The Hmu language (hveb Hmub), also known as Qiandong Miao (黔东, Eastern Guizhou Miao), Central Miao (中部苗语), East Hmongic (Ratliff 2010), or (somewhat ambiguously) Black Miao, is a dialect cluster of Hmongic languages of China. The best studied dialect is that of Yǎnghāo (养蒿) village, Taijiang County, Guizhou Province.
Qanu (咯努), a Hmu variety, had 11,450 speakers as of 2000, and is spoken just south of Kaili City, Guizhou. The Qanu are ethnoculturally distinct from the other Hmu.
Miao is a word used in modern China to designate a category of ethnic groups living in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia. The Miao are the largest ethnic minority group in China without an autonomous region. The Miao live primarily in the mountains of southern China encompassing the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan. Some sub-groups of the Miao, most notably the Hmong people, migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Northern Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France, and Australia.
Miao is a Chinese term referring to many groups that have their own autonyms such as Hmong, Hmu, Xong (Qo-Xiong), and A-Hmao. These people (except those in Hainan) speak Hmongic languages, a subfamily of the Hmong–Mien languages (Miao-Yao) including many mutually unintelligible languages such as the mother tongues of the four primary groups that make up the Miao: Hmong, Hmub, Xong and A-Hmao.
The Hmongic languages, also known as Miao languages (simplified Chinese: 苗语; traditional Chinese: 苗語; pinyin: Miáoyǔ), include the various languages spoken by the Miao people (such as Hmong, Hmu, and Xong). Hmongic languages also include various languages spoken by non-Mienic-speaking Yao people, such as Pa-Hng, Bunu, Jiongnai, Younuo, and others, while She is spoken by ethnic She people.
Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese: 黔东南苗族侗族自治州; pinyin: Qiándōngnán Miáozú Dòngzú Zìzhìzhōu; Hmu language: Qeef Dongb Naif Dol Hmub Dol Gud Zid Zid Zeb; Kam language: Qeens Donc Nanc Nyenc Miiul Nyenc Gaeml Zil Zil Zous), also known as Southeast Qian Autonomous Prefecture of Miao and Dong and shortened as S.E. Qian Prefecture (Qeens Donc Nanc Zous), is an autonomous prefecture in the southeast of Guizhou province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan to the east and Guangxi to the south. The seat of the prefecture is Kaili. Qiandongnan has an area of 30,337 km (11,713 sq mi).
The whole state governs 1 city of Kaili and 15 counties. There are 7 streets, 94 towns, and 110 townships (including 17 ethnic townships). There are 33 ethnic groups living in the territory, including Miao, Dong, Han, Buyi, Shui, Yao, Zhuang, and Tujia. According to the seventh census data in China, as of 00:00 on November 1, 2020, the resident population of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture was 3,758,622.
Huangping County (simplified Chinese: 黄平县; traditional Chinese: 黃平縣; pinyin: Huángpíng Xiàn; Hmu: Wangx Zangx) is a county in the east of Guizhou province, China. It is under the administration of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.
Kaili (simplified Chinese: 凯里; traditional Chinese: 凱里; pinyin: Kǎilǐ, Hmu: Kad Linx) is a county-level city and the prefecture seat of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, in southeastern Guizhou province, China. It is the center of Miao culture, hosting more than 120 festivals every year. Kaili has a population of 478,642 in 2010 and is a major producer of rice.