Some Hmong visitors feel that Miao is a pejorative term for the ethnic group in China to whom they are related. In response, Curator Yang Liu has provided the following information. If you encounter any questions or concerns on tours, please let us know.
Per Curator Yang Liu:
“The costumes and silver ornaments… belong to the ethnic group living in China’s Guizhou and Hunan provinces. These people are known as ‘Miao’ in China – that is not only the term used in Chinese official classification of the minorities, but also the self-designation of these people. I have visited these regions many times and know that they have no feeling that Hmong is in any way preferable to them as a common designator. No contemporary Chinese will feel that ‘Miao’ contains a sign of disrespect in any way, as the basic meaning of the word ‘miao’ in Chinese is ‘young plant’.
Although there are different opinions, some Western scholars propose that the term Hmong be used only for designating the Miao groups speaking the Hmong dialect in China (very small group) and for the Miao outside China. According to Joakim Enwall, Professor of Chinese, Uppsala University, it is these non-Chinese Hmong living outside China who advocate that the term Hmong be used not only for designating their dialect group, but also for the other groups living in China.”
Yang has also provided an article that discusses this further:
As we know, sometimes visitors just wish to express concerns, to be heard, and they may not agree with the museum’s choice of terminology. In those cases, it is good to encourage visitors to complete a comment card if they wish to receive a direct response from museum staff.