According to legend, Ruan Xian, a famous man in Wei and Jin Dynasties, was famous for playing pipa. He completed the reform and was later called Ruan Xian Pipa, or Ruan for short.

Since the 1950s, Ruan, after the reform, has four strings and twenty-four flavors, using metal strings, and its range has been expanded to more than three octaves. Zhongruan's voice is soft, rich and has a wide range.