A Study Of Impact Of Geographical Factors Upon Yugur Ethnic Group Folksongs

As one of ethnic minorities with peculiar features in China, Yugur Ethnic Group boasts the unique style of folksongs because of its own complex history and particular living surrounding. What makes the mysterious quality of its folksongs has already come to be one topic which is attracting more and more attention of academic circles. So this thesis is an attempt to do a research on the folksongs of Yugur Ethnic Group from the geographical point of view.This thesis is composed of five parts. The first part is the introduction to the purpose and significance of this thesis. The second part mainly presents a vertical and horizontal picture of the environment in which Yugur Ethnic Group lives and sustains. The vertical side entails its ancient and modern geographical environment while the horizontal description is concerned about natural and human environment. Thus in this part the emphasis is put on the description of the natural and human environment of Mongolian Plateau and Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province.The third part makes an overall introduction to folksongs of Yugur Ethnic Group in respect of genre, lyrics and melodies for the purpose of appreciating the characteristics of the songs. The fourth part is the core of this thesis, or a tentative study of how the folksong characteristics of Yugur Ethnic Group have come into existence from the perspective of geography. After a discussion of natural and human environment, the author has posited her own ideas and suggestions to inherit and protect PRIMITIVE FOLKSONGS, hoping the survey might be of some significance to the research and protection of songs of this kind.The last part is the conclusion and the author suggests that the protection of our geographical environment and the inheritance of PRIMITIVE FOLKSONGS are closely interrelated.