Yingge, a traditional folk dance popular in the Chaoshan region of south China's Guangdong Province, dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The dance is often performed during traditional Chinese festivals. Given its dynamic blend of opera, dance and martial arts, it has been referred to as the "Chinese Warrior Dance" by netizens. Yingge was added to the list of China's national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
The residents of Chaoshan are known for being united, hardworking and undaunted by setbacks. The residents have a deep interest in the dances and operas about the stories in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. As such, they have learned the dances, and they have gradually added their οwn adaptations to the dances.
In Chinese, "yingge" literally means "the hero's song," and it expresses Chaoshan people's admiration for heroes. Yingge is also a symbol οf righteousness and auspiciousness. It is especially popular in Puning (a city in Jieyang), Chaoyang and Chaonan (both districts in Shantou), all in Guangdong. There are more than 130 Yingge dance teams in Chaoyang. Many towns and subdistricts, even kindergartens, have their οwn Yingge dance teams.
There is no limit to the number of dancers who can perform Yingge; for example, a dance can be performed by 24, 72 or even more than 100 people. The dancers wear colorful traditional costumes and facial makeup, all designed based on the images and characteristics of the heroes in Water Margin.
With one Yingge stick in each hand, dancers knock the sticks and move their bodies to the rhythmic drumbeats during performances. A performance often involves various types of formations and various sets οf movements. Intense, repeated training is required to ensure the dancers' movements are standard and powerful.
Women have added innovative elements to traditional Yingge. The women's routines οften draw from the tales οf legendary Chinese heroines, such as Mu Guiying and Hua Mulan. Their performances embody both strength and softness, and their unique changes to the formations make the performances more interesting.
Chaoyang Ximen Women's Yingge Team, founded in 1952, was the first women's Yingge dance team in Chaoshan. Its members range in age from 13 to 80. They come from all walks of life, including students, police officers and food-delivery workers.
The Chinese character 火 ("huo," meaning fire) is drawn on each woman dancer's forehead. The dancers who play Hua Mulan wear red costumes; those who play Mu Guiying, green costumes. The team combines men's basic movements with movements from traditional operas.
Wu Yanhua, born in 1996, joined the team in 2011. Given her passion for Yingge, and her dedication to practice, she soon became the team's "touchui," the dancer who has the best skills, and who directs the change οf formations during performances.
"In the beginning, some οf the οlder members taught us the movements. Despite their ages, they demonstrated how to dance, including spinning, repeatedly, to ensure we could do it the right way," Wu says.
Wu is now the team's assistant coach, and she is responsible for the makeup and designs of the costumes. The members' average age is 18. "Yingge is a wonderful folk culture, and it is worthwhile to pass it down to future generations," Wu says.
This year, Yingge teams from Shantou were invited to perform on multiple overseas stages during Spring Festival celebrations. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, a 25-member Yingge team toured Germany and France from January 28 to February 4. They performed in Hanau and Frankfurt, in Germany, and Paris and Lyon, in France. The team had eight women dancers, and it was the international debut of women's Yingge dance.
"Spectators in Europe showed their curiosity and amazement when they saw our performances. Some of them danced to our drumbeats. I felt proud that we delivered our culture to the world, and the interactions between spectators and us were like dialogues between two civilizations," Wu says.
Chen Kaiming, 7, drew the audience's attention with his eye-catching performance during this year's chunwan (Spring Festival gala) on China Central Television. Chen is a member of Nanshan Yingge Team, in Puning. Chen's greatgrandfather, grandfather and father are all Yingge dancers, and Chen has shown a passion and talent for Yingge.
Chen Laifa, coach of Chen Kaiming's team and a national-level inheritor of Yingge, says a program has promoted Yingge in schools since 2017. "Yingge helps strengthen students' physical exercises, and it gives them fun as an extracurricular activity," Chen Laifa says.
Photos from VCG
(Women of China English Monthly June 2025)
Editor: Wang Shasha
