Shanxi Xiangfen Art Of Folk Induiry

Xiangfen County is located in south-east area of Shanxi Province with Fu Mountain and Yi County in the east, Xiangning County in the west, near the south Quwo County, Houma County, Xinjiang County and with Yaodu area in the north. It is a small county which has a long history and rich heritage. There are lots of folk arts forms full of creation. Folk songs in Xiangfen County have been through a long history. But because of the development of society and economic growth since the reform and opening up, a large number of foreign music culture has crashed into the rural area and has a strong impact on the development of the folk music culture. Meanwhile,the huge population flow which is caused by numbers of immigrants and villages makes the folk songs too hard to survive with the city process intensified. I have been through the field investigation for many times with the knowledge of folk music and folklore and I could have the access to a large number of folk singers and music workers to get much first-hand information because of that. And I hope to protect and inheritance the Xiangfen folk songs through my investigation and study.The first chapter of this paper introduces the natural ecological environment, historical and cultural background of the Xiangfen County. The second chapter analyzes the origin, classification, music forms, theme types and the character of lyrics of the Xiangfen folk songs. It also introduces the relationship between Xiangfen folk songs and local operas in the south of Shanxi Province. The third chapter introduces the reflection of the Xiangfen folk songs in many ways, such as the folk material, social customs, spiritual folk custom and folk language etc. The fourth chapter discusses some thoughts and suggestions about how to protect and inheritance the Xiangfen folk songs based on its present situation. And the conclusion part is a summary of significance of this research and the whole paper.