A Study Of Nnewly-collected Muyu Songs

The thesis focuses on studies of collected and sorted Muyu songs,including literature about it and a series of further developed issues such as thedefinition, origin, subject, literature characteristics and circulating condition. As toMuyu songs, the thesis takes its general meaning.Muyu songs have been widely spread ever since four hundred years ago, duringEmperor Zheng De (1505-1521) and Eperor Jia Jing (1521-1566) of Ming Dynasty.They had influences on Guangdong and even the whole Chinese quyi. However,scholars paid little attention to them. Not until the early twentieth century did somescholars start to study Muyu songs.Studies started from literature collection and sortation, after which furtherresearches were carried out on the sources, subjects and scripts of Muyu songs.Thanks to the efforts of scholars, more and more literature became known andrelated researches go deeper and deeper. But there are still some academic blanks leftno matter on literature collection or other relevant issues about Muyu songs.The thesis starts with collecting literature about Muyu songs, then exposes theomissions of previous studies through sorting the literature, and finally makes somesupplements to the omissions.The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter starts with a review ofexisting researches, followed by an introduction to the newly collected Muyu songs.Then the significance of the thesis is brought forward.The second chapter,“On Muyu Songs”, illustrates the definition, origin,categorization, subject, influence and other related issues about Muyu songs, thenpoints out improper views of previous studies and comes up with new ideas.The third chapter,“Characteristics of the Newly Collected Muyu Songs”, beginsfrom the collected literature of Muyu songs which fills the space of precedingresearches, explores the new songs and related material, and summarizes theircharacteristics in literature and literary style.The fourth chapter,"Spread of Muyu Songs", deals with the evolution ofperfomers, performance forms and places of Muyu songs, then elaborates their circulating medium and condition overseas, and especially analyzes the factors thatmake Muyu songs spread to Vietnam.In the Appendix,"Catalogue of Muyu Songs", the thesis makes a comparison ofnewly collected literature to Catalogue and Study of Muyu Scripts of HongkongUniversity edited by Mr Liang Peichi and Catalogue and Study of Muyu Scripts ofFoshan co-edited by Zeng Chimi and Zhu Peijian. A new catalogue is compiled forthe scripts that are not listed in those two books. The new catalogue of Muyu Songsincludes literature drew from wood plate, sheet machine, stamping, manuscripts andtapes.