The Yao, a non Chinese minority moved most likely from the Yang Tse Basin many centuries ago to the Southern Chinese provinces of Hunan, Guizhou, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. Possibly around the 13th century they pushed onwards to northern Vietnam then Laos and finally Thailand. Perhaps nine or ten centuries ago they became Taoists and adherence to this religion has helped them survive as a small but sophisticated society based on 12 original clans, with very strong traditions, customs and culture but no country of their own.

This book covers all aspects of the Yao agricultural society, including their numerous migrations, work, dwellings, magnificent religious paintings, manuscripts, elaborate costumes and silver jewellery. It is based on fifteen years of fieldwork and research in China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The research covers the two main branches of the Yao; the Mien and the Mun, together with their sub-branches, groups and sub-groups including some little researched Vietnamese groups. It is an invaluable record of a people who have maintained their identity and culture in the face of their world which was always changing for the last thousand years and even more so today.

2002, Art Media Resources, paperback, 277 pp., as new.