Jianpu

Jianpu (简谱, 'simplified notation') is the standard music notation across China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, and Myanmar. Like tonic solfa, it is movable-do: the number 1 always represents the tonic of the current key, written as '1 = C', '1 = G', etc. Octave is shown by dots above (higher) or below (lower) the number; durations are shown by dashes (longer) and underlines beneath the number (shorter). Most repertoires for the erhu, dizi, guzheng, and gamelan live in jianpu rather than staff notation.

Etymology & origin

Invented by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in France in 1742, extended by Pierre Galin and Aimé Paris in the 19th century, and introduced to China through missionary schools where it spread rapidly. The Indonesian variant, angka, uses underlines drawn above the numbers instead of below; the underlying system is the same.

In context

Example	What it means
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1̇	Ascending major scale, 1 through 1̇ (octave above, marked with a dot)
1 = C, 3/4 | 5 5 5 | 3 - - |	Three-quarter time in C major: three fifths followed by a dotted-half third
5̲ 6̲ 5 3	Two eighth notes (single underline) followed by two quarter notes

Sources

Reference: en.wikipedia.org , consulted for the definition above; DomiSol's wording is original.