Yangcheng County is a remote mountainous area in the southeast of Shanxi Province, located between Taihang, Taiyue and Zhongtiao Mountains, with a profound historical and cultural heritage. Due to the high mountains and deep valleys, the mountains and ridges form a special geographical environment for the growth and inheritance of folk culture. The fishing drum is a percussion instrument dedicated to Yangcheng Daoqing. It is cylindrical, made of paulownia wood, about 70 cm long, with a diameter of about 9 cm (outer diameter). It is wrapped with pig heart skin at one end of the cylinder, and the other end is an empty cylinder (called the drum tail). When struck, it makes a "tung tung" sound. Yangcheng Daoqing storytelling has a long history. Legend has it that there have been Daoqing storytelling since the Yuan Dynasty. According to research, artists have developed the form of Daoqing storytelling during the Guangxu period (1875), which is estimated to have a history of nearly 200 years. It is speculated that Yangcheng Daoqing is a foreign song popular in Yangcheng. There are different opinions on when and where it flowed into Yangcheng. Many experts believe that Yangcheng Daoqing music has some characteristics of folk wind and percussion music in southern Jiangsu, and it is very likely that it was spread from southern Jiangsu in the early days. In addition, according to the legend of the artists, there are two other theories about the origin of Yangcheng Daoqing: one is that in the early days, a fortune-teller would hold a fishing drum and a simple board in his hand to attract passers-by, and would sing on the street all year round. When he was old and physically exhausted, he could not come back, so he passed the tunes and books to local good singers and never returned, and Yangcheng Daoqing was born. Another theory is that in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, a wandering Taoist priest lived in Yangcheng for a long time and often promoted his doctrines to people in the form of singing Daoqing, and Yangcheng Daoqing was passed down by him. The occurrence and development of Yangcheng Daoqing experienced its birth in the early Ming Dynasty, its maturity and prosperity from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, its rescue and improvement in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, its decline during the Cultural Revolution (many materials were lost), and its recovery and prosperity in the 1980s. In 1954, when the people's writer Zhao Shuli was living in Yangcheng, he watched the performance of Daoqing, gave it a high evaluation, and invited it to perform in the province. In the spring of 1958, he went to the provincial capital again to perform for more than 40 days. In 1979 and 1980, Yangcheng Daoqing "The Heroes Choosing a Son-in-Law at the Meeting" written by Zhang Tianlin and modified by Ning Jiapei won the first prize in the provincial folk art performance. This was a bold and successful attempt to reform Daoqing. After that, a number of excellent programs such as "The Wedding Night" and "Silver Line Connecting the Four Seas" that integrated performance and dance appeared. "The Wedding Night" was broadcast on CCTV's "Joyful Golden Autumn" column after winning the provincial transport cup in 1990. The singing music of Yangcheng Daoqing is a combination of tunes. Its main instruments include fishing drum, simple board, copper board, and wooden fish as percussion instruments, and Beijing fiddle (6, 3), four strings (5, 2), three strings (1, 5, 1) and other accompaniment instruments. The deployment of instruments generally increases or decreases according to the number of people. The total singing tunes include [Zao Diao], [Shua Hai], [Wai Diao], [Tao Ban], [Wan Hua Diao], [Shi Zi Fo], [Shan Po Yang], [Xi Jiang Yue] and other ten compositions, collectively known as "Shi Jin Duan". Its singing characteristics are closely related to the local dialect, and are inseparable from the genre, style, mode and tonality of the music. Its melody is gentle and bright, and its singing is fluent and free, rich in changes and unique. Most of the rap repertoires are based on Taoist stories. The main repertoires are the Han (Xiang) family and the Li (Cui Lian) family. The Han family's repertoire includes "Torture and Chase Xiang", "Seven Immortals Enlightenment", "Eighteen Saves Mother" and other fourteen books. The Li family's repertoire includes "He Jinlong Fortune Telling", "Tang Wang Tours Hell", "Face to Face the Golden Hairpin" and other fourteen books. After being staged in the 1950s, the rap content has also changed from simply promoting Taoist repertoires to adding traditional repertoires that adapt to local customs, reflect daily life fun and humor, and are loved by the audience, enriching the rap content of Yangcheng Daoqing. Yangcheng Daoqing occupies an important position in the entire quyi singing. It can be said to be a microcosm of Yangcheng stage singing, a leader in Yangcheng folk rap culture, and a survivor of folk singing. It excavates, rescues, and protects Yangcheng Daoqing. Compared with the common Daoqing in other regions, Yangcheng Daoqing's rich content and basic characteristics and its inheritance history are richer, with beautiful tunes and a variety of tunes. In addition to the commonly used so-called "Ten Jinduan", there are other singing styles. The excavation, rescue and protection of Yangcheng Daoqing not only plays an important role in enriching and perfecting the history of Daoqing in my country, but also has important research value for its special rap content. The excavation, rescue and protection of Yangcheng Daoqing will play an important role in enriching the cultural life of the people, improving the quality of the people, promoting the all-round development of the people, building a harmonious society and prospering the mass culture. Since its formation, Yangcheng Daoqing rap has evolved through nearly two hundred years of development, and has evolved into the survival characteristics of folk customs formed along with the emergence and development of folk activities such as weddings and funerals. In the long-term participation in weddings and funerals and other ritual activities, according to the size of the activities, the number of participants, and the songs of different contents, the flexibility of participating in ritual activities has been formed. There is not only the inheritance of Taoist songs, but also the extensive absorption of folk songs, minor tunes, poems and fu (such as sitting in a wine shop), forming a diversified feature. The musical singing of Yangcheng Daoqing belongs to the combination of qupai. The melody of all the singing is gentle and bright, the singing is fluent and free, rich in changes, unique, and integrated with local qupai (small eight boards, etc.), with the characteristics of rarity and coexistence. Although it is currently in a prosperous stage, there are still many difficult problems to solve. The county government has done work on excavation, rescue, inheritance and promotion, and the activities have been carried out well, but there are still many difficult problems to solve: 1. A large number of excellent works were excavated and rescued at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, but they were all lost during the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution. Later, efforts were made to collect some copies from the people, but there were very few. In addition, there was no special funding, so the work could not be carried out, resulting in the loss of the songbooks. 2. The singing form that relies on folk customs such as weddings and funerals for survival and development has undergone changes in the social foundation. Some folk customs have entered new cultural connotations, and the activity positions of sitting around the table and singing have gradually become depressed and deserted. The past grand scenes of sitting around the table and singing poems and scattering flowers are no longer reproduced, and the platform for Daoqing rap to be displayed in the vast rural areas is decreasing. 3. Some accomplished old artists have gradually withdrawn from the stage due to their advanced age, some have passed away one after another, and some unique skills are difficult to be passed on. Some enthusiasts have to do other jobs and go out to work to make a living. They participate in fewer and fewer singing activities, and their interest in sitting and singing Taoist songs has gradually faded. 4. With the development of the market economy, people's cultural life has become increasingly rich, and they are very fond of the art of Yangcheng Taoist songs. However, due to various reasons, especially insufficient funds, the excavation, inheritance, and development of Yangcheng Taoist songs have been difficult, and their endangered status is difficult to change. Most of the tunes are still facing the risk of being lost, and rescue work is urgent and cannot be delayed. Information source: Jincheng Information Center Information source: Jincheng Information Center