. @TheWarNerd asked me if famous Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai was really born in Suyab, Kyrgyzstan. I thought I had an easy answer. Then I quickly went down the rabbit hole of explaining near impossible tale of how China’s most famous poet born in the heart of Central Asia. A thread

Turns out Li Bai’s family background shrouded in mystery. We only have brief accounts frm Li Bai himself and his close family and friends. All suggest Li Bai family moved to Sichuan from Central Asia in 705 AD before he was 5 yr old and he descends frm Royal house of Xi Liang西凉

Primary source on Li Bai family background: his writing, his Uncle’s memoir and his Tomb inscription. But details scant on how his family ended up settling in Central Asia. Famous scholar Chen Yinke 陈寅恪 thinks Li is non-Chinese origin.

Kyrgyzstan stamp commemorating Li Bai

In 草堂集序 the intro to Li Bai’s work, Li’s Clan Uncle 李陽冰 wrote: 李白字太白，隴西成紀人。涼武昭王暠九世孫，蟬聯珪組，世為顯著，中葉非罪，謫居條支，易姓與名。然自窮蟬至舜，五世為庶，累世不大曜，亦可歎焉。神龍之始，逃歸於蜀。

Li Bai is 9th gen descendant of King of Xi Liang..

“At some point, Li ancestor because of unspecified transgression had to move to Central Asia, change their original surname Li, living as commoner for 5 generations and only fled back to Sichuan in 705AD.”

條支: an old Chinese name for Persia and is generic term for Central Asia

李陽冰 is Li Bai’s Clan Uncle to whom Li Bai relied on for financial assistance in the last days of his life. His writing is also oldest source on Li Bai family other than Li Bai’s own writing. It established exact time when Li Bai family moved frm Central Asia to Sichuan

Li Bai tomb inscription 贈左拾遺翰林學士李公新墓碑 by old family friend added more detail: 凉武昭王九代孫也。隋末多難，一房被竄於碎葉，流離散落，隱易姓名。
9th gen descendant of Xi Liang King. Family took refuge in Suyab (Central Asia). Changed surnames from Li to something else

故自國朝已來，漏於屬籍。神龍初，潛還廣漢。因僑爲郡人。父客，以逋其邑，遂以客爲名
Further adds Li Bai family went to Central Asia to escape chaos of fall of Sui Dynasty. 100 yr later returned and re-adopt Li surname. Li Bai’s Dad name himself 客because he is a guest in Sichuan.

In other words, Li Bai’s Dad didn’t have a Chinese name before they migrated from Central Asia to Sichuan. Nor did they use the surname Li while living in Central Asia

Li Bai himself asserted his descent from Royal Li Clan of Xi Liang (400-421AD purple below ) in his own writings: 本家隴西人，先爲漢邊將 and 白本家金陵，世為右姓。遭沮渠蒙遜之難，奔流鹹秦，因官寓家。少長江漢

If we take this claim at face value, then Li Bai related to Tang rulers

But Tang Dynasty rulers nvr acknowledged kinship w Li Bai family. We also know Tang founder claim to descend frm Royal Li Clan of Longxi is in fact bogus because main branch of Longxi Li Clan nvr acknowledged kinship w Tang ancestors before they made it big.

It was fashionable to claim kinship w Imperial Li Clan of Tang. As Kyrgyz destroyed Uighur Khaganate in Mongolia in 840 AD, Kyrgyz Khagan claim to descend from General Li Ling captured by Xiongnu in 1st cen BC, thereby related to Imperial Li Clan of Tang. Tang Emperor accepted!

There are some potential problem with Li Bai family claim. When their family fled to Suyab, it was still the heartland of Western Turkic Khaganate. Why would Li Bai family flee frm civil war of Sui dynasty collapse all the way to Imperial court of Western Turks?!!!

What we do know from 唐左拾遺翰林學士李公新墓碑並序 Li Bai’s tomb inscription is that when Li Bai met Tang Emperor, his talent included read/write foreign language 草答蕃書，辯如懸河，筆不停綴. Li Bai grew up in Sichuan but prbly picked up from his Central Asian immigrant family

Li Bai also named 1 of his son 李頗黎, 頗黎 is obviously Chinese transcription of Old Turkic name Bori (Wolf).