A Probe into History of the Poet LI Shen and His Family in Mid Tang Period

About the history of the Mid-Tang poet LI Shen and his family, A New Book of Tang and both old and new edition of it have stated that they were from Shandong and descendents of family Li in Zhao prefecture. This, in fact, was revised by LI Shen's grandfather LI Jing-xuan. LI's family, according to A New Book of Tang, could only be traced back their nine-generation ancestor. Those further back could only be called LI's ancestors generally. This is what LI Jing-xuan did in the form of combining their chronicles of Family LI in an attempt to deceive the public. The event that LI Jingxuan was conferred Duke Zhao was a sign of recognition of their family in Shandong. Later, LI shen became prime minister, and was conferred as Duke of Zhao prefecture. And their distinguished family was finally recognized by historians.