Why Hmong People Are Not East Asian 

Strange how the US gov't can't remember where they picked up all the Hmong in America from.

We are technically East Asians. Our parents grew up in Southeast Asia because our ancestors fled there because of war with the Chinese government. Millions of Hmong still live in China today.

I can kinda relate to this as a Singaporean Chinese (4th generation). My ancestry is from Fujian in eastern China. Of course being a Singaporean I identify as Southeast Asian in terms of nationality and politically. However in terms of ethnicity I definitely still consider myself East Asian because of my ethnic Chinese background and not Southeast Asian. The same should also apply to the Hmong (of which there are millions of them still in China). Maybe in terms of nationality, non-naturalised Hmong would consider themselves Southeast Asian, but in terms of ethnicity definitely East Asian. American Hmongs would be Americans in terms of nationality, and East Asians in terms of ethnicity. Hmong are one of the oldest mentioned ethnic groups in Chinese mythology, and similarly in Hmong mythology the Chinese were also mentioned suggesting frequent contact and interaction with one another. According to legend the Chinese 'Huangdi and Yandi' defeated the Hmong 'Chiyou' and Jiu-Li tribes which was why they continuously fled further south. In fact in Hmong language they still refer to the Chinese as 'Suav' (夏) which is the oldest ethnonym for Chinese people suggesting shared history for over 4000 years.

Bless you both for covering our people and spotlighting David Yang's artistry/music. Very cool, thank you!

Kudos to y’all for discussing this topic because this is a hot topic within the Hmong community as well. I think you’re going to find varying answers depending on which Hmong person you ask because there are different perspectives. I think it just comes down to, if that person is coming from a technical point or an experiential point.

I'm Hmong and I prefer to be grouped with Southeast Asians. Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodian, etc have roots in China but they don't consider themselves East Asians. It would make sense IF most Hmong communities came to the US from China, they could characterize themselves as East Asians but Hmong made it to US via the Vietnam War, so we identify with South East Asia.

We are technically East Asian. Most of our people are in China. Statically saying about 1.1 million.(which I think is off, I think there’s more) Even though a lot of our parents came from south east again countries. But we at the end of the day are from China. Don’t let it distract you. Our roots are from East Asian in China. We historically only lived in SE Asia for a few hundred years but we lived in China for thousands of years. I’ve been really invested in our culture of this last year since serving the military… I really miss spending time with the fam so I’ve been digging more information of our people. I realized that the miao people are literally our people. There are a bunch of subgroups that have different dialects that sound so similar to hmong. Even when counting up to 10 they are barley any differences. Love to our people.

❤ TY for showing love to the Hmong people! Yes, David Yang's songs are 🔥! This topic is starting to stem further and further because now there are so many minority groups that want to be "differentiated" from others.

Thanks for using your platform to introduce Hmong artists to the larger Asian American community! I would like to note that the first song is by David Yang but features another amazing Hmong artist, Chenning Xiong. His songs are amazing too!

What I've observed from my Hmong friends is that Hmong people love to argue about the stupidest things 😂

Impressed with both your knowledge of the Hmong People. Thank you for taking the time to learn of us and covering this.

Have been watching you guys for so long and thank you for this covering about Hmong. Also very much appreciated for introducing Hmong artists David Yang and his songs.

Always grew watching y’all skits since highschool 2000s. Now I am watching y’all talking about us Hmong. Love it, thanks for taking your time to actually look into it and did y’all research. Appreciate it and thank you Fung Bros!! Come to a new year once or go to Hmong village to try our foods! Or Yia Vang restaurant. Foods is culture ❤️

I am Hmong and honestly i don't know how this even effects my life. lol. But cool topic.

If we are to be identified by ethnicity and not nationality, then we should represent it truthfully. Hmong people are a EAST ASIAN ethnicity, our diaspora is Southeast Asian. Labeling our ethnicity as "Southeast Asian" would be the misclassification. It erases our 5,000+ years of history, and grossly mislabels the 11 million+ people back in China (our ancestral home). As more Hmong Americans reconnect with their roots in China, they have become more accepting of the term 'Miao'. This means we have to be accepting of histories and communities that differ from ours. The first Miao/Hmong people in the US did not immigrate here from Southeast Asia, rather they immigrated here from China. There are Chinese-Americans that are Hmong, and there are Hmong-Americans who are from China. Our roots in China is a story that Hmong people from all over the world share, but the story of the Secret War is one that only applies to us. This is simply a political classification. The petition wants to classify Hmong-Americans as Southeast Asian because it will mean more government funding. Being classified East Asian will make it harder for Hmong-Americans to receive funding that would go into helping the community. This is the fault of the model minority myth and the government for treating us as a monolith culture. Also too many outside influence from the Chinese-Americans and Vietnamese-Americans vying for Hmong-American's support and money. Instead of the challenging the model minority myth so that East Asians won't be seen as a monolith and resources are distributed equitably, the petition is using identity politics to quickly get those resources at the cost of our history and letting other groups continue to suffer under a racist myth.

I’m half Hmong and half Vietnamese and did a 23AndMe. My results were 50% Chinese and 50% Vietnamese. I was mind blown. 😂

To understand China, we have to understand the Northern Great Wall; before the Qin dynasty, during the Zhou (周) dynasty, there were many kingdoms in the Yellow River Basin. These alliances restored the name Mong (盟), today Mong/Hmong. Mong has been written into many characters in Chinese literature, such as 盟, 蒙, 孟. In English, Mong has also been written in different spellings depending on which Westerners wrote it. For example, Mong has variable spelling, Hmong, Mong, Mhong, and H’Mong. Mong is most used in Vietnam. Hmong is widely known and used throughout Laos, Thailand, and The United States, but we will use Mong instead of Hmong. How Mong was the original spelling after encountering William Alexander Grist (Grist, 1920). Alexander Grist Change Mong into Mhong, then when the French missionary such as Marie Savina encounters the Mong people, they change Mhong into Hmong. In French, the H is silent and still pronounced Mong. How Mong became Miao, we will discuss it later. Here is what Savina have to report about the Mong people. Savina reported that the Mong people had black to brown and corn-blonde hair. He also stated that Mong is different from other individual races in Asia (Savina, 1924). He reported that Mong, as a race, sat in the middle between the White race and the Yellow Race (Savina, 1924), a mongrel race. Mottin (1980) also describes Mong people as having fair skin, nearly white. Mottin pointed out that Mong’s hair can become reddish when they turn adults. Mong people indeed have blonde hair and occasionally blue eyes. According to oral history, this is how the Han Chinese quickly identified who the Mong people were and slaughtered them. I digress let’s get back to Mong Northern Kingdoms. These kingdoms-built sections of walls to defend themselves from Southern China Asians, which is known as the Man (嫚)culture or Mab in Mong. For example we call the Han Chinese people ManShu, and the Yi people ManYi The Mong people consider the Han Chinese and the Yi Chinese as part of the Man culture. In this sense, Man is a culture affiliated and not related to a particular ethnicity. Man in Mong does not have the same meaning as the Han Chinese. The Mong culture does not have a concept of barbarian. It is why it is debatable when the Han Chinese used the term Man as a barbarian. In ancient times, what we call China today was divided into two different cultures. For example, see the Facebook link facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6078665838889378&set=pb.100002380673907.-2207520000&type=3 Here is another example facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6090249774397651&set=pb.100002380673907.-2207520000&type=3 Mong's embroidery on the left. Qin was part of the Man culture, and as they invaded the Yellow Basin, it pushed the Mong people Northward to Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, and Heilong Jiang River. In ancient times, from the Yellow River Basin and up was considered Northern and anything below the Yellow River Basin was considered Southern, unlike today, where under the Yangtze River was now considered Southern China. For example, even during Yawg Dynasty or Yuan Dynasty, from the Yellow River was known as 大朝 or Tuam Tshoj in Mong, and below, it was known as 小朝 . Lets get back to Qin Dynasty. When Qin took over the Yellow Basin, Mong was pushed Northward. Those who stayed behind served the Qin emperor. Here is a video of Jackie Chan portraying a Mong General name MongYi. I know that today, Han Chinese would like to call him MengYi. Here is the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LqxmdTjZlck.html During his interview he said he play a Mong General facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6121424507946844&set=g.2855633198096430. Now, there were no Mongolian during the Qin dynasty, but we will get back to it. When the Mong people fled the Yellow Basin Northward, they united with other Nothern Tribes and established other kingdoms, but they still go by Mong even before Tang Dyansty facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10230989733385217&set=g.2855633198096430 It was from the name Mong that the name Mongol derived from. It is derived from the name MongGu or in this paper, they wrote MongKu (蒙古). Mong is Mong, and Ku or Gu means Ancient or Antiquity. See this article facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6878860865536534&set=g.2855633198096430 Here is a documentary from the Korean repository, stated that Cinghis Khan call his empire Mong facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10231374176076044&set=g.2855633198096430 Now we fast forward to the Ming dynasty and it was only then that the many sections of the walls were connected together for the purpose of Mong/Hmong heavily migrated to Southern China today the Yangtze River. It was an immigration wall to stop Nothern Asian such as the Mong people, immigrants to Southern China. Most of the Mong people who were living on the South side of the Northern Great Wall, like my ancestors, ended up at the Yangtze River due to genocide and forced into harsh labor. It is why the wall is facing the way it is. The Great Wall of China was not to protect Han Chinese from the invasion of the Mong people. It was connected for the purpose of stopping Mong from immigrating to Southern China. When the Mong people rebelled again at the Yangtze River, The Han Chinese built another Great Wall called the Southern Great Wall to defend themselves and stop Mong from immigrating back to the Yellow Basin, which pushed the Mong people to Southeast Asia. www.chinahighlights.com/.../south-great-wall.htm From 1464 to the early 20th century, the Miao (Man people) rebellion against Ming and Qing, and Mong took part in the uprising. Mong got lumped under Miao, and Qing retaliated with harsh punishment against the Mong people. After the rebellion ended, many Mong people migrated again to Southeast Asia. Today, the Han Chinese does not want to recognize the name Mong/Hmong and instead call us Miao under a false pretense name to erase our history in the Yellow Basin. So we went from Miaozi (苗子), a derogatory term, to Miaozu (苗族), and the name Mong disappeared from China histories. During Ming and Qing, the Mong, who is now in Southern China, was labeled as Miaozi (苗子), a derogatory. The derogatory name Miaozi later became Miaozu (苗族). In ancient times, the ideology of Zu (族) did not exist. The ideology of Zu was a foreign idea brought to China by the Japanese people when Japan conquered China. When Mong immigrated to Southeast Asia, the term Miao followed the Mong people, and it became known as the Meo people (Cat people). Today in China and other parts of the world, Miaozu became an ethnicity, and Mong no longer became the legitimacy but instead Miao. The derogatory word Miao or Miaozi to Miaozu has become an ethnicity. The last Mong rebellion against the Qing, according to Mottin (1980), was from 1795 to 1806. During the rebellion against the Ming and Qing Chinese governments, the Ming and Qing governments practiced eunuchs (Mitamura, 1992; Tsai, 1996). This practice heavily impacted Mong men and boys. From 1800 on, Mong people begin to migrate to Southeast Asia, places like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma) (Moltin, 1980). By 1860, according to Culas and Michaud (1997), thousands of the Mong people had reached North Vietnam. The Mong people reached Southern China only 500 years ago, "The historical Guangxi populations in our current data show that ancestry related to Tai-Kadai speakers can be found by at least
1,500 years ago, while ancestry related to Hmong-Mien speakers is found in individuals dating to
500 years ago. Thus, these two populations have lived continuously in Guangxi for at least 500 years." (Wang et al., 2021) Today China is still divided into Mong Culture and Man Culture. Example facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=6078665865556042&set=pb.100002380673907.-2207520000&type=3 What you are looking at are Mong Culture from the Yellow Basin to Siberia still resemble each other where the Man culture still resembles each other such as The Han Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Cantonese, etc. All the Man culture has artifact culture of Demonic mask and even today we still can see it in Han Chinese dragon dance, Thai people, Laos people, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodia, Japanese etc. China in ancient times and today must be understood in the cultural context, not so much by DNA because of the mixing over time.

As a Hmong person, I’m not sure what to categorize myself as. Majority of Hmong still live in China and majority of the Hmong in America have parents who were born in SEA. Culturally, I’d say Hmong share a lot more similarities with Chinese: last names, language, history, costumes, Confuciasm. It’s only in the last century have the Hmong started to adopt some SEA traditions and words.

I am Hmong, I love your RU-vid channel, keep up the good works, and thanks for talking about us. We are historically East Asians, I am not offended for that classification at all, although I identify myself as Southeast Asian, because that's where I came from recently. Hmong as a group, have been in China for thousands of years even before the Chinese, we share a lot of commonalities with the Chinese culture, language, customs, and names, because we got them from the Chinese. My blood test result is I am 70% Han Chinese. I kinda chuckled when you mentioned our last names spelled exactly like Chinese. We got all of our last names from the Chinese.

I'm fine with being classified as East Asian. Don't know why those butt hurt Hmong people who knows nothing of history are complaining.

Miao/Hmong population statistics: PRC: 9,426,007 (2010) Vietnam: 1,383,547 (2019) Laos: 595,028 (2015) USA: 299,000 (2015) Thailand: 250,070 (2015) The majority of Miao/Hmong people live in the PRC.

Thanks for having this discussion and playing David Yang. You should listen to some Maa Vue and PAP band.

I’m Iu mien, so close to the hmongs but can’t understand hmong. Our culture is very similar . The fact of the matter is we don’t have a home country but is very obvious we are East Asian originating from China. Whether you consider yourself East Asian or south East Asian. Most of Our people reside in China. Right now there are more hmongs and miens in China then everywhere else in the world combined. But very awesome for you guys to cover this !

The old saying goes, if i dont see the Yellow River, my heart will not be sooth. It does not say, if i dont see the Mekong River my heart will not be sooth. And then in the funeral rites, the soul is guided to the ancient land of Huangdi and Chiyou. The soul is not guided to the mountains of South East Asia. This label is all about government money, not cutural history.

Correct. Hmong people originated in southern China. We only started appearing in Laos and Vietnam in the late 1800s. Around 1890. Majority of Hmong Americans are from SEA, but if we're looking at the overall picture then Hmong people are East Asian. The highest population of Hmong is still in China (Yunnan, Sichaun, Guizhou).

I’m Hmong myself… my great grandparents came from China and settled in Laos just little over 100 years ago.. though many Hmong settled in south east Asia we are still considered East Asian. Our language and tradition is still close to our old roots. We can say our parents and grandparents are from south east Asia but we are originally East Asian.

I love that you guys love talking about Hmong people ❤❤❤

I love Fung Bros 😂💯💪🙏🏻🫂👍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for always showing David Yang and the Hmong people some love!! We're often an unknown Asian ethnic group even among some of my Asian friends

I don’t really care but I do think Hmong people are closer to East Asian… culture and language. I have a lot of Chinese friends and I observe our cultures to be very similar, like postpartum. If we didn’t get pushed out to Southeast Asia, we for sure would be considered East Asian.

It's very easy to understand. The Miao is an ethnic minority group in China (definitely East Asian). Hmong's can trace their ancestry back to this Miao originating group but present day Hmong does not necessary have to be seen as East Asian because they are mixed with Southern, South East Asian and Austronesians throughout the ages while the present day Miao assimilated further with Han Chinese. Parent-Child though related just had offshoots into different directions.

Many Hmong in America identified as Southeast Asian, but sadly I’m not one of those Hmong individuals. I’m Hmong American, and I’m happy to say that I’m East Asian and Zhongguo (The Middle Kingdom) will and forever be my fatherland and it is the ancestral homeland of my people. Historically, linguistically, and culturally including DNA, Hmong people are East Asian and will always be East Asian people. More Hmong people, those who live outside of China should embrace more of the East Asian heritage and “Chineseness”. China is a big country and its people are very diverse, and Hmong people are of one the ethnic Chinese people since 5,000 years ago.

This is a really great topic guys. It’s very educational and y’all hit it on all ends of the why and maybe reason why groups are Asian say they are from. Very interesting! Keep up the good work guys! ❤ it !!

My father came from a province in China that has a large community of Miao people, who is related to the Hmong. I haven't done a DNA test but I'm pretty sure I'm part Miao given my facial features.

Im okay with East Asian. I Never needed the Governments help anyways. Work hard for your money and never take a hand out my hmong people. Because at the end of the day. The lessons you learn from the struggles and adversity will take you far in life. Be proud of your roots and stand next to others saying you never took the easy way. This is what General Vang Pao would have wanted

Most Hmong don't know their own history or culture. Many still think Hmong are nomadic tribes when Hmong are actually a tribe of settlers who are some of the greatest farmers and hunters. The Hmong musical traditions and spiritual practices talks about their ancestors and life in china all the time, many Hmong just don't pay attention or listen. The Hmong language and culture are more similar and tide to east asian. Dna test here in the USA are not accurate. They only have dna of asians with country under their name. Their dna testing are not in depth. The Hmong still have ancient dna from east asia that only they can have babies of blonde hair with blue and green eyes. Hmong have been in China for 5000-8000 years, Hmong have only been in south east asia for only 300-400 years. Hmong are not south east asian, if only most of you know the deeper history about what the south east asians did to the Hmong and their ancestors many of you would not claim it. Many hmong who consider themselves south east aren't well educated about their hmong identity. When Hmong first arrived in south east asia, Hmong were very different looking, the way they dress, eat, talk, small face and pale skin. They are East Asian, whomever is saying that they are not East Asian is literally erasing 5000 -8000 years of history. You would know if you know and understand the history of the Yellow and Yangtze River. There were many flood stories our elders spoked about.

Most Hmong I know consider themselves more South East Asian. Their music is more towards South East Asian music and generally are more intermixed with South East Asians. You go to any Hmong party and they are playing Saravan music.

I'm (white) Hmong/Miaozu it's correct to classify us as "east asian". A majority of us are from China and the westernized group are trying to be classified as Lao, Thai, etc. but that's incorrect. Even the majority of us are from China, Yunnan, Sichuan, etc. Even the language is tonal like Chinese languages and NOT like or anywhere near Thai, Laotian languages. The ancestral origin is from China regardless even of those born outside of China. It's because of the Vietnam war that the Hmong outside of China choose not to identify as from China and want the southeast asian which is still incorrect. Just because western hmongs have parents of Lao, Thailand, etc. nationality does not make them Laotian, Thai, etc. They're just born there they don't have the ethnicity unless they intermixed. I'm born in the United States and with parents from both Laos and Vietnam but I still identify as Miaozu/Hmong from China. It's not the nationality, it's the origin of ancestry which is in China = fact. The census is correct, east asian is the correct group.

Hmong people belong to the Miao ethnic group who are indigenous to lower China, from provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. There are many types of Hmong/Miao that still live in China and also in SE Asia. Ethnically, Hmong/Miao are rooted in China. Some Hmong/Miao people carry Chinese surname such as Xiong, which suggests intermixing with Han Chinese people with surname Xiong, which most people in China with Xiong surname are in Hunan, Hubei, and Henan. Hunan is next to Guizhou which has alot of Hmong/Miao people, so this makes complete sense if there where marriages between Han Chinese and Hmong/Miao. Guizhou is next to Yunnan. Yunnan is next to Vietnam which is next to Laos. You can literally map out the migration. Ethnically hmong/miao people are rooted in china, being hmong and living in SE Asia doesnt necessarily change your ethnicity, but maybe nationality. But then again it will determine by the type of Hmong / Miao the person is since there are many types and lots of intermixing , but fact is Hmong people are originally and indigenous to China. I am full Hmong Xiong and American, my parents are from Laos and Thailand, I know my ethnic origin is in China, which is why my last name is Xiong, which means bear in mandarin. Either way, slay. 💁🏻‍♀️💕

The Census is more about ancestry and not nationality. That's the main reason official wording is "having origin in the original country" or region of this and that. Hmong origin is in China. Hmong's original country is now the territory of China. China is considered East Asia. Hmongs shouldn't have a problem on census being classified with East Asians since that is their heritage.

Lol never thought id see you guys play david yang songs on here

I think a Hmong person will view this based on their family's immigrant history. Idk but my family only did 2 generations in SEA before coming to the US. We're also now 2 generations in the US. My family did not stay long enough to be that influenced by SEA cultures. Plus, my family is still pretty traditional and our traditions are most similar to the Hmong people in Southern China. Yes, my dad went there and found his direct family line. You can trace yourself back if you know older people and some unique last name traditions. The issue is, most Hmong kids nowadays don't know anything about their cultural tradition. My younger brother thought our culture was more similar to SEA. But he doesn't even know his own traditional culture..much less, any SEA culture really. So no idea how he even came up with that in the first place. I yold him, at most, you probably relate more to being an Asian American who grew up eating SEA food with immigrant parents. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am hmong and I understand that although we may identify more with southeast Asia, we originally originated frm east Asia so with that being said if anyone should ask me I would say east Asia. We should be classified as where we are originally originated frm so that the hmongs dont forget their history.

Hmong and their many subgroups in China number 9 to 12 millions. They are the 5th largest group in China after Han, Zhuang, Manchu and Hui. I consider myself East Asian but i like SEA cultures because I grew up with Thai and Lao cultures. I always telk people I'm East Asian.

Let’s keep in mind this issue is about classifying the Hmong who currently live in the United States and acknowledging that classification impacts how your classified group gets treated in the United States. If you look at our roots, yes, we are East Asian, BUT, the majority of Hmong who migrated to the US are of the group of Hmong who have lived in Southeast Asian in the past few centuries. Therefore, it is better to classify us as Southeast Asians for the purpose of the United States consensus. Those of you who have Hmong families living in the US, think about how this impacts what services and assistance you, your children, your siblings, your parents, grandparents, and extended family will receive.

Im Hmong and i identified as both. Raised in the U.S. Our meals are more south east Asia. However, i also identify as East Asia because of our religions and spiritual belief aligns with east asia. Some are still practicing Shaman. We believe after our loves one has past we send them back to our ancestors which is in China. 23 and me, according to my DNA i am majorly east asian. So... 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hmong are actually East Asian. The way we speak our language sound more East Asian such Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. The only reason why we're SEA is that most of our last 200 years ancestor who migrant to SEA adapted to whatever custom the region that was already there.

According to my research using archaeology and genetics research papers, the modern Hmong-Mien people are direct descendants of the Daxi people and the Sanmiao. The Sanmiao are the descendants of the Daxi people located at the Yangtze River. The Sanmiao also share ancestry with the Hua Xia/Han because their ancesters came from the Yellow River. The Ancient Hmong-Mien people were from the Yungui Region according to some research. They associated with the Daxi people /Sanmiao and intermarried since 4,000 years ago. DNA samples from ancient bodies found at the Daxi site at the Yangtze River was found in modern Hmong -Mien people. Archaeology and ancient records have also documented that we had a long history there. So let's put a end to the Hmong-Mien vs Han debate. It's fair to say the modern Hmong-Mien's ancestors are Daxi, Ancient East Asians, and Ancient Hmong-Mien people. Hmong-Mien people are direct descendants of the Daxi/Sanmiao and the Han/Hua Xia are distant relatives. Sources: "Differentiated genomic footprints suggest isolation and long-distance migration of Hmong-Mien populations " by Guanglin He et al. BMC Biol. 2024. S "Reconstructing the ancestral gene pool to uncover the origins and genetic links of Hmong-Mien speakers" by Yang Gao et all 2024 "Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River" by Hui Li et al 2007 "Basic theories and development of Miao medicine" by Minke Tang et al 2021 "Originally, the Descendants of Hua Xia were not the Descendants of Yan Huang" by Soleilmavis Liu, Activist Peacepink, Yantai, Shandong, China 2019

hmong is technically east asians. the country with the highest density of hmong is in china (miao). so it would make sense that we'd be considered east asians. census is correct. just bc we live in southeast asia doesn't mean that's our origin. we've incorporated southeast asian food bc we've been there for so long. you ask all the chinese miao/hmong (the OG's) and they'd say we're east asian. in regards to wealth/needing assistance then yes what you guys said in the video is correct.

Great conversation. Thank you for the research and the coverage. Loved it.

I recognize my southern Chinese heritage. I’ve never repped southeast Asian. I’m not repping china either. I’m American.

A few months ago, There is also DNA proved that Hmong/Miao are 60% Han, and Han are 30% Hmong/Miao

Hmong are East Asians that is a fact. I can understand it if they want to be southeast Asian becuz they listen and practice Laos and Thai shit but even my dad who was born in Laos that can speak Laotian and came over as a refugee said that we aren't Southeast Asian. I personally don't care, but if you're to force me to pick I would pick East Asians. We don't look nothing alike to the Laotian and Thai if you have seen them and the Hmong villages. We only share similar culture becuz we live in their land for the past few centuries.

Love the way you utilize your platform to support the Hmong community!

You guys are good! Thank you for talking about the Hmong people! ❤

In this comment section it’s easy to tell who knows about our history and culture and ETHNIC identity vs those who have assimilated , I think in the USA to be classified as SEA might have some financial benefits but ultimately when you look at the culture , Language and customs we are clearly East Asian, Hmong people are oldest ethnic people of China and with Chinese origin the same can be said about other ethnic groups such as the mien , ahka and various other hill tribe minorities in SEA they are geographically located in SEA as of today but ethnicity wise their roots and culture are Chinese in origin and many of those ethnic groups have huge populations still in China thriving

our diaspora is from Laos that's why we're also SEA... the US should remember,those in the US are those from Laos whose families bleed for the US ,kids 10/12 years old died as infant soldiers fighting and saving grown ass americans in a war that wasn't even ours...if Laos is still the most bombed country in the world till these days..it's because of the US

Yoooo, I felt this, thanks for making a video on this topic. Hmong people been watching the fung bros and jk party from way before Bart was Unco Same. Respect for showing some love to minority groups.

Thanks for covering and shedding some light on this topic. There’s a lot of history that is unknown and still being discovered for everyone.

This was an interesting topic. I didn't even know this was a thing until now. I always considered myself SEA. But I'm half Hmong and half Cambodian so I'd still be considered partially SEA right haha

Hmong are originally from China. Recently In the late 1800 early 1900 “SOME”Hmong ppl immigrated to Southeast Asia…vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma to escape Chinese persecution. Hmong ppl are NOT from Southeast Asia. Hmong is an ancient ethnicity. The elders said hmong originally were blue eyes, golden blond hair….reason we have children who have dark brown eyes but hair is golden brown and very light skinned. The story goes, in ancient time Hmong ppl were intermixing with other Asians why they look like the modern Asian. They are also nomads that travel across Nepal, Russia, east India, Mongolia, and modern day China Look at the many different head dress, embroidery, and outfit they where to expand your imagination to make the puzzle fit. My grandparents wore head wrap like eastern Indian, my grandpa have a long pony tail that hung down to his knees,

Hmong are East Asians. We have history and the proof for it, and there is DNA to track it back. Hmong people came from China, and we are the natives of the Yellow River. Looking back at their historical and traditional roots, Hmong people eat white rice, while Han Chinese eat millet. We are Southeast Asians by accident because we used to rule in North Laos to push off the Chinese Taiping Bandits and Muslims. If we go back, Emperor Chiyou is our king. If Hmong Americans want to identify as Southeast Asians, I don't think they know their bloodline and roots. They don't know Chiyou, and they don't know their past kings and queens. Have they forgotten San Miao/Three Hmong Kingdoms? Have they forgotten the Hmong Chu Dynasty? Scholars are now debating whether Liu Bang is a Hmong person. They don't know, but Liu means Lor in Hmong. Lao Tzu also graduated from the Hmong Chu Dynasty, which proves that. Hmong people have dwelled in China for a very long time. We have 65% Chinese vocabulary, while the rest is Hmong or borrowed from Vietnamese folks.

Hi Bros - You got it all right except one thing, Hmong were not from Mongolia, but from Mainland China alone.

We are East Asians.

We was never minority in China, we're natives in China, folks, like Indians are natives in the US.

你好我来自中国，我觉得苗族是东亚人，苗族的文化里是没有东南亚文化的，如果你的苗族社群里有，比如美国的苗族，那只能说是一小部分受到了影响，不能说整个种族都有东南亚的影响。你们得知道百分之九十九的苗族都在中国，苗族无疑是东亚文化或是中国文化里的一个族群，而不是东南亚。

Genetically/ethnically I don't consider us Hmong to be SEA. Literally none of our origins come from anywhere in SEA-they come from China. While we are geographically located in southeast China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand in today's world; our roots, culture, and even some of our language are of Chinese origin still. Labeling ourselves as SEA erases thousands of years of our history in China. Being located in SEA for only a few hundred years doesn't make us southeast Asian. Even today, the largest population of Hmong people still reside in China, so you can't really claim that all of us are SEA or even identify as SEA. If you look at our DNA, there's not that many of us that have DNA similar to those who are SEA unless your ancestors mixed with someone who was actually SEA. But for the majority of us, the DNA is still predominantly mainland China or southern China which is still east asian (Hell, even my 23&me results adds to the statistics. Nowhere did my DNA show up as SEA. It only showed China). Just because the majority of us have parents who are of Vietnamese, Laos, or Thailand NATIONALITY DOES NOT mean that's their ETHNICITY. It just means they were BORN there, but they are still ETHNICALLY EAST ASIAN assuming they didn't mix blood with anyone who is ethnically SEA. It's like just because I was born in America, doesn't mean I'm not Hmong. I'm still ethnically Hmong, but my nationality is American. Same concept. So a question to Hmong people want the US consensus to classify us as southeast Asian, what happens when you have a Chinese-Hmong who identifies as East Asian? You can't classify them as a southeast Asian now, can you? This is the problem when we don't have a country of our own. We are not a monolith. This whole debate whether Hmong people are considered East Asian or Southeast Asian...Why is this even a debate still? We are ETHNICALLY East Asian, but CULTURALLY both East Asian and SEA according to straight FACTS. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly doesn't know anything about our history. Case closed.

You’re channel is great, I always enjoy the Fung Bros content. Thank you for the topic. I am Hmong and know that since my parents fought to come to the US. I think I would be classified and considered Southeast Asian. Great job, keep it up.

I'm Hmong, I dont think I'm Southeast asian even my parents were born in Laos. I'm East Asians. Just like the Jewish people, they're all over, but their ancestors are from the Middle Eastern. My ancestors are from China.

Hmong are technically Chinese, but modern Hmong is culturally mixed with SEA. That's kind of the result of not having a country. Our language is very similar to Chinese (Mandarin). I personally don't care either way. I'm American. And that matter more.

Hmongs are originally from central/south China. Some migrated to southeast Asia while others stayed in China. Genetically we are more similar to East Asians than Southeast Asians.

Hmong people originated in southern China, south of the Yangtze River. Then they lost in a war with the people from the Yellow River, and many Hmong people were chased into the mountainous areas in Hunan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunan, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.

Last time I watched Fung Bros, they were still eating dumplings. Nice video and subject matter!

Yeah it's complicated. I don't worry about it. But I'd say it depends on where the majority of your people still live. I'm not Hmong (I'm a different minority group in China/SouthEast Asia) The majority of my minority group still live in five provinces of southern China so I'd say we're East Asian. But in the category of everything in the U. S. I usually just choose "other Asian." I'm not sure if it matters or not.

We were the original people in China, more than 8,000 years ago. According to 2007 University of Beijing Study, we were the original, you can go visit the Chinese National museum.

Im confused why there’s a problem in my Hmong community about it…. I thought this was based on origin, as in Chinese origin (majority, not even debatable). I feel like this is a way of cutting off from our miao subgroups in china… I feel like some of our people are just stubborn due to the migration and lack of education. Its so sad that our community does not share the same knowledge on our own history/identity, it’s ridiculous.

Thanks for covering my Hmong community. Please continue to provide educational videos like this. Props to your channel.

Thank you for talking about the Hmong people and sharing our Hmong brother David Yang. I truly believe he is an artist and growing strong!

A reminder that Race is genetics and biology, NOT culture & geography.

We have a saying in Hmong, when we die we go back our motherland…China. No matter where you are born. This settles it…now let’s enjoy some good real Hmong food.

Keep up the good work Fung Bros!

thank you guys for always spreading knowledge on our people!

Nationality: American Race: Asian Ethnicity: Hmong

Here to read all the comments from all the Hmong experts who hold PhDs in Asian Studies. We here in America can’t even figure out if we are male or female… and here we are in the comments trying to reclassify Hmong. Bruh, you can be whatever you want to be nowadays.

East/SouthEast both are correct, but personally since I was born in SEA, I’d consider myself as SEA. All in all just depends where you came from and associate with.

I am Hmong. I didn't realize this was an issue. Lmao. Always have identified as SEA though. Good food for thought to think about being EA though. I see your points, but it's still not enough to change my mind. AS a collective experience, SEA is where I relate to most.

15:20 All Hmong last names are Chinese last names. Yang is a Chinese last name, same meaning and all. Hmong have deep roots in Chinese culture, far more than SEA culture.

I’ve always thought the Hmong language sounds more like Chinese Tibet Def not SEA but living in viet lao Thai have shaped their culture Very integrated now.

Us Hmong in the US eat Lao food and listen to Lao music, yes. But our religious beliefs and cultural customs are specifically East Asian. Hmong Christians still use traditional Hmong religious expressions in their religious discussions showing that our East Asian beliefs are a core of us. Even our authentic food like "zaub pos" or fermented vegetable is similar to East Asian dishes. From personal experience, the youth today are melting away the Lao cultural influence and mostly keeping only Hmong and in turn makes us look more East Asian. There are also some Hmong Chinese who live in the US, I feel they would rather just be categorize as Chinese if Hmong were to be put as Southeast Asian. The Real problem is not classification. The real problem is that the government will treat us as a monoculture with other East Asian groups and the government shouldn't do that. That's the problem that should be addressed and not whether Hmong people are East or Southeast Asian.

Hmong and Chinese are Brothers. The 1st Chinese Emperor (Yellow Emperor) fought with the Hmong King Chi you. Our Roots aren't Mongolian. We identify as Southeast Asian since the Chinese never wanted us and migrated Southward.

David yang is a beast 💪

As a hmong person i like the coverage of this topic. I think most international hmong identifies more closely to SEA, but at its core and roots hmong are from china and therefore East Asian. The international is a small represenatation versus the million miao/hmong thats still in china. Identity set aside, the lived experience and values of international hmong is definitely divergent from east asian.

Most of those who are saying that Hmong are Sth East Asian are from the USA, say approx 3% of the whole population. What about the 9mill + Hmong people still in china who never moved south? Do they get a say?

We are the real hill billies of every Asian country.

Most Chinese Malaysian will consider ourselves as East Asian because we never lose our connection with our roots, many still have relatives back in China despite living in Malaysia for generations.

Um... I'm Hmong and we are East Asian our own stories say that our ancestors are from Central China. We are not Mongolian.

Btw Hmong have nothing to do with Mongolians (who are largely of Amur ancestry related to Tungusic, Turkic, Nivkh people in Manchuria and southern Siberia).. that is a myth. Genetic tests have already refuted this fact. Hmong people are largely descendants of the Daxi neolithic culture in the Middle Yangtze region, with some inputs from northern China (Sino-Tibetan / Yellow River ancestry) and Kra-Dai (Tai-Kadai) people. Also in earlier academic material, Hmong-Mien was regarded as a branch of Sino-Tibetan language family. However the consensus by linguists in the academic world nowadays is that its a distinctive language family which has been removed from Sino-Tibetan.

Why reclassify? we hmong are East Asian for sure. each and everyone of us know our ancestors are of the yellow river basin origin. being around 200 years in South East Asia does not make one SouthEast Asian.

Cultural wise to spiritual wise, Hmong are East Asians. From history, customs, and etc... we are East Asians. Only entertainment and foods are related to Southeast Asia because we are from southwest China where spicy is eaten and SEA foods happen to work perfectly.

there are 10million hmong/miao people in china today, are they also considered SEA?