Miao people, and even led to some rebellions, but because the Miao weapons were very backward, they naturally could not defeat the elite soldiers and strong generals in the Central Plains.
And the Miao people naturally bow to the emperor if they lose, but they are greedy for their previous rights. As a result, in this context, some Miao people began to migrate southward, gradually entering what is now Vietnam, Laos and other Southeast Asian countries.
This mass migration lasted for hundreds of years, forming the Hmong communities in present-day Southeast Asia, where the Hmong in turn lived an autonomous life.
It was not until the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century that French colonists entered Indochina and established the government of French India. During the period of colonial rule, there was an internal split in the Hmong society in Laos.
Some Miao elites chose to cooperate with the French colonizers, gaining certain power and benefits; The other part of the Hmong persisted in rebellion against colonial rule.
In the 60s of the 20th century, with the outbreak of war in Vietnam, the Hmong people living in Vietnam were also affected. In this war, the Hmong people were once again faced with the dilemma of choosing a position.
Some Hmong chose to support the U.S. and its puppet government, while others chose to support the original Vietnamese government. This split set the stage for later Miao immigrants.
Involvement in the Vietnam War
In the early 1960s, the United States launched a "secret war" in Vietnam in order to curb the expansion of communism in Southeast Asia. The CIA recruited a large number of Hmong to form secret armies, the most famous of which was the Hmong army led by General Wang Bao.
The Americans promised Wang Bao that as long as he was willing to die for the United States, when the war was over, he and his Miao people could immigrate to the United States and live a carefree life.
Faced with such a great temptation, Wang Bao eventually chose to cooperate with the United States and formed a Miao army of about 30,000 men to fight pro-communist forces in northern Vietnam. This army, with the support of the United States, became an important force in the resistance of the Vietnamese Patriotic Army and the Vietnamese Communist Party.
However, the war brought huge casualties and repercussions to the Hmong people. It is estimated that about 30,000 Hmong soldiers were killed and tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the 15-year secret war. The war not only caused a large number of casualties, but also destroyed the traditional way of life of the Miao people and exacerbated the division of Miao society.
In 1975, with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam, the Vietnamese puppet government also collapsed. The Hmong, who supported the United States, was suddenly in trouble. The newly inaugurated government of the People's Democratic Republic of Vietnam regarded the Hmong as traitors and accomplices of the United States, and launched a large-scale purge campaign.
At this time, the United States directly chose to turn its face and deny people, they no longer recognized the promises they had made, and abandoned these Miao people in Vietnam.
Faced with threats to their lives, large numbers of Hmong people have been forced to flee their homes. Risking their lives, they crossed the Mekong River and fled to Thailand. According to statistics, about 300,000 Vietnamese refugees fled to Thailand, a significant number of whom are Hmong. In Thailand, these refugees are being housed in various camps awaiting future arrangements.
Immigrate to the United States
Because the Hmong people have been vocal about the United States internationally, the U.S. government has decided to accept some Hmong refugees under pressure. In 1975, the U.S. Congress passed a bill on Southeast Asian immigrants and began allowing Hmong refugees to arrive in the United States on their own.
Since then, Hmong refugees have begun to enter the United States in batches. This process lasted almost 20 years and was not largely over until the mid-90s. Most Hmong refugees enter the United States through the UNHCR's resettlement program. They first receive short-term training at refugee resettlement centers in the United States and are then dispersed across the country.
Hmong people who are new to the United States face enormous challenges. The language barrier was the first challenge they encountered. The majority of Hmong refugees do not speak English, which has severely affected their employment and daily life. In addition, due to the generally low level of education, many Hmong are limited to low-skilled, low-paid jobs.
The U.S. government has adopted a policy of decentralized resettlement in order to avoid the formation of large-scale refugee settlements, to prevent the Hmong from importing their culture into the United States, and to force the Hmong to integrate into American society.
However, this policy also poses some problems for the Hmong, as the dispersed resettlement makes it difficult for the Hmong to form a mutual aid network and makes it more difficult for them to adapt to the new environment.
In the face of these challenges, the Hmong people have shown great resilience and resilience. They work hard to learn English, receive vocational training, and gradually adapt to the American way of life.
Some Hmong people have achieved economic independence through entrepreneurship and have achieved success in areas such as catering and agriculture. At the same time, the Hmong community began to form various mutual aid organizations to help the newcomers adjust to life in the United States.
Cultural differences
As the length of time spent in the United States has been extended, there are significant differences in cultural identity between generations of Hmong people.
First-generation Hmong immigrants, those who came to the U.S. as adults, are generally more inclined to maintain their traditional Hmong cultural identity. They strive to preserve the Hmong language, customs and traditions in a foreign land, often using the Hmong language at home, participating in Hmong community activities, and trying to pass on cultural traditions to the next generation.
Second-generation Hmong, those who came to the U.S. as children or teenagers, often experience fragments in cultural identity. They not only retain part of the cultural memory of the Hmong people, but also are deeply influenced by American culture. This generation often seeks a balance between Hmong traditions and mainstream American culture, sometimes feeling a sense of identity confusion.
The third generation of Hmong, descendants of the Hmong who were born and raised in the United States, showed a clear trend towards Americanization. They usually speak English as their primary language, identify more with American culture, and have a relatively low level of knowledge and identification with Hmong traditions. However, some third-generation Hmong people also strive to maintain their connection to Hmong culture by learning the language and participating in cultural activities.
Over time, the cultural connection between the Hmong and China in the United States has faded. After the death of the first generation of Hmong, for the second or even third generation, China may be just a distant ancestral homeland, and their memories and perceptions of Chinese culture mainly come from family education and community activities.
In contrast, their identification with American culture has grown, and they are getting closer to mainstream American society in terms of lifestyle, values, etc., which is exactly what the United States wants to see.
Despite this, many Hmong families still strive to maintain their cultural traditions, so that the younger generation can learn about and pass on Hmong culture through festivals and traditional skills. This process of cultural identity change reflects the complex process of immigrant groups seeking a balance between traditional culture and new culture after integrating into the new environment.
Resources
From "Hmong", "American Hmong" to "Hmong American": The Cultural Identity of the American Hmong Group Changes World Nation