The first recorded mention of the Haiyen qiang (海鹽腔) is found as early as the beginnings of the xiwen (戲文) genre during the middle to late period of the Northern Song dynasty, specifically during the reign of the Ningzong (寧宗) Emperor, when the musician Wang Zhang zi (張鎡) traveled to Haiyen and incorporated the local style into that of his own. During the Yuan dynasty, the Haiyen local Yang Zi (楊梓) and his son also reworked the local style. The first reworking took the form of cidiao (詞調) or xiwen (戲文), while the second took the form of the Northern and Southern sanqu (散曲) or xiwen. Between the reigns of the Ming emperors Xianzong (憲宗) and Shizong (世宗), the Haiyen qiang was highly popular, spreading to Jiaxing (嘉興), Huzhou (湖州), Wenzhou (溫州), Taizhou (臺州) in Zhejiang. Yihuang (宜黃) and Nanchang (南昌) in Jiangxi, Suzhou (蘇州) and Songjiang (松江) in Jiangsu, Xiangyang (襄陽) in Hubei, Huizhou (徽州) in Anhui, Lanling (蘭陵) in Shandong. and even as far as the Yongchang wei (永昌衛) in Yunnan. Given its soft and subtle quality and its proximity to the koine of the era, this style was enjoyed by members of the gentry in both Nanjing and Beijing. Performances in this style were common at banquets and used percussion instruments without any reed accompaniment. During this period, a number of famous performers in this style appeared. including Jinfeng (金鳳), Shunmei (順妹), Caifeng (彩鳳) Jinniangzi (金娘子), well as a number of works, such as Mingfeng ji (嗚鳳記), Yuhuan ji (玉環記), Shuangchung ji (雙忠記), Hanxicai yeyan (韓熙載夜宴), and Xijieji (四節記). After the Wanli (萬曆) Emperor's reign, this style could still be found; however, it was gradually being replaced by the Kunshan (崑山) shuimodiao (水磨調) developed by Wei Liangfu (魏良輔) and others. Even though there are some traces that have survived into the present, an uninterrupted line of descent, such as can be found for the shuimodiao, is not to be found for this style.