Miao, an ancient nation, is scattered all over the world, mainly in Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Qiong and other provinces in China, as well as Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries and regions in Southeast Asia. Miao people have their own language, and Miao language belongs to the branch of Miao Yao language family of Sino-Tibetan language family, which is divided into three dialects: Xiangxi, Qiandong and Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. The total population of Miao nationality in China is 9,426,007, ranking the fourth among ethnic minorities. Due to the long-term contact between Miao and Han, some Miao people are fluent in and use Chinese. Miao people's religious beliefs are mainly nature worship and ancestor worship.
In ancient times, Miao people were called "Jingchu", "Man Jing" and "Na Man", and that's it. After Yu brutally cut down three seedlings, there were no records of three seedlings in the Central Plains literature. Jingchu, Jing Chu, Man Jing and Nan Man all refer to Miao people. His predecessor was Sanmiao, and the descendants of Sanmiao reappeared in history under the abstract cover of Jing Chuman [4]? . These appellations confuse the appellations of Miao and other nationalities. After the Song Dynasty, Miao was separated from some mixed names of "Man" and became a single national name.
Miao people are the earliest people who planted rice, and they planted rice in ancient times. In primitive society, Miao people took leaves as their clothes, caves or tree nests as their homes and women as their leaders, which was reflected in a large number of Miao ancient songs. From the kinship appellation system in some areas, we can also see the evolution traces from matrilineal system to paternal system, and from consanguineous marriage to pairing marriage. Judging from the distribution of Miao nationality in China, it is characterized by large dispersion and small settlement. Judging from the number of people, there are many people living in compact communities and many people living in scattered areas.
Miao people's dietary customs have their own characteristics. The Miao people in Rongshui, Southeast Guizhou, Xiangxi and Guangxi of Hainan Island take rice as their staple food, as well as corn, sweet potato, millet and other miscellaneous grains. Miao people in northwest Guizhou, south Sichuan and northeast Yunnan live on corn, potatoes, buckwheat and oats. There are many kinds of non-staple food, besides collecting wild vegetables and engaging in fishing and hunting, there are also livestock, poultry, fish, beans, vegetables, fruits and so on. Hot and sour taste is an indispensable thing in Miao life. In the past, due to the lack of salt in mountainous areas, many Miao people lived on light food all the year round and could only use hot and sour seasoning. Over time, they formed a habit.