Creative Motivation of Li Wa Biography There are three main views on Bai Xingjian's creative motivation of Li Wa Biography in this century:
The first view is that Biography of Li Wa is the product of the struggle between cattle and Li. This theory was initiated by Liu Kezhuang in Song Dynasty. Some scholars in modern times also hold this view. For example, when Liu Kairong discussed "the author Bai Xingjian's life experience and his position and attitude in writing Li Wa Biography" in the Study of Novels in the Tang Dynasty, he thought that Bai Juyi, the brother of Bai Xingjian, belonged to the Niu Party, and was framed by the Li Party and demoted to Jiangzhou Sima, which "greatly damaged the reputation and status of Bai and his family in society" and Bai Xingjian "held a grudge against him among the people".
The second view was put forward by Bian. In the new exploration of Biography of Li Wa, he first analyzed the viewpoint that Biography of Li Wa was the product of the struggle between Niu and Li proposed by scholars such as Liu Kairong, and thought that the creation of Biography of Li Wa did not conform to the historical facts in the early stage of the struggle between Niu and Li. Then he analyzed the political and social situation in the Tang Dynasty and Bai's family background, and thought that "Bai Xingjian's establishment of three concubines was actually a disadvantage of the times.
The third view is that the writing of Li Wa Biography has no deep meaning. According to Hou's Novel History of Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Bai Xingjian was written with the support and encouragement of Li Gongzuo after listening to other people's stories about Li Wa. Some scholars believe that Bai Xingjian is based on the folk rap story A Flower.
According to the statement that "Yi Hai is old" at the end of Li Wa Zhuan, scholars with average writing time think that Li Wa Zhuan was written in the eleventh year of Zhenyuan. However, Liu Kairong's A Study of Novels in the Tang Dynasty expressed doubts about this: "From the point of view of form and content, it can't be a work in Zhenyuan period", but it failed to find out the exact writing time.
The two most influential viewpoints in this century are Dai Wangshu's theory of "the 21st year of Zhenyuan" and Bian's theory of "the 14th year of Yuanhe".