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)., Sizhao Tang
Collection.
The two pieces were based on the same story, and the sequence of
sound and plot descriptions in Wang's record closely match the
subtitles of the sections in the 1818 score. It is, therefore,
possible to say that Shimian Maifu (Ambushed on Ten Sides) was in
existence during the 17th century.
Click Here to listening it: Shimian Maifu(十面埋伏）