Ge Yuxia
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Ge Yuxia, Female, Hezhen, from Heilongjiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling (Ⅴ-42). The tradition is documented in Heilongjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling in Heilongjiang: Yimakan is mainly sung in the fishing and hunting villages where the Hezhen live, such as Jiekou in Tongjiang, and its vocal styles differ according to locality and performer: among the common Henina, Sulile, Susu, joyful, sorrowful and Lower River fishing tunes, the Lower River fishing tune is directly bound up with the Hezhen life of fishing and boating on the river, its vocal line relaxed and close to a boatman's song. Yimakan is mostly sung and spoken during the rests between fishing and hunting, at festivals, and at gatherings such as the Hezhen Wurigong assembly, and all of it is sung and spoken in the Hezhen language. According to the material available, the form had already taken shape no later than the late Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Ge Yuxia is anchored in the documented technical standards of Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling in Heilongjiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling in Heilongjiang: Hezhen Yimakan is a storytelling form of quyi among the Hezhen people, current in the Hezhen settlements of Heilongjiang Province. The performance is given by a single performer who narrates orally without instruments, combining speech and song; broadly it leans on speech, with song in support, and there is no instrumental accompaniment. Traditional items include long, medium and short pieces, and representative works are Shierdalu Mergen, Mangemu Mergen, Muzhulin Mergen, The Flight of Yingtu Gege to the Moon, Yaregou, Xiregou and others. The item types and performing styles of Yimakan are divided into "great chant" and "small chant". "Great chant", that is "great Yimakan chant", refers to speech-led performance, concentrating on and excelling in heroic and legendary subject matter, such as the various "Mergen (hero)" stories and the Hezhen creation legends; "small chant", that is "small Yimakan chant", refers to song-led performance, concentrating on and excelling in lyrical subject matter in short items. The vocal music of Yimakan has marked ethnic characteristics, and because it varies with the place where it is current and with the performer, the vocal styles and melodies used also differ; common melodies include Henina, Sulile, Susu, the joyful tune, the sorrowful tune and the Lower River fishing tune. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Great chant and small chant": Great chant is speech-led and heroic, small chant is song-led and lyrical. "Characteristic melodies": Its melodies include the Henina, Sulile, Susu, joyful, sorrowful and river-fishing tunes. "Hero tales of the Hezhen": Representative items include the Mergen hero tales and The Flight of Yingtu Gege to the Moon. "Unaccompanied narration": A single performer alternates speech and song without any instrument, shifting characters through voice alone.
Great chant and small chant
Great chant is speech-led and heroic, small chant is song-led and lyrical.
Characteristic melodies
Its melodies include the Henina, Sulile, Susu, joyful, sorrowful and river-fishing tunes.
Hero tales of the Hezhen
Representative items include the Mergen hero tales and The Flight of Yingtu Gege to the Moon.
Unaccompanied narration
A single performer alternates speech and song without any instrument, shifting characters through voice alone.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Ge Yuxia was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling, with Heilongjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling in Heilongjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Heilongjiang as its declared area, and Heilongjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
According to the material available, the form had already taken shape no later than the late Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wu Mingxin | Heilongjiang | 02-0768 | Same declared area |
| Wu Baochen | Heilongjiang | 02-0769 | Same declared area |
| Ge Yuxia | Heilongjiang | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。