Hmong - Late Qing

Inhabitants. The largest settlements in the Qiandongnan region of China may have had up to 1,000 households, or perhaps 5000-10,000 people. ^[1]

[1]: Melvin Ember. Carol R. Ember. 1999. Cultures of the world: selections from the ten-volume encyclopaedia of world cultures. Macmillan Library Reference. p. 192

in squared kilometers.‘The wide dispersion makes it difficult to generalize about ecological settings. Miao settlements are found anywhere from a few hundred meters above sea level to elevations of 1,400 meters or more. The largest number are uplands people, often living at elevations over 1,200 meters and located at some distance from urban centers or the lowlands and river valleys where the Han are concentrated. Often, these upland villages and hamlets are interspersed with those of other minorities such as Yao, Dong, Zhuang, Yi, Hui, and Bouyei.’ ^[1] ’The Ch’uan Miao are an ethnic group living on the borders of Szechwan, Kweichow, and Yunnan Provinces, western China. The country is very mountainous with numerous peaks rising 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. There are many streams, forests, waterfalls, perpendicular or overhanging cliffs, natural caves and natural bridges, and deepholes or pits where the water disappears into the bowels of the earth. While the roads between the Chinese towns and villages are generally paved with stones, most of the roads are narrow footpaths up and down the steep mountainsides or through fields and forests.’ ^[2] Some authors claim periodic decreases in population size for the rural Hmong population and report inconsistencies in the self-reporting of settled territory: ’The area of the Sheng Miao according to their exaggerated account, extends to 9,000 li, but actually the area is about 200 /sq./ li in length and width. It is a mountainous area, the highest peak at Teng-k’ung-ming-t’ang being 2,000 meters, and the total population about 10,000. The writer has visited altogether 101 Sheng Miao villages of all sizes, the largest being Chia-lu, Chia-mien, Chia-ya, Chia-lung, Chia-wêng, Cheng-yu, Tang-wêng and Chüeh-ts’ai-p’ing, with about 100 families in each. Even today they do not have a single market fair within the area and this shows how circumscribed is the sphere of their economic activity. Their only means of livelihood is agriculture. Almost all the fields are terraced according to natural topography, rising from the bottom of the slope to the top in several hundred layers. The shape of the field is long and narrow, producing rice, wheat, corn and barley. [...] Being in direct contact with them, the writer could watch at close quarters their extremely miserable conditions, which are pitiable indeed. Because of their ignorance they do not know how to save or to improve the method of production. In case of famine they cannot escape starvation, which is the most important reason for the decrease in their population.’ ^[3]

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1954. “Songs And Stories Of The Ch’Uan Miao", 1

[3]: Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 73

People. “In the eighteenth century, as China’s population doubled to over 300 million, the Miao Frontier experienced corresponding demographic crisis, growing from a few tens of thousands to well over a hundred thousand residents.” ^[1] 200,000 is a best guess of the population of the A-Hmao Big Flowery Hmong from extremely limited sources and will require further investigation. Modern populations estimates hover around 400,000. The quasi-polity’s population would have undoubtedly fluctuated greatly during the Hmong rebellions to the east and the subsequent mass dispersal from these regions to the south and west.

[1]: (88) McMahon, D. 2014. Rethinking the Decline of China’s Qing Dynasty: Imperial Activism and Borderland Management at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century. Routledge.

levels.
1. Village (administrative center)
2. Hamlet (residential only)

levels. Religious leaders or shamans dealt directly with devotees to the bidlang, or ancestral pantheon.

levels.
1: hereditary Yi family leader OR military appointee2. village headmen. ’These ‘native officials’ were remnants of the former tusi system, through which the Chinese imperial court granted titles to indigenous overlords to serve its indirect rule over the southwestern frontier. They survived the policy of gaitu guiliu (substituting posted officials for native officials) in the Qing dynasty, yet found themselves facing imminent threats from the Republican regime in the mid-1930s.’ ^[1]
1. Intermediary with Chinese state (tusi), then Hundred-household Heads (baihu); 2. Clan leaders; 3. Lineage leaders; 4. Village headmen.
Hmong representative in Chinese bureaucracy at the county, township, and village level. The main social organization structure in traditional Hmong society is the clan (Xeem) system, followed by a clan’s many lineages, and then the families within those lineages. ^[2] The Qing allowed the traditional village and lineage headmen of Hmong and other groups in the Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan to act as local officials of the empire, preserving some degree of traditional culture and social structure. ^[3] In the seventeenth century, the early Qing rulers wanted to bring the land of the Hmong Frontier within reach. The native tusi alliance was partially abolished and the territory incorporated as the southwestern tip of Chenzhou Prefecture; by 1730 the program included “bringing chieftains into the system” (gaitu guiliu). The Hmong Frontier’s remaining native units were dismantled; the Qing retained aspects of the former chieftain system in the establishment of a new set of hereditary leaders known as “Hundred-household Heads” (baihu). ^[4]

[1]: (Cheung Siu-woo (2003) Miao Identities, Indigenism and the Politics of Appropriation in Southwest China during the Republican Period. Asian Ethnicity. Vol. 4, Iss. 1, 2003)

[2]: Cha, D. 2003. Hmong American Concepts of Health, Healing, and Conventional Medicine. Psychology Press.

[3]: (38)Crossley, P. 2010. The Wobbling Pivot, China since 1800: An Interpretive History. John Wiley & Sons.

[4]: (88)McMahon, D. 2014. Rethinking the Decline of China’s Qing Dynasty: Imperial Activism and Borderland Management at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century. Routledge.

Shamans "engage in ordinary work, and only the most important religious activities require them to don special items of dress and decoration to mark them from others. There are no written texts for learning the chants, songs, dances, and rituals: they are memorized. If called by a family, specialists receive a small payment (often in foodstuffs) for their assistance". ^[1]

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

The Hmong were traditionally lead by tusi headmen who were responsible to the Chinese state. There was no writing system for the Hmong language before 1905 so there would have been no specialist administrators unconnected to the Chinese state. ^{[1] [2]} Whether imported from the east or selected by Qing rulers, full-time regional administrators came to dominate the Hmong.

[1]: (Diamond 2009, 3) Diamond, Norma. 2009. “Culture Summary: Miao.” eHRAF World Cultures.

[2]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

According to Ethnographic Atlas variable 28 ’Intensity of Agriculture’, the Hmong practice ’Intensive irrigated agriculture (J.)’ Agricultural technologies and practices varied depending on the prevalence of dry swidden versus wet rice cultivation: ’Economic strategies vary. The Hua Miao were shifting-swidden agriculturalists, growing buckwheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and hemp, and using a simple wooden hand plow or hoe. Sheep and goats were fed on nearby pasture land. Additionally the Hua Miao hunted with crossbow and poisoned arrows and gathered foodstuffs in the forests. In parts of Guizhou, the Miao more closely resembled their Han neighbors in their economic strategies as well as in their technology (the bullock-drawn plow, harrowing, use of animal and human wastes as fertilizer). The Cowrie Shell Miao in central Guizhou were settled farmers growing rice in flooded fields, and also raising millet, wheat, beans, vegetables, and tobacco. Their livestock was limited to barnyard pigs and poultry, with hunting and gathering playing a very minor role. Some of the Black Miao in southeast Guizhou combine intensive irrigated terrace farming of rice with dry-field upland cropping.’ ^[1] Many Hmong groups practice wet rice terrace irrigation and used the horse-driven wooden water-wheel. Others were swidden agriculturalists who did not have irrigation. ^{[2] [3]}

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 53, 81

[3]: Nurettin Celmeoglu. 2011. The Historical Anthroscape of Adana and the Fertile Lands. Selim Kapur. Hari Eswaran. W.E.H. Blum eds. 2011. Sustainable Land Management. Learning from the Past for the Future. Springer-Verlag. Berlin. pp. 262-263.

Relied on freshwater sources for drinking water. Only some villages benefited from pipe construction schemes by missionaries, and this process did not start until the late 19th and early 20th centuries: ’The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ ^[1] Accordingly, we have assumed that most Hmong communities did not rely on drinking water supply systems, especially not before the Republican period.

[1]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68

^[1]

[1]: Sustainable Land Management: Learning from the Past for the Future edited by Selim Kapur, Hari Eswaran, Winfried E.H.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^{[1] [2]}

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

[2]: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/pollardMiao.htm

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^{[1] [2]}

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

[2]: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/pollardMiao.htm

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

’On the eighth day of their fourth lunar month (around mid-May), the Miao celebrate a festival during which they offer sacrifices to their ancestors and cultural heroes. This festival commemorates the day in which the heroes Ya Yi and Ya Nu died in battle while preventing a cruel ruler from his cruel custom of annually forcing the Miao to choose one of their beautiful young women to be his concubine. At the festival, they sing, play reed pipes (lusheng in Chinese) and bonze drums, and dance to honor their ancestors, ensure a good harvest and drive away evil spirits. On special occasions such as this, the Miao women wear large quantities of silver necklaces, bracelets and headdresses which jingle when they dance. This silver jewelry is handed down as a family heirloom.’ ^[1] However, this time-reckoning system need not entail written calendars. The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[2]

[1]: http://www.arjumandsworld.com/blog/Miao-people-arjumand/

[2]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

’The ornaments can also be used as token of love promise and mascot for children to ward off evil forces, or even tradable or stored directly as money. Therefore, the silver ornaments of Miao are not only decorations, but also a cultural carrier rooted in the social life of the Miao.’ ^[1]

[1]: http://www.arjumandsworld.com/blog/Miao-people-arjumand/

Qing currency.

’The ornaments can also be used as token of love promise and mascot for children to ward off evil forces, or even tradable or stored directly as money. Therefore, the silver ornaments of Miao are not only decorations, but also a cultural carrier rooted in the social life of the Miao.’ ^[1]

[1]: http://www.arjumandsworld.com/blog/Miao-people-arjumand/

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

The A-Hmao language was first written by the Pollard script in apprx. 1905. ^[1]

[1]: Duffy, John M. (2007). Writing from these roots: literacy in a Hmong-American community. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3095-4.

’With Qing advances in 1795, the Miao would build fortications of an unspecified type quickly, presumably wooden palisades, earth ramparts, and ditches.’ ^[1]

[1]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Multiple authors describe defensive structures surrounding Hmong settlements: ’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[1] ’There were formerly many fortified places called in Chinese chai tzŭ where groups of houses were clustered together for protection. This is indicated by the names of places such as Wang Wu Chai and by the frequent references to fortified places in the legends. To-day there [Page 23] are none to be found. One explanation given by Ch’uan Miao friends is that the danger of fire was too great so that people no longer built their houses so close together. There are two other possible reasons. One is that the Chinese destroyed the strongholds in war and to prevent future rebellions, and the other is that there is no longer danger of raids and attacks from the Lolos. Chinese histories actually mention the destruction of the strongholds’ ^[2] We have assumed mortared stone walls for the time being.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 22

Note: The military tactics of the Hmong of Western Hunan during the Hmong Uprising of 1795-1797 have been described. These codes reflect these tactics. Hmong settlements were constructed along mountainsides and rivers and surrounded with defensive structures: ’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[1] Many Hmong strongholds were destroyed during the rebellion: ’There were formerly many fortified places called in Chinese chai tzŭ where groups of houses were clustered together for protection. This is indicated by the names of places such as Wang Wu Chai and by the frequent references to fortified places in the legends. To-day there [Page 23] are none to be found. One explanation given by Ch’uan Miao friends is that the danger of fire was too great so that people no longer built their houses so close together. There are two other possible reasons. One is that the Chinese destroyed the strongholds in war and to prevent future rebellions, and the other is that there is no longer danger of raids and attacks from the Lolos. Chinese histories actually mention the destruction of the strongholds’. ^[2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

[2]: Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 22

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

’With Qing advances in 1795, the Miao would build fortications of an unspecified type quickly, presumably wooden palisades, earth ramparts, and ditches.’ ^[1] Ling et al claim earth slabs for the fortified walls around settlements: ’The Miao settlement is called “chai” (Illus. 12, 13), built generally against a mountainside or along a river, without any uniform appearance. The chai wall is made of earth or stone slabs, and there is no definite number of gates. The streets of a chai zigzag up and down, with tiny alleys on both sides. In each alley there are a few families. The alleys are interconnected. Without a guide one can get lost once inside a chai; turning right and left, one will be unable to find an exit. Chinese passing through a Miao chai often cannot find a single Miao, because they have gone into hiding in small alleys, barring the doors and refusing to come out. The Miao chais are not located along lines of communication but in the deep mountains and valleys accessible only by small paths. Although visible at a distance, they often cannot be reached. Without modern arms, they cannot be easily taken. For the last few hundred years continuous Miao unrest in western Hunan may be largely related to the fact that their chais were easy to defend and difficult to capture.’ ^[2]

[1]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

[2]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 59

’With Qing advances in 1795, the Miao would build fortications of an unspecified type quickly, presumably wooden palisades, earth ramparts, and ditches.’ ^[1]

[1]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

The guard stations and garrisons of the imperial army may qualify as complex fortifications: ’During the Ts’ung Cheng reign period /1628/ /the end of the Ming dynasty/, the Miao rebelled, demolishing the guard stations and leveling the border wall. The “Great Wall” to blockade Miao country disappeared.’ After the later Hmong rebellions of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were suppressed, ’the Manchu court realized that the time was yet inopportune to change the Miao by teaching, and the blockade policy was once more used. The various hsiens along the Miao border were heavily garrisoned for protection.’ ^[1] However, Hmong fortifications probably don’t qualify (see above), as it appears that settlements were surrounded by single walls and additional fortifications were constructed quickly on an ad hoc basis. This is open to review and may need expert confirmation.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 168

We could find no direct mention of steel, but it seems likely that at least some weapons, esp. guns, could have been made with steel. We need to ascertain when the Hmong started to acquire firearms.

Mickey states that the Hmong used iron tools: ’Several millions of these other peoples still live in the southern provinces of China. They are the Tai, the Lo-lo, and the Miao. Like the Chinese peasants of southern China, all of these people are Iron-Age agriculturalists, growing rice and other grains, keeping a few pigs and cattle, living in villages of a few hundred persons, and trading their surplus agricultural products and handicraft products in the market towns for cutting tools and other manufactured objects.’ ^[1] See below for material on swords and firearms. We need to ascertain when the Hmong started to acquire firearms.

[1]: Mickey, Margaret Portia 1947. “Cowrie Shell Miao Of Kweichow”, viia

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Spears are present (see below), but no mention of whether they were thrown or used in close-combat; given the presence of firearms, the latter seems more likely.

We know that in the Chinese period, Hmong men were recruited to the Chinese military and equipped with firearms: ’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1, 000 home guards, 7, 000 t’un males, 1, 800 old and young males, and 5, 000 Miao soldiers. ... There were in all 16, 388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1,643 swords, and 5,002 spears, totaling 41,136 weapons.’ ^[1] We need to ascertain when the Hmong started to acquire firearms. Sutton claims a tradition of hunting with muskets: ’Two easily overlooked repercussions of demographic pressure [by the late eighteenth century] were, ecologically, the diminution of fauna that the frontier people had long hunted with muskets and spears; and, socially, the frustration of the Miao practice of newly-marrieds setting up a separate household, which especially affected young unmarried males who would be the main fighters in the Miao forces.’ ^[2] We have therefore assumed that firearms were used in combat as well.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

[2]: SUTTON, D. S.. (2003). Ethnic Revolt in the Qing Empire: The "Miao Uprising" of 1795-1797 Reexamined. Asia Major, 16(2), 105-152. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649879

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Diamond mentions the use of crossbows on hunting trips among swidden cultivators: ’Economic strategies vary. The Hua Miao were shifting-swidden agriculturalists, growing buckwheat, oats, corn, potatoes, and hemp, and using a simple wooden hand plow or hoe. Sheep and goats were fed on nearby pasture land. Additionally the Hua Miao hunted with crossbow and poisoned arrows and gathered foodstuffs in the forests.’ ^[1] The presence of firearms seems to make the active use of the crossbow in violent conflict less likely. We need to confirm this.

[1]: Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Ling et al claim the use of swords even in the Chinese period: ’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1,000 home guards, 7,000 t’un males, 1,800 old and young males, and 5,000 Miao soldiers. ... There were in all 16,388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1,643 swords, and 5,002 spears, totaling 41,136 weapons.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

Ling et al claim the use of spears even in the Chinese period: ’The above seven sub-prefectures and hsiens had a total of 56 t’un officers, 486 Miao officers, 200 t’un leaders, 1,000 home guards, 7,000 t’un males, 1,800 old and young males, and 5,000 Miao soldiers. ... There were in all 16,388 shotguns, 50 hand guns, 1,643 swords, and 5,002 spears, totaling 41,136 weapons.’ ^[1]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 177

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Maio groups used rattan-cane helmet, wooden shield and body armor made out of hide or wool. Iron was used for limb protection (greaves). ^[1]

[1]: Hugo Adolf Bernatzik. 1970. Akha and Miao: problems of applied ethnography in farther India. Human Relations Area Files. p.523

Maio groups used rattan-cane helmet, wooden shield and body armor made out of hide or wool. Iron was used for limb protection (greaves). ^[1]

[1]: Hugo Adolf Bernatzik. 1970. Akha and Miao: problems of applied ethnography in farther India. Human Relations Area Files. p.523

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Maio groups used rattan-cane helmet, wooden shield and body armor made out of hide or wool. Iron was used for limb protection (greaves). ^[1]

[1]: Hugo Adolf Bernatzik. 1970. Akha and Miao: problems of applied ethnography in farther India. Human Relations Area Files. p.523

Maio groups used rattan-cane helmet, wooden shield and body armor made out of hide or wool. Iron was used for limb protection (greaves). ^[1]

[1]: Hugo Adolf Bernatzik. 1970. Akha and Miao: problems of applied ethnography in farther India. Human Relations Area Files. p.523

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Maio groups used rattan-cane helmet, wooden shield and body armor made out of hide or wool. Iron was used for limb protection (greaves). ^[1]

[1]: Hugo Adolf Bernatzik. 1970. Akha and Miao: problems of applied ethnography in farther India. Human Relations Area Files. p.523

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

we need expert input in order to code this variable

Ling et al describe Hmong boats: ’The boat used in the Miao area generally measures nine kung ch’ih in length, divided into seven holds, the middle hold being the widest, about one kung ch’ih in width (Illus. 18, 19). The oar, the paddle, the pole, the mast, and other attachments of the boat are not different from those seen elsewhere, except that at the bow there is a long paddle about six kung ch’ih long, which is used for coming down the sandbanks. Traveling upstream offers the greatest difficulty. Every time a sandbank is crossed, the boat has to be poled, lifted, towed, or pushed by several dozen men.’ ^[1] We are unsure whether these were used in warfare. We have coded ’absent’ for the time being.

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao. 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan.", 70

we need expert input in order to code this variable