Cao Miao (; autonym: ') is a variety of Dong (

Kam Kaam (Gurmukhi: ਕਾਮ ''Kāma'') in common usage, the term stands for 'excessive passion for sexual pleasure' and it is in this sense that it is considered to be an evil in Sikhism. In Sikhism it is believed that Kaam can be overcome ...

) according to Shi Lin (2012).Shi Lin ��林(2012).
The Cao Miao language of three provinces and its relationship to Dong
' ��省坡草苗的语言及其与侗语的关系 In ''Minzu Yuwen'' ��族语文2012, no. 4. Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy ��国社会科学院 Dialects include Liushi ("Sixty") Miao 六十苗, Sishi ("Forty") Miao 四十苗, and Ershi ("Twenty") Miao 二十苗 (also known as Flowery Miao 花苗). The Flowery Miao 花苗 do not consider themselves to be Cao Miao 草苗, although their language is similar to Sixty Miao and Forty Miao (Shi 2012).

Subdivisions

There are various ethnic subgroups within Cao Miao (Shi 2015:7). *Inner Miao 内部苗 (or 内岗苗 / 内堺苗) ('): 2 subgroups **Sixty (60) Miao 六十苗 ('Shi (2015:42)) **Forty (40) Miao 四十苗 ('), also called Diao 刁族 (') *Middle Miao 中部苗 (or 中岗苗 / 中堺苗) ('), also called Twenty (20) Miao 二十苗 (') or Flowery Miao 花苗 ('). *Outer Miao 外部苗 (or 外岗苗 / 外堺苗) ('), also called Old Miao 老苗 or Black Miao 黑苗. Other ethnolinguistic groups living near the Cao Miao include the Han 汉族, Dong 侗族, Yao 瑶族, Suantang 酸汤人, Sanqiao 三撬人,

Pinghua Pinghua (; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Pìhng Wá''; sometimes disambiguated as /) is a pair of Sinitic languages spoken mainly in parts of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with some speakers in Hunan province. Pinghua ...

speakers,

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

客家人, Chuanmin 船民 (a Guibei 桂北

Yue Chinese Yue () is a group of similar Sinitic languages spoken in Southern China, particularly in Liangguang (the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces). The name Cantonese is often used for the whole group, but linguists prefer to reserve that name for t ...

lect), Naxi 那溪人, Liujia 六甲人, and Liuse 六色人.

Population

There is a total of 58,900 Cao Miao people (Shi 2015:9). The following population statistics are from Shi (2015:9). By ethnic subgroup: *60 Miao: 49,300 people (in 126 villages) *20 Miao (Flowery Miao): 5,930 people *40 Miao (also called Diao 刁族): 3,620 people (in 18 villages of Liping and Tongdao counties) By county: *

Liping County Liping County () is a county in the southeast of Guizhou province, China, bordering Hunan to the east and Guangxi to the southeast. It is part of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. History The county was affected by the Miao re ...

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

: 19,000 people (consisting of 60 Miao, 40 Miao, and 20 Miao) *

Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County (; Standard Zhuang: ) is under the administration of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. It is a region traditionally inhabited by the Dong people, bordering the prefecture-level divisions of Qiandong ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

: 31,600 people (consisting of only 60 Miao) *

Tongdao Dong Autonomous County Tongdao (the full name: "''Tongdao Dong Autonomous County''", ; usually referred to as "''Tongdao County''", ) is an autonomous county of Dong people in Hunan, Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

: 6,800 people (consisting of 60 Miao and 20 Miao, but no 40 Miao) *

Congjiang County Congjiang County () is a county in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China. It is divided by the Duliu River (), the upper reaches of the Liu River, and borders Guangxi to the south. It is an important transit point a ...

: 1,020 people (consisting of only 40 Miao) *

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

: 500+ people (consisting of 20 Miao and Outer Miao)

Distribution

Below are languages and their respective locations studied by Shi Lin (2012). *''Liushi (60) Miao'' 六十苗: Qifan 起凡 (in Liping), Dagaoping 大高坪 (in Tongdao), Gaoyu 高宇 (in Sanjiang) *''Sishi (40) Miao'' 四十苗: Tanghua 堂华 (in Tongdao) *''Ershi (20) Miao'' 二十苗: Kenxi 肯溪 (in Tongdao) *''Southern Dong'': Longcheng 陇城 (in Tongdao), Chengyang 程阳 (in Sanjiang) *''Northern Dong'': Xiudong 秀洞 (in Jinping), Sanmentang 三门塘 (in Tianzhu) Ethnic Cao Miao also live in the following townships. *

**Tongle 同乐乡 **Bajiang 八江乡 **Liangkou 良口乡 **Yangxi 洋溪乡 **Dudong 独峒乡 **Linxi 林溪乡 *

**Shuikou 水口镇 **Zhaoxing 肇兴乡 **Hongzhou 洪洲镇 **Long'e 龙额乡 **Deshun 德顺乡 **Shunhua 顺化乡 **Diping 地坪乡 **Leidong 雷洞乡 *

**Dagaoping 大高坪 **Yatunbao 牙屯堡 **Dupo 独坡乡 Sishi Miao 四十苗 is spoken in these townships: *

: Shuikou 水口镇 (including Qifan 起凡村), Zhaoxing 肇兴乡, Yongcong 永从乡 *

Rongjiang County Rongjiang County () is a county in southeastern Guizhou province, China. It is under the administration of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. Administration Rongjiang County is divided into 9 towns and 4 townships and 6 Ethnic to ...

: Luoxiang 洛香镇 The Flowery Miao live in Luoxiang 洛香镇, Congjiang County; Guochong 锅冲乡 and Dagaoping 大高坪, Tongdao County; Deshun 德顺乡, Liping County. In Liping County, they are also known as the "Flowery-Clothed Miao" (花衣苗) (''Liping County Gazetteer'' 1989:153). According to Shi Lin (2012), Flowery Miao 花苗 (Ershi Miao 二十苗) is spoken in these townships: *

: Deshun 德顺乡 *

Tongdao County Tongdao (the full name: "''Tongdao Dong Autonomous County''", ; usually referred to as "''Tongdao County''", ) is an autonomous county of Dong people in Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Huaihua ...

: Guochong 锅冲乡 (including Kenxi 肯溪村), Dagaoping 大高坪乡, Boyang 播阳乡, Xianxi 县溪镇 *

Jingzhou County Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County (; usually referred to as Jingzhou County, commonly abbreviated as Jingzhou, ) is an autonomous county of Miao and Dong peoples in Hunan Province, China, the county is under the administration of the pref ...

: Xinchang 新厂镇 Other Cao Miao locations include: *

, Guizhou **Tangbi Village 塘婢村, Leidong Township 雷洞乡 **Jiujue Village 九厥村, Hongzhou Township 洪州镇 **Guigong 归公, Diping Township 地坪乡 **Guibai 归白, Diping Township 地坪乡 **Pingsong 平松, Shuikou Township 水口镇 **Bashan 八善, Shuikou Township 水口镇 **Gaoze Village 高泽村, Shunhua Township 顺化乡 *

, Guangxi **Fenshui 汾水, Bajiang Township 八江乡 **Gaoya 高亚, Dudong Township 独峒乡 *

Rongshui Miao Autonomous County Rongshui Miao Autonomous County (; Standard Zhuang: ) is under the administration of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The seat of Rongshui County is Rongshui Town. It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Qiandongnan (Guizhou) ...

, Guangxi **Rongtang Village 荣塘村, Sirong Township 四荣乡

References

Bibliography

*Shi Lin ��林 2015. ''Three language varieties of the Hunan-Guizhou-Guangxi border region'' ��黔桂边区的三个族群方言岛 Beijing: China Social Sciences Academy Press ��国社会科学出版社 {{Tai-Kadai languages Languages of China Kam–Sui languages