Xiangxi Tujia folk songs are folk songs that are popular in Baojing County, Longshan County, Yongshun County, Guzhang County of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, as well as Tujia-populated areas in Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou. In 2008, Xiangxi Tujia folk songs were included in the second batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Hunan Province. According to the Annals of Longshan County, it is said that a certain chieftain was mobilized to march outside the south gate, and ordered his soldiers to dress up as women and sing loudly with their arms linked together. The children guarding the city gathered together to enjoy it, and were moved by the songs, and they were dissolute. So a certain chieftain secretly forced his way through the gate, jumped in, and finally defeated him. The Annals of Yongshun County records: "The Fushi City is made of brocade, and the water is rippled beside the Tuwang Temple. There are thousands of red lanterns and thousands of people, all singing passionately and waving hands." The Annals of Yongshun Prefecture records: "Each village has a waving hand hall, also known as the ghost hall. From the third to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month every year, gongs and drums are beaten at night, and men and women gather to dance and sing. It is called waving hands, and this custom still exists." These records reflect the grand occasion of the Tujia people singing and dancing at that time. According to the Qing Dynasty's "Longshan County Annals", "The local people compete with the old chieftain god. There was an old hall called Baishou Hall, which housed a certain chieftain god and displayed sacrificial offerings. At the evening of the appointed time, groups of men and women entered. After the reward, they wore five-flowered quilts and brocade scarves on their heads, beat drums and rang gongs, danced and sang for several nights. The period might be in the first month, the third month, or the fifth month. When singing, men and women held hands and danced forward and backward, so it was called Baishou." The offerings of the Tujia Baishou sacrifice to the chieftain god, the Eight Kings, such as dried bamboo shoots, fern moss, tree bark, wild animals, and raw pig heads, cow heads, and dog heads, can be seen as symbols of the primitive period. Although the small Baishou sacrifices were changed to Lord Peng, Tian Haohan, and Xiang Laoguanren, this was after the Battle of Xizhou during the Tianfu period of the Five Dynasties, when the Peng family ruled the Tujia area in western Hunan, and the Tujia people were intimidated by their tyranny. It was an evolution brought about by the trend of history. There are two couplets in the Eight-Division Great Temple in Bamao Township, Baojing and Liye Changtan Township, Longshan, respectively, "The merits are still written down and the Eight-Division is conferred, and the spirits are refreshing and the blood is eaten for thousands of years" and "Guarding this land, helping this land, and the people in this land worship and waving their hands and kowtowing, conferring the Eight-Division to suppress the Eight Barbarians and the plague in all directions makes people feel terrified when they hear the news". The former shows that "blood is eaten for thousands of years" is the primitive era of human society eating raw meat and drinking blood, and the latter reflects from the side that the Tujia people's waving hand dance is a beautiful wish and sustenance for life. Classification of Tujia folk songs in western Hunan Tujia folk songs in western Hunan are rich and varied, and naturally formed the following categories in the process of transmission: 1. Mountain songs (grass-pulling gongs and drums); 2. Minor tunes (lantern tunes); 3. Folk songs (wedding songs, funeral songs, Tima god songs, waving hand songs, beam-raising songs); 4. Children's songs (lullabies, game songs); 5. Labor songs (boatman songs, rowman songs, rock workers songs, wood-hauling songs, porter songs). The characteristics of Xiangxi Tujia folk songs There are many ways to sing Xiangxi Tujia folk songs. According to different tunes, singing forms and singing environments, Xiangxi Tujia folk songs can be roughly divided into real voice singing, real and false voice combined singing, soft voice singing, etc. (1) Real voice singing. This singing method mostly uses foot cavity breathing. It mainly relies on the power of breath to impact the larynx to make sounds, so the sound is high-pitched and loud. (2) Real and false voice combined singing. Tujia local opera singing also borrows this singing method, such as the real and false voice combined singing method of Yangxi Opera. The use of voice can be divided into "jialong" and "zhailong": "jialong" is a combination of real and false voice singing. The real voice is used for the lyrics and the false voice is used for the dragging. The range is as wide as two octaves, and the singing style has large fluctuations and jumps. It is suitable for Sheng and Laodan roles; "zhailong" is false voice, commonly known as "small voice". Its characteristics are that the first two words of each sentence are sung in real voice, and the rest are sung in false voice. The singing style is mostly in the high pitch area, which is suitable for Dan and Xiaosheng roles. The falsetto of "Jialong" can be divided into three types: "fast rise method", "slow rise method" and "comprehensive method". Fast rise method is that the melody at the end of the words rises rapidly into falsetto, which is often used to express cheerful emotions. (3) Singing in a soft voice. Tujia sitting songs, lullabies and hypnotic songs are basically sung in a soft voice. The Tujia folk songs in western Hunan have beautiful rhymes, often using reverse waves and up and down glissando, using a special singing method that slightly squeezes the throat to make sounds. Instruments of Tujia folk songs in western Hunan 1. Drums. Drums include big drums, small drums, hand drums, etc. The diameter of the big drum is more than 4 feet, and the drum frame is made of fir or nanmu. When it is beaten, the sound is grand and exciting. This drum is generally used for dancing drums; the diameter of the small drum is generally about 1.5 feet, and it is mostly used for playing drum music brands; the hand drum is smaller and is played in the hand, and it often serves as a prop drum for dance. 2. Suona. The Tujia people play suona in weddings, weddings, funerals, celebrations, and drama performances. In the Tujia area, suona playing competitions are often held, which promotes the development of playing techniques. The Tujia suona has a very rich repertoire of music, with more than 100 commonly used music. 3. Ox horn. This is a horn used by the ancient Tujia people for marching and fighting, and it is also a common instrument used by the Tujia people. The Tujia people are very particular about choosing ox horns as musical instruments. For example, you should choose "Longmen horn" instead of "Tongluo horn". The root of the "Longmen horn" is more curved than the right angle, and the tip of the horn is straightened from the curve, and the root and tip of the horn form a right angle, so it is called "Longmen horn". When playing with this kind of ox horn, the sound is loud and beautiful. 4. Wooden leaves. Wooden leaves are the most favorite entertainment instrument of the Tujia people. 5. Dongdongkui. A reed wind instrument of the Tujia people.