Recently, the first She language speech contest was held in Suichang County of Lishui City in Zhejiang Province. The competition was intended to further promote the She culture and protect the She language.

According to the 2010 national census, the population of She ethnicity in China is 708,651. Suichang County, which inhabits 3.5% of the She people national wide, is one of the main settlements of She ethnicity in China.

The 2-year-old baby in the competition became a local star

Lan Shuilin, deputy director of the United Front Work Department and director of the Religious Affairs Bureau of Suichang County, is one of the She nationality. He showed "great feelings towards She language".

Lan Shuilin believes that it is not easy for the She people to passed down from generation to generation as they have no written language. The She language speech contest turned out to be a good way to show the cultural characteristics of She nationality, and to improve the inheritance and popularity of the local language.

On August 12, the final of the first She language contest was held in the Youth Palace in Suichang County .

The competition is divided into children's group and adult group with the oldest player of 71 years old and the youngest only 2 years old. She folk tales and stories are presented in the language of She nationality.

According to Lan Shuilin, the competition was better than expected. “Originally, we reckoned that only older generations still know how to speak the She dialect. However, there are 14 children entering the final out of 65 contestants who have signed up for the competition, and the youngest is only two years old. We see promise of our language in this little girl. "

She people's worry: She language disappeared 30 years later

The oldest speaker in the competition is Zhong Maqing, 71 years old. He told a story themed “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” in She language, and won the first prize of the adult group.

He said that the purpose of his competition was to support the inheritance and development of She culture with action. It was a surprise to win the prize.

Lei Zishan is only two years old. Though she is the youngest of children's group, she won the second prize with honor.

Her father Lei Qijun said that the second prize from the organizing committee is actually an encouragement for the next generation of She people to speak their own language.

"Now She people are scattered all over the country. Without the atmosphere, children born after 2000 have little access to our language. If not protected, She language is very likely to disappear in 30 years,” said Lei Qijun.

Lan Shuilin also said that in the future, the local government will guide She children to join the ranks of learning and using She language, so as to better protect, promote and inherit the She culture.

(Compiled and translated by Xu Yuhong)