《叶净能诗》
话本是说唱故事的底本，隋唐时把讲故事称为“说话”，“说话”的底稿或记录都可以称为话本。原来一般认为话本小说开始于宋代，直到藏经洞中出土了唐代话本，大家才认识到唐代不仅孕育着话本小说的雏形，甚至远在西北的敦煌都已经广泛传抄。敦煌文献S.6836《叶净能诗》出自于藏经洞，这件文献虽然卷末题名为“叶净能诗”，但其实并不是诗作，而是一部像小说一样的话本。
《叶净能诗》充满了奇幻色彩。叶净能是唐高宗、武则天时有名的方士。在这件话本中，叶净能在会稽山修道有成，赴长安途中降妖除害；后来被唐玄宗召见，斩龙祈雨，还带着玄宗神游剑南观灯，并在中秋游月宫。《叶净能诗》里的各种怪谈，在唐人多部笔记小说中已有记载，这件话本是把已有的奇幻故事编排到叶净能的身上。特别是其中“唐明皇游月宫”的情节，这个充满想象力的人类登月故事，在唐代就有多种版本并逐渐成为一个广为流传的题材，后来还以此创作出杂剧、小说、绘画等。
The Stories of Ye Jingneng
The term "huaben" refers to scripts used for storytelling, which were known as "shuohua" during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Therefore, the manuscripts, or records of shuohua, can also be called huaben. Previously, most believed that huaben novels began in the Song Dynasty. However, the discovery of Tang-dynasty huaben in the Library Cave made it clear that the Tang Dynasty nurtured the embryonic form of huaben novels, but such works were already widely copied in far-off Dunhuang in the northwest. The Dunhuang manuscript S.6836, titled The Stories of Ye Jingneng, was also founded in the Mogao Caves. Although this document is titled The Stories of Ye Jingneng at the end, it is not a collection of poems but rather a huaben resembling a novel.
The Stories of Ye Jingneng is filled with elements of fantasy. Ye Jingneng was a renowned sorcerer during the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty. In this huaben, Ye attains enlightenment while practicing Taoism in Kuaiji Mountain and encounters various demons and hazards on his way to Chang'an. Later, he is summoned by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to slay a dragon and pray for rain. He also takes Xuanzong on a magical journey to Jian'nan to observe lanterns and even visits the Moon Palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The various strange tales in The Stories of Ye Jingneng have been documented in many Tang-dynasty notes and novels. This huaben compiles existing fantastical stories and attributes them to Ye Jingneng. Notably, the episode in which Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Visits the Moon Palace features an imaginative narrative about human lunar exploration which had multiple versions during the Tang Dynasty and gradually became a widely-circulated theme. This story later inspired various forms of art including dramas, novels, and paintings.
