Clapboard: referred to as "ban", it was mostly made of sandalwood in ancient times, also known as "sandalwood board". During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Liyuan musician Huang Banchuo was good at playing this board, so it was also called "Chuoban".

The ancient clapper was introduced to the Central Plains from the northwest minority areas and became widely circulated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). But it is only used in popular folk "sanle". There are different sizes, the large one has 9 boards and the small one has 6 boards. In the Tang Dynasty murals of the Thousand Buddhas Cave in Dunhuang, there are images of musicians playing clappers. It can also be seen from the music and dance stone carvings in the tomb of Wang Jian in Chengdu that the clapper was an important rhythm instrument in the palace orchestra of the former Shu during the Five Dynasties more than 1,000 years ago.

In the Song Dynasty, the clapper was widely used in folk rap, and was the main instrument in the folk instrumental music "drum board".

In the Yuan Dynasty, the clapper was used for court banquets and as an accompaniment to dramas.

Clapper was used in court music such as Zhonghe Shao Yue, Qing Yue and Fanbu Ensemble in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Due to the different purposes of use, the number of clapper boards in the past dynasties is also inconsistent, ranging from 3, 4, 6 to more than 10 pieces.

In modern times, clappers have been widely used in folk instrumental ensembles and local drama accompaniments.