| Folk songs are an important component of a nation's construction of its mode of existence, cultural inheritance and transmission. Folksingers are creators and carriers of the culture of folk songs. This dissertation is an ethnomusicolocgical case study of Yao Qihua, a folksinger in Village Lu Jiahe in the Wudangshan area of Hubei Province. Based on rich and reliable first-hand materials, this dissertation examines the folksinger's performing experience of sixty years in the context of his life and living conditions. It describes and explains the existential state and regional culture by looking at issues such as cultural geographical environment, relations among clansmen, social status of a folksinger, content an performance of folk songs, social maintenance, historical construction and cultural change. It is a comprehensive investigation of the interaction between the folksingers, society and history, which reveals the social and cultural meaning of the existence of a local cultural elite.; The dissertation holds that there is a mutually dependent, reciprocally constructive and interactive relationship among the folksinger, society and history. The spiritual value of the folk song culture created by the folksinger not only enriched the meaning of life, but also effectively maintained local civil order. |
