Li County is located in the northern part of Hunan and the western edge of Dongting Lake. It is an important town in northwestern Hunan and is known as the "Gateway to the Nine Li Rivers". It became an important commercial port in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and is the distribution center for the import and export of materials in the entire northwestern Hunan. Due to the special geographical environment, long-distance transportation here can only rely on water transportation. Most of the working people along the Lishui River, Censhui River and Daohe River in Li County make a living by sailing and transporting goods. There are nearly a thousand ships with masts everywhere. There are less than 10,000 boatmen, but there are at least 8,000 boatmen. Each large wooden boat has no less than 20 trackers. In the process of sailing against the current and pulling the boat, in order to concentrate strength, boost spirits and unify the pace, a unique labor song transformed from a local minor tune naturally emerged. This is the Lishui boatman's song. The Lishui boatman's song is based on the theme of reflecting the miserable life and labor scenes of the boatmen. There is no fixed libretto and lyrics, and there is no need to learn from a special teacher. It is all passed down from generation to generation by oral instruction from the predecessors. Most of these songs are improvised according to the time, place and people, and are blurted out. Although they are relatively popular, they are full of heroic spirit and artistic charm. The sentence structure is divided into seven words and five words. Generally, one person leads the singing and everyone sings together. It is magnificent and powerful. In addition, there are songs specifically sung for boat owners and onlookers, such as "The dark clouds on the mountains are coming soon, and pulling the rope is like crossing a sky bridge. The muddy road is slippery and difficult to walk, and sweat and rain flow into a trough", "The wind blows and the river bends, and the lover needs shoes to send a letter", etc. Due to different regions, the boatmen's songs of Lishui River can be divided into two types: Shangheqiang and Xiaheqiang. Shangheqiang is sung in the area above Shimen and below Sangzhi. Because the mountains are high and the water is fast, the river is narrow, and there are many reefs on the beach, it is very dangerous to sail and transport goods, so the boatmen's songs are high-pitched and powerful, with a brisk rhythm, more supporting words than lyrics, and full of fearless fighting spirit. This type of boat number is mainly based on rowing and counting boards. The boatman's song of Lishui River was formed with the emergence of merchant ships, and developed with the development of merchant ships. It became endangered with the disappearance of wooden merchant ships. Since the reform and opening up, the transportation industry has developed by leaps and bounds. Automobile and train transportation have replaced water transportation in the Lishui River Basin. 90% of the boatmen have long changed their careers and made a living. The boatman's pulling has become a thing of the past. The older generation of boatmen have also passed away one after another due to their advanced age. Under this circumstance, the ancient boatman's song of Lishui River, which was once famous both at home and abroad, is in danger of being lost.