China Focus: From survival to revival, ancient Hezhen ethnic art breathes new life

Wu Baochen (C), a national-level inheritor of Yimakan, performs Yimakan in Jiamusi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 12, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

HARBIN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- As morning mist rises over a river in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the raw, ancient chant of 65-year-old Wu Baochen pierces the quiet, bringing to life Yimakan, an oral storytelling art unique to the Hezhen -- also known as the Hezhe -- one of China's smallest ethnic minority groups.

Performed solo, Yimakan blends narrative and song without instrumental accompaniment. Passed down orally through generations, the ancient art form reflects the history, heroic tales, fishing and hunting practices, rituals, and moral norms of the Hezhen people, whose dialect has no written script.

"Yimakan is a treasured cultural heritage of the Hezhen people," said Wu, a national-level inheritor of Yimakan.

On Thursday, the 20th regular session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage decided to transfer the "Hezhen Yimakan storytelling" from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The committee also approved the inclusion of the Hezhen Yimakan storytelling safeguarding program in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices, recognizing the effectiveness of this heritage protection initiative.

Though now brimming with new vitality, the age-old oral tradition once hovered on the verge of extinction.

Born into a Yimakan family in Heilongjiang's Tongjiang City, one of the main settlements of the Hezhen people, Wu began learning Yimakan in his childhood from his family members and other local elders.

"As a child, I listened to my grandfather perform Yimakan over and over and memorized it quietly in my heart, but only by growing up did I understand the meaning behind the songs," Wu said.

The transmission of Yimakan traditionally takes place within families such as Wu's. "Language is key. The Hezhen language is the carrier of Yimakan, yet many young Hezhen people can no longer speak it," Wu added.

According to Wu Xuan, deputy director of the Center for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Heilongjiang Province, the Hezhen population numbers only about 5,300, and with even fewer fluent speakers of the Hezhen language, Yimakan faces a severe shortage of successors.

"Fifteen years ago, fewer than five people nationwide could still perform a complete Yimakan epic," Wu Xuan said.

In 2011, Yimakan was inscribed on UNESCO's Urgent Safeguarding List. Since then, a series of community-centered protection measures has been rolled out, uniting efforts to raise awareness and ensure the continued vitality of this ancient art form.

As part of these efforts, comprehensive audiovisual documentation of the remaining national-level practitioners has been carried out.

In recent years, digital tools have further enhanced efforts to preserve Yimakan. At a Yimakan inheritance base in Tongjiang, visitors can simply put on a headset and be transported to the banks of the flowing Heilongjiang River, where they can experience the legendary tales of the Hezhen epic through Yimakan.

Moreover, online Hezhen language lessons and oral-history archives featuring the narratives of inheritors have together formed a digital safeguarding network for Yimakan.

According to official data, today, there are seven centers dedicated to the study and practice of Yimakan storytelling in Heilongjiang, with 11 inheritors recognized at the national and provincial levels and more than 100 at the municipal and county levels.

Younger practitioners are breathing new life into the tradition. Born in the 1990s, Hu Yi, a provincial-level inheritor, blends ancient Yimakan melodies with modern electronic music and shares them via social media.

"I want to bring Yimakan to life in a way young people can relate to and keep it thriving in modern times," she said.

In October, the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development, encouraging deeper integration of culture and tourism through the vigorous development of cultural tourism and using culture to empower economic and social development.

Cultural tourism has become a vital protection tool in Tongjiang. Scenic areas of Jiejinkou Village welcomed over 1 million visitors in three years, generating more than 7 million yuan (about 1 million U.S. dollars) in revenue. Bacha Village combines homestay with intangible cultural heritages such as the Yimakan and the fish-skin craft, attracting over 30,000 tourists annually and helping boost local incomes.

With the latest inscriptions, the total number of Chinese elements on UNESCO's Lists and Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage has risen to 45.

Wu Xuan believes that the effective safeguarding of Yimakan demonstrates the vitality of China's ethnic culture and offers valuable lessons for intangible cultural heritage protection for other ethnic groups.

Her view is echoed by Tang Yang, deputy director of the ethnic studies institute at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

"The experience accumulated in safeguarding Yimakan will serve as an important platform for cultural exchange and a window through which the international community can better understand Chinese culture, helping to strengthen the global reach and appeal of Chinese civilization," Tang said. ■

Visitors look at fish skin handicrafts of the Hezhe ethnic group in Fuyuan, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 1, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)