There exists in the collection of the Shōsōin Repository (正倉院) of Nara, Japan a richly decorated ruanxian, which is believed to have been made in China during the 8th century (mid-Tang Dynasty), and sent as a royal gift to the Japanese emperor Shōmu (r. 724-749) from his counterpart, the Chinese emperor Xuanzong (r. 713-756). In Japanese, this instrument is called Raden shitan no genkan


















