Carrying an epic spirit over centuries

Under the bright lights of a concert hall in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the air swelled with the ancient rhythms of the steppe, providing Tuohenali Tuxunnali with a sense of familiarity, which calmed him onstage.

His voice then soared from thunderous declarations to tender whispers while his body moved in tandem to illustrate the epic of Manas, with a clenched fist and a sweeping arm. Every gesture illustrated battles and emotions, vividly presenting the ancient stories that have been preserved through oral transmission.

Manas, formed between the 9th and 16th centuries, is one of the three great heroic epics of Chinese ethnic groups, along with King Gesar of the Tibetan people and Jangar of the Mongolian people.

As the man in his 30s delivered the final line of his performance, his golden belt — engraved with a portrait of his great-grandfather, legendary Manas singing master Jusup Mamay — glimmered under the spotlight. A long wave of thunderous applause followed.

Tuohenali's performance in September was part of a cultural event that was held to celebrate the long-standing friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country where Manas is also preserved.

The piece he performed — the first excerpt of Manas — not only tells the story of the hero but also weaves in the legends of 40 tribes. After the performance, local Manas experts praised his command of tone and delivery, which they deemed as authentic as that of his predecessors.

"It motivates me to carry forward the epic," says Tuohenali, born and raised in Akqi county, in the Kizilsu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.