Annotation:::: The paper is a historical study of the migrant population in mountainous Yunnan, and aims to develop a strong basis for subsequent research on mountain migration and the distribution of ethnic minorities in Yunnan. Using methods of documental study to discuss the historical changes in population structure caused by foreign migration in mountainous Yunnan, the paper finds that in the initial stages of the Ming dynasty, the indigenous population was in the majority, However, during Mu Chun’s seven-year tenure guarding Yunnan, beginning in the 21st year of the Hongwu Emperor’s reign, over 300,000 Nanjing people entered the province for garrison reclamation, thus leading to a sharp increase in the migrant population and making the indigenous people a minority. During the Ming and the Qing dynasties, the social customs and habits of every part of Yunnan were influenced by the Han people, which was a direct result of a large number of Han migrants entering the province. By the mid and latter stages of the Ming dynasty, the population of Han in Yunnan exceeded that of the indigenous people, and some Yi communities had become mixed with both Han and the Yi people. The settlement pattern of the dominant population Han was already well-established in Yunnan by the middle stage of the Ming dynasty. The population of soldiers and their family members, local communities, and ethnic minorities in Yunnan reached over five million people during the rule of Ming Emperor Wanli. This history of migration shaped the modern population structure in Yunnan, as seen in the nationwide census in 1953. Yunnan’s total population was 17,472,737 people, of which more than 6.5 million were ethnic minorities and 11 million were Han.
