Textual Research and Identification of Thirteen Poems Suspected to Be LIU Xiyi’s Works Found in the Dunhuang Library Cave

A plethora of poems had been found in the Dunhuang Library Cave. Among the poems, some scholars claim that there are thirteen ones composed by LIU Xiyi, a renowned poet of the early Tang Dynasty. The 13 poems are On the First Passage over the Mountains and Past Lingjiu and Two Temples in Shaozhou: A Poem Inspired by the Two Adjacent Temples, Feelings on the River, Northern Mountain Mang (The Southern Bridge), The Lone Crane, Inspiration from Thoughts of a Beloved (Seven Spontaneous Poems), and A Reply (Two Poems). However, it remains contentious to authors of the 13 poems aforementioned due to the lack of thorough and detailed textual analysis. Recent research suggests that Northern Mountain Mang (The Southern Bridge) and The Lone Crane are indeed LIU’s works, while On the First Passage over the Mountains and Past Lingjiu and Two Temples in Shaozhou and Feelings on the River are more likely by SONG Zhiwen, another famous poet of the early Tang Dynasty. Inspiration from Thoughts of a Beloved (Seven Spontaneous Poems) and A Reply (Two Poems) might have been composed by sojourners in Dunhuang, far from their home.