Discriminated against in the old a，far ba history the yaos were driven into high，cions of the Nanling ra is said that more than 2，000 years ag the Qin（）and Han dynasties，their aors had lived on the plains around Dongting Lake on the middle gjiang（yangtze）River.A proud people with a tradition of fierce resistao oppression，they refud to submit to the corvées impod on them by tyrannical rulers.They cho io withdraw into the remote mountains and forests where they could live in freedom.Corroboration of this theory is found by some in the name“Moyao”（tho who refu to do corvée）—a term for the yaos first en in the Liang Shu historical ats written in the Han language.Although today’s historians have certaiions about this theory，the fact remains that the yaos were forced into the mountains by the oppression practiced down through history by a’s reaary rulers.
A gla the map，and the whole story bees lf-evident.Situated between the Liujiang and Guijiang rivers iern Guangxi，the Dayao Mountains cover an area of 2，300 square kilometers.In some places this region reaches an altitude of 1，900 meters above a level.It is rimmed by a ries of steep slopes and sheer cliffs that form an effective barrier between it and the surrounding plains.
Discriminated against in the old a，far ba history the yaos were driven into high，cions of the Nanling ra is said that more than 2，000 years ag the Qin（）and Han dynasties，their aors had lived on the plains around Dongting Lake on the middle gjiang（yangtze）River.A proud people with a tradition of fierce resistao oppression，they refud to submit to the corvées impod on them by tyrannical rulers.They cho io withdraw into the remote mountains and forests where they could live in freedom.Corroboration of this theory is found by some in the name“Moyao”（tho who refu to do corvée）—a term for the yaos first en in the Liang Shu historical ats written in the Han language.Although today’s historians have certaiions about this theory，the fact remains that the yaos were forced into the mountains by the oppression practiced down through history by a’s reaary rulers.
A gla the map，and the whole story bees lf-evident.Situated between the Liujiang and Guijiang rivers iern Guangxi，the Dayao Mountains cover an area of 2，300 square kilometers.In some places this region reaches an altitude of 1，900 meters above a level.It is rimmed by a ries of steep slopes and sheer cliffs that form an effective barrier between it and the surrounding plains.