There are always different opinions about the origin of Yao characters. Among them, the clues in the History of the Origin of Nan Man written by historian Mr. He Guangyue are more credible: the Yao ancestors were good at making pottery and pots in the Neolithic Age, so the earliest Yao ancestors were called "kiln people"; Later, the production of ceramic pot blanks developed from manual to rotary shaking, and the kiln people changed their names to "shaking people"; Lei, one of the four surnames of Yao ancestors, originated from the wife of Huangdi (Lei Zu), who invented sericulture, so Yao people were good at sericulture and derived the name "Ji Min"; After Chiyou led Sanmiao and failed in the war with the Yellow Emperor, he experienced the conquest of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and some of them were regarded as slave workers, called corvee or corvee, that is, the people who were killed (Zhou went to the generation outside Feida Ridge, saying: Since then, the people of all previous dynasties have constantly resisted the oppression of feudal rule, gathering mountains without paying taxes, which was also called "Mo Yi" in the Song Dynasty, meaning those who did not pay taxes and did not work; The ruler of the Yuan Dynasty thought that such a man who did not give corvee and slash and burn was a savage, so he changed the word "stubborn" next to the dog to "arrogant" and called it "arrogant people". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it adopted the suggestions of the democrats and widely obtained the consent of the nation, and took the word "Yao" beside Meiyu as the unified name of the nation: Yao.

Yao nationality has a long history and splendid culture. As for the origin of Yao nationality, most academic circles think that Yao nationality originated from "Changsha, Wu Lingren" or "Wuxi people", and originally lived in Changsha and Wuling counties, that is, Xiangjiang River, Zijiang River, Yuanjiang River basin and Dongting Lake coastal area in Hunan today. In ancient times, the ancestors of Yao people called themselves "Youren", which is their self-name and also the self-name of Yao people today.

"You" comes after Jiuli and Sanmiao. Jiuli and Sanmiao were originally active in southern China. Due to the growing population, they went north to find a living base, entered the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and contacted the tribes of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di who moved eastward. Jiuli and Sanmiao were defeated and forced to move south. By the Qin and Han dynasties, Yao ancestors gradually formed an activity area centered on Changsha, Wuling or Wuxi. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, some Yao ancestors once moved northward and moved to Henan, Anhui and other places, but their main residence was still in parts of Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the central dynasty carried out the policy of "controlling foreigners with foreigners", which promoted the division and disintegration of the primitive society of Yao ancestors and began the transformation from blood relationship to geographical relationship. At that time, the ancestors of Yao people living in the mountainous areas of southwest Hunan and north Guangdong were called "Mo Yi". In the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty constantly improved the rule of Jimi in Yao area, which further differentiated and developed Yao ancestors and gradually formed a single nation. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Yao people were forced to continue to move southward in large numbers and go deep into the hinterland of Guangxi. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong and Guangxi became the main distribution areas of Yao nationality. At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, some Yao people moved from Guangdong and Guangxi to the mountainous areas of Guizhou and southern Yunnan, and a few Yao people moved to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, forming a distribution pattern of "no mountains and no Yao in Lingnan".

Since the end of Tang Dynasty and the beginning of Song Dynasty, the name of Yao nationality has been complicated and changeable because of its frequent migration, scattered residence and special economic development. Yao's name can be divided into self-proclaimed name and other names. There are more than 90 kinds of self-proclaimed surnames, among which Mian, Men and Min are the most, accounting for more than 65% of the total population of Yao nationality. He said that there are more than 400 kinds, which are closely related to Yao worship, politics, economy, residence, clothing, surname and so on. For example, Pan Yao in Pan Hu, Pan Yaoyao in Pangu, Pan Yaoyao in Wang Pan and Bunuyao in Miroto are all worshipped. Reflecting the political content are Anning Yao, Taiping Yao, local Yao, foreign Yao, etc. Reflecting their economic life are Shanzi Kiln, Guoshan Kiln, Indigo Kiln, Mupi Kiln and Lime Kiln. Dongshan Yao, Xishan Yao, Bapai Yao, Pingchuan Yao, Gaoshan Yao, etc. There are Hongyao, Bai Yao, Heiyao, Huayao, Baiku Yao and Qingyi Yao. There are twelve surnames such as Yao, Hu Jiayao, Pan Jiayao, Zhao Jiayao and Hou Jiayao. Before the founding of New China, the word "Yao" of the Yao people was called "Yi" because of the policy of ethnic discrimination and oppression pursued by feudal rulers in previous dynasties, which was insulting. After the founding of New China, the * * * production party in China implemented the policy of equality among ethnic groups, abolished the names and words that discriminated against and insulted ethnic minorities in the past, changed "Lin" to "Yao", and collectively referred to the Yao people who claimed to be the same as him.

In the long river of historical development, Yao nationality has created splendid history and culture and made important contributions to the establishment and development of a unified multi-ethnic country in China. As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, an ancestor of Yao nationality in Man Jing lived on the plains of Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake. However, due to the policy of class oppression and national oppression carried out by the feudal ruling class in the past dynasties, the Yao people were forced to move south in order to survive, from the plains, mountains, valleys and mountains, and finally had to find a place to settle in the barren hills and live a hard farming life. The industrious and brave Yao people, in the long-term migration process, with their own hands and wisdom, cut through difficulties, reclaim land, plant trees and produce local products, which have made important contributions to the development of the southern mountainous areas of the motherland. In the long-term production activities, the Yao people have accumulated rich knowledge and experience, created rich and colorful culture and art, such as colorful embroidery and batik, and a number of folk documents such as Comment on the Butterfly of the Emperor, famous long drums, bronze drums and folk songs. These colorful cultures and arts are unique in China's cultural treasure house.