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Yingge Dance, a traditional folk art combining dancing, Chinese martial arts, and Chinese opera, is popular in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong province in South China. Yingge, written with the characters for “hero” and “song”, 1． (mean) heroic song in Chinese and Yingge dancers, as their name implies, are the avatars (化身) of 2． (hero). The dancers each hold a pair of short sticks and strike the sticks with force 3． (create) strong beats — an 4． (art) display of masculinity (男子气概). In 2006, the Puning Yingge Dance 5． (list) among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages in China.

However, as young people move out of the villages, so are local folk arts 6． (gradual) disappearing all around China. In Puning, Yingge is still danced during holidays such as the Lunar New Year and its performers are generally amateurs — farmers 7． have put down their tools and put on costumes. Some of the parts are passed 8． in the family, from father to son, and so far some villages have started giving performers a basic salary.

9． (dress) in colorful clothes and wearing heavy makeup, ordinary villagers have created a song of cultural confidence. The performance, 10． must-watch for the local people, graces the village square one more time.