Yimakan of the Hezhe ethnic group

Yimakan storytelling is unique to the Hezhe ethnic group who inhabit northeastern China, and is usually sung by only one performer without musical accompaniment. Written in both verse and prose, it depicts wars and alliances between Hezhe tribes, as well as heroes defending their lands and defeating invaders. The art, passed down orally by master-apprentice relationship within clans and families, plays an important role in inheriting the language, religion, traditional culture and folk customs among the Hezhe people as they don’t have a writing system. It was inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2011.

With a primitive and simple style, Yimakan storytelling can be roughly divided by content into two types. Grand performances focus on the legends as well as tribal heroes and are primarily storytelling-based; lesser performances center more on singing and depict lyric short works. Mainly performed after a whole day of work, Yimakan art features various alliterative tunes based on different content. It usually starts with a narrative introduction of the background of the story.