Date

8-2014

Department

Worship and Music - Ethnomusicology

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Chair

George McDow

Keywords

Baisha Xiyue, China, minority, music, Naxi, Yunnan

Disciplines

Chinese Studies | Ethnomusicology | Music

Abstract

"Exploring Naxi Baisha Xiyue" is a qualitative research descriptive paper delving into the origin of the Baisha Xiyue music style among the Naxi people based in northwest Yunnan province of the People's Republic of China. A brief historical background of Baisha Xiyue includes the Yuan dynasty (AD 1279-1368) invasion by Kublai Khan when he and his army entered Yunnan province in AD 1253. The topic of the remaining eight songs is a Naxi historical conflict with a neighboring tribe. As musical instruments are essential in the performance of this genre, each of the commonly used instruments are introduced and described. These descriptions are followed by a narration of a specific Naxi ancient music performance, text transcriptions on the songs with words and then simple musical analysis, including performance conventions. The conclusion examines Baisha Xiyue in the context of cultural change, quite evident in China over the last sixty plus years. Finally, The appendices have sections covering song transcriptions, very basic Naxi and Chinese language glossaries, discography and bibliography.

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