Abstract: As national intangible cultural heritage, "Tongli Xuanjuan" is a traditional fork speaking-singing art with local music features. Selected as "intangible cultural heritage", "Tongli Xuanjuan" has gained a legal room for survival and new vitality for development. However, the inheritance of this folk art needs not only governmental support, but also non-governmental assistance. As a form of local folk art, "Tongli Xuanjuan" has its own non-governmental way of inheritance. As important non-governmental elements of inheritance, "Paihua", which is similar to a broker, and "Foniang", which literally means a "Buddhist Lady", have played a significant role in the inheritance of "Tongli Xuanjuan" in both traditional and modern societies. Therefore, it is important to consider how to bring the non-governmental factors into full play in a government dominating framework from the perspective of the "intangible cultural heritage".

Key words: Tongli's speaking-singing art of Xuanjuan, non-governmental inheritance, intangible cultural heritage, “Paihua”, “Foniang”