shi mian mai fu（十面埋伏）

This is the best-known piece in the 'martial repertory' (wuqu) for the pipa. The earliest extant tablature is found in Hua Qiuping's pipa score dated 1818, a vivid description of the performance of a piece called Chu Han, about the Chinese Chu and Han states, and specifically the epic battle between their rival armies which in 202 BC secured the power of the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD). Chu Han is found in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) biography by the literatus Wang Quanding (1598-1662).,