Study on the Development Status, Inheritance, and Protection of Twelve Muqam in Shache County, Xinjiang

Abstract

The Twelve Muqam is one of the world’s intangible cultural heritages and a cultural treasure inherited by the Uyghurs. Setting the field site in the inheritance center of Twelve Muqam - Shache County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, this article carries out an in-depth investigation and observation of the inheritors of Twelve Muqam, folk artists and ordinary people in Shache County through independent personal channels. This study found that the Twelve Muqam is well popularized among the Uyghurs in Shache County. However, the difficulty in cultivating Twelve Muqam artists makes it challenging to pass down Twelve Muqam. In addition, the inheritors of Twelve Muqam and folk artists take it as a personal belief rather than just a form of art, making them advocate strict preservation of the original state of this intangible cultural heritage. To some extent, this study engages in dialog and comparison with previous research conducted from the perspective of “the others”. It provides some enlightening insights for the subsequent inheritance and protection of Twelve Muqam.