The Hmong by the Qingshui River
Australian anthropologist W.R. Geddes in his book, “Migrants of the Mountains” pointed that, “The preservation by the Miao of their ethnic identity for such a long time despite their being split into many small groups surrounded by different alien peoples and scattered over a vast geographical area is an outstanding record paralleling in some ways that of the Jews but more remarkable because they lacked the unifying forces of literacy and a doctrinal religion and because the cultural features they preserved seem to be more numerous.”
According to textual and oral historical records, the earliest ancestors of Hmong people resided in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. These ancestors, tracing back to Chiyou during the era of Sanmiao, later migrated to the Jianghan Plain. Subsequent wars and conflicts forced further migrations towards the south and west, thereby leading the Hmong ancestors into the southwestern mountains and Yungui Plateau. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, some of the Hmong relocated to countries in Southeast Asia, and later, during the modern period, they migrated further to Europe and America. These prolonged migrations throughout history have contributed to the richness of Hmong culture and the evolution of its cultural development.
Today, the Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture contains roughly half of the entire national Hmong population. Taijing County is even more densely populated by Hmong. Known as “The Most Hmong County in the World,” Taijiang is where the Hmong population is densest in the world, proportionally speaking. Shidong Town, where we focused our efforts, is in this region. The Qingshui River flows by the town, and the Jinzhong Mountain serves as a natural shield. Compared to many other places, this is where traditional aspects of Hmong life have been better preserved, making it ideal for Hmong studies.
As we dug deeper, we felt increasingly that the Hmong lived in a separate world, with no written language but a complete system of myth, passed down through song poetry and implanting a specific worldview in each generation of the Hmong. A song poem can be sung for three days and three nights, covering subjects as varied as the creation of the world and humans, stories of heroism, of love, of worship, agriculture and silk production… These myths record Hmong wisdom about the world accumulated over the generations.
Myths, song poetry, agriculture, kinship... Here, we seem to have traversed through time and space, directly witnessing a living culture and its evolution. The belief system of the Hmong is deeply rooted in lineage and kinship heritage. Neither like Christianity nor the neighboring Dong culture, they do not seek to expand their influence or convey a sense of mildness and inclusivity. With deeper understanding, one may discover that the nature of Hmong culture is intense and effervescent, nearer to the heart of life itself.
That is the reason why we have visited here repeatedly in quest of exploring the origins of such vitality.