2 • The Hezhe
Abstract
The Hezhe are one of China’s seven small ethnic groups, alongside the Tatar, Gaoshan, Luoba, Dulong, Oroqen and Menba and they remain among the smallest officially recognised minorities in the country. The Hezhe (Hezhe: Nanai; Chinese: Hezhe; Manchu: Heje; Russian: Nanai, Goldi), were originally part of a single group with the Nanai to the north-east around Khabarovsk and now live in China’s Heilongjiang province. As of 2010, the total Hezhe population in China and Russia was estimated at approximately 17,000. Of these, only 50 individuals reported speaking the Hezhe language, which is part of the southern branch of the Tungus language family and closely related to Manchu. In contrast, in Russia – where Hezhe is taught in some schools – more than 3,000 speakers were recorded. The language has no traditional written form. A written version was first developed in Russia during the nineteenth century, with the earliest vocabularies and dictionaries compiled by P. Protodjakonov.
open access | peer reviewed
Submitted: April 21, 2026 | Accepted: June 25, 2026 | Published Sept. 9, 2026 | Language: en
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