Lǐ Gōng 李龏 (fl. early-to-mid 13th c.), zì Héfǔ 和父. A native of Hézé 菏澤 in Cáozhōu 曹州 (modern Shāndōng 山東). A late-Sòng poet-editor and the lifelong friend, co-cyclical-year coeval, and posthumous anthologist of Zhōu Bì 周弼 (周弼).
Lifedates. From his own preface to KR4d0369 (dated Bǎoyòu dīngsì 1257, winter solstice), Lǐ Gōng records that he and Zhōu Bì were “born in the same gēngzǐ cyclical year” (同庚生), were “neighbours” (同寓里), and had “discussed poetry for more than thirty years” (相與往來論詩三十餘年). The shared gēngzǐ year is conventionally taken to be Qìngyuán 6 (1200), though some scholars argue for Jiāxī 4 (1204). In 1257 Zhōu was already deceased; Lǐ Gōng was still living and editing his works. Lǐ’s own death-year is unknown but presumably falls in the late 1250s or 1260s. CBDB person 41398.
Identity and editorial role. Lǐ Gōng’s principal documented activity is his two-stage editorial work on Zhōu Bì’s poetry: (1) the earlier 12-juàn Duānpíng jí 端平集, which Lǐ had cut for circulation in Zhōu’s lifetime (the parent collection, now lost); and (2) the 4-juàn posthumous Duānpíng shījùn 端平詩雋 (KR4d0369), assembled in 1257 by selecting from the parent collection and adding “some two hundred further pieces obtained outside the collection”. The editorial principles — favouring works accessible to “late-learners” (wǎnxué) over the more demanding pieces — are explicitly stated in his preface and represent one of the few surviving statements of editorial intent in Sòng-internal poetry anthologies.
Lǐ Gōng’s printing arrangements for both collections were with the Wànrén Hǎi Yúnchén shūshú 萬人海芸陳書塾 (or, in the Sìkù tíyào’s reading, the Lín’ānfǔ Péngběijiē Chén Jiěyuán shūjípù 臨安府棚北街陳解元書籍舖) — the late-Sòng commercial book-shop of the publisher Chén Qǐ 陳起, central figure of the Jiānghú publishing milieu.
Other writings. Lǐ Gōng is also recorded as the author of poetry in the late-Sòng Jiānghú style; a small portion of his own verse survives in the Quán Sòng shī 全宋詩.
Sources. Lǐ Gōng’s own preface to KR4d0369 (the principal direct source); CBDB 41398.
Works in the Kanripo corpus. KR4d0369 Duānpíng shījùn 端平詩雋 (editor, biān 編 — selection and posthumous compilation of Zhōu Bì’s poetry).