Shanxi merchants
According to Xu Wei's "Nanci Xulu" (; ["Treatises and Catalogue of Nanqu"]), Yuyao Tone (), one of then major Southern Operas, was prevalent in Xuzhou during the Mid-Ming period. Shanxi merchants popularized Bangzi in Xuzhou afterwards, since it was introduced in the late Ming along the Great Cannel. Fused the local ballads in dialect, this localized version evolved into a new opera over the following centuries. The opera was designated as Jiangsu Bangzi () in 1962.