A Study On The Succession Of Traditional Folk Songs Of Yugu Nationality

People of Yugu nationality call themselves "Raohuer", who live only along the north slope of Qilian Mountain in Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province, which is also minor in its population. According to research, Yugu nationality is a branch descended from Ganzhou Huihu, which can be traced back to the War States period when "Dingling" people led a nomadic life around the Baikal Lake. Experts believe that the household Chile Le Song is exactly the folk song of Yugu people's ancestors.In the 16th century, Yugu people settled down in the Hexi district of Gansu Province. Favorable conditions like stable social environment and centralized group living nurtured their folk songs with great variety and unique style. The study named the songs in the period from then to the naming of the ethnic nationality "Traditional Folk Songs of Yugu Nationality". The folk songs of Yugu people are the "living fossil" to research on the folk songs of northern minorities, especially Turkic and Mongol. They are also the important basis and references to the research work of ancient northern nomadic nationalities, indispensable to digging, studying and developing the music of ethnic minorities in northwest China, as they are invaluable to northern China's national music.With the changes of history and the establishment of modern life style, the conventional style and social backdrop phased out from the stage of history, which caused the traditional folk songs of Yugu Nationality lost the soil that once nurtured them. The valuable folk songs showed their signs in the process of succession:traditional folk songs retrogressed and faced the danger of lost; folk successors died off; preservation of traditional songs was incomplete; "compound development" of traditional songs quickened up; transmission of traditional songs had difficulty in taking a step; innovation of traditional songs could not break through; development of traditional songs and social economy went adrift; cognitive awareness upon traditional songs was poor and related researchers were scarce. These changes posed great challenge to the succession of traditional folk songs of Yugu Nationality.This paper, based on previous studies and field survey, tries to expound the status quo of traditional folk songs of Yugu nationality. It also presents some individual thoughts of the author in the area of protection, succession and development of Yugu folk songs with several outstanding problems found in the process of their development. The paper is open to all potential questions and discussions from the senior and peer researchers, attempting to draw all possible attentions to the issue.