Yao
- Scope note
- The Yao are a Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) speaking ethnic group numbering approximately 3.3 million people, originating from southern China (possibly Hunan) and dispersed westward across the mainland Southeast Asian massif into northern Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand over the last four centuries, with diaspora communities in the United States and France. Due to demographic pressure from coastal Han Chinese and competition from established Tai-speaking groups, the Yao are generally found on higher ground alongside their linguistic relatives the Hmong, though their southward migration into the Peninsula began earlier. The majority of Yao adhere to a medieval version of Chinese Taoism and have historically used Chinese ideograms to write genealogies and ritual books accompanied by colorful paintings, though Buddhist and Christian minorities exist.
- Date of creation: 09-Mar-2026
Accepted term: 09-Mar-2026 
