with ca nương, a female singer who charmed the enemy with her voice. Most singers remain female, and the genre has been revived since the Communist government loosened its repression in the 1980s, when it was associated with prostitution. Ca trù, which has many forms, is thought to have originated in the imperial palace, eventually moving predominantly into performances at communal houses for scholars and other members of the elite (this is the type of ca trù most widely known). It can be referred to as a Korean gisaeng-type of entertainment where women, trained in music and poetry, entertained rich and powerful men. Cải lương Cải lương originated in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class during the country's French colonial period. Cải lương is now promoted as a national theatrical form. Unlike the other folk forms, it continued to prove popular with the masses as late as the 1970s and the 1980s, although it is now in decline. Cải lương can be compared to a sort of play with the added aspect of Vọng cổ. This term literally means "nostalgia for the past", it is a special type of singing with the background music often being the đàn tranh zither or the đàn ghi-ta (Vietnamized guitar). In a typical cải lương play, the actresses and actors would use a combination of regular spoken dialogue and vọng cổ to express their thoughts and emotions. Tuồng Tuồng also known as hát tuồng or hát bội is a form of Vietnamese theatre. Hát tuồng is often referred to as classical Vietnamese opera influenced by Chinese opera. Hò "Hò" can be thought of as the southern style of Quan họ. It is improvisational and is typically sung as dialogue between a man and woman. Common themes include love, courtship, the countryside, etc. "Hò" is popular in Cần Thơ - Vietnam. Bài chòi Ritual music Nhạc lễ - court music Traditional musical instruments Đàn bầu (monochord zither) Đàn gáo (two-stringed fiddle with coconut body, from Chinese yehu) Đàn nguyệt (two-stringed fretted moon lute, from Chinese yueqin) Đàn nhị (two-stringed fiddle with hardwood body, from Chinese erhu) Đàn sến (two-string fretted flower lute, from Chinese Chaozhou qinqin) Đàn tam (fretless lute with snakeskin-covered body and three strings from Chinese sanxian) Đàn tam thập lục (hammered dulcimer from Chinese yangqin) Đàn tranh (long zither