I have to agree with the person that said Hmong people are a mix of all sorts of people. That could not be further from the truth. We are just like anyone else, whites, blacks, Hispanics, etc… everyone’s blood is mixed one way or another with each other’s.
You can look at a White person and wonder what he is (is he German, Italian, Greek, French?...) but if you ask him, he will categorize himself as "American" (based on his country, USA) or "Caucasian" (based on his physical features) and if you further probe him he will probably give you a breakdown of his make-up (80% German, 10% Swedish, 10% French).
It's great that we have all this "Hmong" pride and want to know where we originated from. But one should not be so naive to believe Hmong is a pure race or that we were the “original” Chinese. I have cousins (their mother was my Aunt = who was very Hmong) that act Hmong, practice Hmong customs, heck they are as Hmong as you and I... but their ancestors on their father’s side were Mabdaum… Their father’s family no longer wanted to be Mabdaum and converted to being Hmong—they chose a Hmong last name and started acting/being Hmong. I have friends who are as Hmong as you and I but their father and/or mother were Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian... And then there are Hmong people that were not originally Hmong, they were Laotion and got adopted by Hmong parents. Do you follow me?
If you are going to trace the Hmong based on ancestors, fossils, I don't know... I just doubt we will get anywhere since we are all mixed with so many other Asians/people. So, then, this leads to the question: how do you define Hmong? …Not in bloodlines. So then, let me ask again. How do you define what/who Hmong is? My answer would be, anyone is Hmong if they speak Hmong, are rooted in the practice of (or their former generations practiced) the Hmong customs/traditions.
To stay relevant to this thread topic and to answer the question (Are Hmong the original Chinese?): One would have to prove that Hmong people (defined by their customs/traditions) were linked closely to the first/original emperors or kings of China. To do this, you'd need to prove that the original kings/emperors practiced the same beliefs/customs as the Hmong. The king that came closest to being linked to the Hmong was Chiyou. …
Here is a fact: Hmong people HAD THEIR ROOTS IN China (China--because that is as far back as we know)…
But again, the haunting question “Are Hmong the original Chinese?”… like, are we similar to the Native Americans in America, only, in China? NO. I’d say at one time Hmong people were ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PEOPLES IN CHINA… BUT we were never the ONLY people in China, WE WERE NOT THE ONLY ORIGINAL PEOPLE IN THE LAND. (Regarding Yelang, Hmong people may be the majority in Yelang but there could have been other minority groups there with us.)… WE ARE ONLY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL GROUPS OF PEOPLE. HEY! I may even be wrong in this. We may not even be one of the originals. For all I know, we could have come from India, Russia, Mongolia into China (just like the White men had come to America from Europe).
Sorry, I know I was confusing. My thoughts got carried away in different directions.
Topic: Are Hmong the original Chinese? (Read 3818 times)