Quyi (Folk Arts)

The world's longest living oral epic — over a million verses recounting the heroic deeds of King Gesar, sung by Tibetan storytellers.

The Kyrgyz people's 500,000-verse heroic epic, recounting the legendary exploits of Manas and his descendants over eight generations.

The endangered oral storytelling tradition of China's Hezhen people — multi-voice narratives of hunting, fishing, and shamanic journeys.

A refined Suzhou art of storytelling through song, where a single performer narrates epic tales with pipa accompaniment.

China's beloved comedic dialogue tradition — rapid-fire wit, wordplay, mimicry, and social commentary between two performers.

A delicate female vocal art from Sichuan, known for its clear, ornamented singing and bamboo percussion accompaniment.

A narrative art of drum-accompanied storytelling where the performer sings historical tales while punctuating action with drumbeats.

A rapid-fire oral art of rhyming verse accompanied by bamboo clappers — Beijing's temple fair tradition of linguistic virtuosity.

A Suzhou storytelling art where performers sing narrative verses in dialect while accompanying themselves on pipa and sanxian.

A solo oral storytelling art where a master narrator creates entire worlds using only voice, gesture, a fan, and a wooden striking block.