Youyang folk songs are a variety of songs created by the Tujia, Miao, Han and other ethnic groups in Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing City, in their long-term production and life practices. In June 2008, the "Youyang Folk Songs" applied by Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing City, were approved by the State Council to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Heritage serial number: 584-85. Folk songs are one of the oldest artistic creations of mankind. They were created in the ancient times of mankind along with the call of labor. Their creation has profound historical and cultural connotations. It can be said that songs and labor are twins. "The Great Preface to the Book of Poetry" says: "Poetry is the place where one's will goes. In the heart, it is will, and in words, it is poetry. Emotions move in the heart and are expressed in words. Words are not enough, so sighs. Sighs are not enough, so they are sung. Singing is not enough, so I don't know how to dance with my hands and feet." This passage vividly tells the origin of the earliest singing and dancing of mankind. Youyang has simple folk customs and profound cultural heritage. Folk songs are a popular art form among people of all ethnic groups. They are clearly expressed in festivals, weddings, funerals and other activities. Therefore, the Youyang Prefecture Chronicles records that "the natives worshiped the gods by singing and dancing in front of the bonfire." Youyang is located in the Youxi area, the first of the five ancient rivers, and belongs to the primitive tribe of Jiuxi Shibadong. Therefore, the original Youyang folk songs have a strong national and original character. Historically, at least two major events have changed the original style of Youyang folk songs: First, in the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to suppress the uprising of the Golden Head Monk, Ran Shouzhong led troops from Kuizhou to Youyang to quell the rebellion, and then guarded Youyang and became the hereditary governor of the Ran family. This was the beginning of the Tusi system in Youyang. Since Kuizhou belonged to Ba County, the influence of "Bayin" was introduced into Youyang folk songs, which changed the original folk song style of Youyang; second, in the 13th year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1735), Youyang strictly implemented the policy of "no Han people entering the country, no barbarians leaving the village", abolished the ban of "no Han people entering the country, no barbarians leaving the village", and a large number of Han people and Han officials moved to Youyang. At the same time, a large amount of Han culture was introduced, which integrated Han folk songs with the original folk songs of Youyang, basically forming the basic structure of the current Youyang folk songs. In addition, Youyang has a vast territory, complex terrain, and borders Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and other provinces. The inheritance of Youyang folk songs has also formed a complex situation of "you in me, me in you". Artistic characteristics Youyang folk songs are rooted in the deep fertile soil of Youyang. Folk songs are the voices from the hearts of the people, with deep and sincere emotions and vivid artistic expressions. After being circulated, eliminated and processed by thousands of people, they have strong artistic appeal. From the lyrics, the artistic emotions in Youyang folk songs are not only sincere, but also profound. Since the people are most familiar with life and have a profound experience and understanding of life, they can express the essence of life in folk songs, and hit the nail on the head. Their artistic generalization is amazing, such as "Seeing the sun going down, my sister and I sang folk songs, rubbing a vine and throwing it up to hold the sun from falling". The use of the words "vine" and "hang" in "Seeing the sun going down, my sister and I sang folk songs, rubbing a vine and throwing it up to hold the sun from falling" has a profound meaning and a double meaning, which contains many inner emotions of love between men and women; from the perspective of melody, Youyang folk songs are of various types, with rich, beautiful and smooth tunes. Most of them are free-style folk songs and minor tunes, mainly in Gong mode, Zheng mode and Yu mode. Most of their melody structures belong to the category of folk pentatonic mode, mainly in single-section form. Some irregular "harmony" structures also appear in some "labor songs", which makes people feel very cordial after listening. Whether from the perspective of artistic content or artistic form, Youyang folk songs are a distinctive folk art form. They are affectionate, easy to understand, concise, lively, vivid, with natural and catchy rhymes, simple, vigorous and fresh style, and rich artistic appeal and imagination. In people's practical activities of creating history and changing nature, Youyang folk songs will surely play an important role that cannot be ignored.