The Mien originated in Southern China, and their name is thought to come from the Chinese word for barbarian. Traditionally a highly migratory culture, Mien moved every ten to fifteen years as the land around their villages became exhausted and could no longer support their families. Since the 1600s, the population increase in China, as well as intermittent fighting, has pushed many of the minority groups living on the fringes of Han territory, including the Mien, further south into Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

 There are now an estimated 33,000 Mien in Thailand, many of whom fled to Thailand from Vietnam and Laos after the end of the Vietnam War. Many Mien refugees were resettled in the United States where they now live in the central valley of California and there are also still more a million Mien still living in China.