Transmission of Yugu Folk Song Knowledge in Sunan County, Gansu Province, China

Abstract

The qualitative research method is used in this study to investigate ways to transmit Yugu folk song knowledge in Sunan County, Gansu Province, China. The area was selected in Sunan County, Gansu Province, China. The fieldwork method is mainly used for collecting data, together with the information from the document. The study results are as follows: The origins of the Yugu people are not single but multiple. They are a new ethnic community formed by the integration of the ancient Uighurs and the ancient Mongolian tribes. The Yugu people are currently the best-preserved ethnic group in the world’s Ancient Turkic language, due to the characteristics of the language and the geomorphological characteristics of the Yugu area, making the Yugu music unique and different from the music of the surrounding Han and other ethnic groups. The development of Yugu folk songs can be divided into five periods: 1) the Mobei period before 840 AD and the production period of Yugu ancestral folk songs; 2) from 840 AD to the beginning of the 16th century, the gradual development of the art of Hui folk songs; 3) from the beginning of the 16th century to 1953, the excavation period of traditional folk songs of the Yugu people; 4) from 1953 to 1990, the prolific period of Yugu folk song creation; 5) since 1990, the trough period of traditional Yugu folk songs and the development period of newly created songs.