Songs Of Mongolian Along The Yellow River

This dissertation mainly investigates Mongolian villages and their music life along the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia.By studying in the structure of “human-music-region”,it intends to explore Mongolian traditional music in the view of life situation in which it is generated,and interpret village music life by analyzing its social and cultural changes.The paper focuses on music life of “one river,two banks,three tribes and four villages”,which will be explored in the following six chapters.The first chapter studies the history,geography,Mongolian tribes,Mongolian village formation and relations between ethnic groups in villages along the Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia.The second chapter is focused on musical life of Sharizhao Gacha(village)on the south bank of the Yellow River,whichexplores from historical background of Gacha and temple,case study of Mongolian family,and relationship between individual and group in “Guridao”,a local folk song.The third chapter is about music life of Ariqi Village on the north bank of the Yellow River.It shows the relationship between Urat music life and cultural symbols by discussing symbolic culture of Urat,analyzing Urat folk songs from the view of people,describing and interpreting Urat Mongolian wedding ceremony,and by connecting folk song culture with local elites.The fourth chapter focuses on music life of Yanggaibulong Village of the Hangha area on the north bank of the Yellow River.It studies Mongolian folk songs and folk singers from the aspects of tribe,region and culture,and employs folk song contest to explain current recognition of local music culture in the Mongolian group in the area.The fifth chapter studies the Yangjiabao Village in the coexisted area of the Mongolian and Han on the north bank of the Yellow River.It displays inter-ethnic culture share in mixed areas of the Mongolian and Han under the background of ethnic and cultural integration,by studying its historical and cultural background,investigating its music life,andinterpreting the Lunar February 19 temple fair.The sixth chapter,based on the study of “three tribes and four villages”,discusses another Mongolian cultural landscape in the area by contrasting rural and urban music life.The paper uses Zhabu family,who plays Mongol four-stringed instrument,as a case.By investigating village life of the parents,urban life of the children,and shuttling life between urban and rural areas of the husband and wife,discussing Mongolian music life in the view of “village-town”,the paper explores social form of present Mongolian music life in time and space dimensions.