The study aims at probing into the musical traits and interpretation of the liuqin piece Charm of Man. The Man’s musical culture is rather complex and plenteous; the composer Liu Xi-Jing has taken that as materials, and that is also discussed in the main text. The Man people lives their life closely related to music, even in religious activities; they are one of the tribes putting high emphasis on musical culture in China.
The study consisted of six sections. First of all, the composing background of Charm of Man was presented. Second, customs and traditions in the Lantern Festival of the Man were explained in order to further probe into the contents and interpretation of the first movement Lantern Festival. Third, the crane worship in Man people’s ritual music was explored to explain that of the second movement Dance of Crane. Forth, via studying lullabies sung by the Man women, the contents and interpretation of the third movement Ba-bu-li were analyzed. Next, it clarified the Man people’s worship and respect for fire in the fifth section, and then concerned the contents and interpretation of the fourth movement Dance of Fire. Last but not least, in the last section, it made a review and conclusion of the above analyses and traits of musical culture embodied by the four movements.
The study is expected to classify the musical materials and cultural contents concerning the liuqin piece Charm of Man, and to further make a contribution to the liuqin music and the future researcher
