Deng Yue Jiao Hui(Lanterns and Moonlight Vying in Splendor)is a renowned piece in the traditional pipa repertoire.Musically cognate versions of this piece are extensively distributed within Kunqu opera and diverse regional Shifan(Ten-variation)ensemble music traditions.The piece titled Shuang Die Cui (Two Jade Butterflies),found within the Sangoku-shi (The History of the Three Kingdoms)repertoire—a collection of the Ming-Qing popular tunes and operas transmitted to Japan—bears a close relation to Deng Yue Jiao Hui.The late scholar Yang Yinliu noted that the pipa piece Deng Yue Jiao Hui is an adaptation of Shou Ting Hou from the Southern Jiangsu Shifan Luogu repertoire.Based on an in-depth study of cognate repertoire and relevant music literature,this article argues for the piece's origins in the courtly sizhu luogu shifan music.This article traces the genesis and dissemination of tunes cognate with Deng Yue Jiao Hui through an evolutionary analysis,examining their commonalities and individualities across various musical genres to elucidate the dynamics governing the historical evolution of traditional Chinese music.