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Synopsis and Outline of “The Story of the Story of Li Yan”
Roger Des Forges, September 2009
The story of the Henanese literatus whose advice to Li Zicheng helped him to win broad support to overthrow the Ming dynasty in 1644 and whose assassination contribute to Li Zicheng’s failure to establish his own enduring dynasty first appeared in 1644 or 1645 and has lasted to the present day despite doubts about his historicity expressed from very early on to at least 2004. The discovery of a genealogy containing Li Yan in 2005 may radically change the debate or it may simply contribute to the growth of the story. This paper explores why the story has lasted so long and offers preliminary speculation on the significance of the recently discovered genealogy.
- Orgins
- Diaries: Liu Shizong, Zhao Shijin
- Novels: Hulu daoren, Peng Haozi
- Histories: Tan Qian, Gu Yingtai…Wang Hongxu, Zhang Tingyu
- Doubts
- Lack of Records: gazetteers, diaries, histories
- Denials: gazetteers, a history
- Persistence
- Literature: Anon., Dong Hengyan
- Histories: Xu Ci, Zhao Zkongfu…Meng Sen, Li Wenzhi, Xie Guozhen
- Development
- Histories: Guo Moruo, Cao Guilin
- Literature: Ma Shaobo, Yao Xueyin
- Denial
- Beijing: Gu Cheng
- Henan: Luan Xing, Qin Xinlin
- Persistence
- Beijing: Wang Chunyu, Yuan Liangyi
- Henan: Wang Xingya, Cheng Feng
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