关于贞元八年（公元792年）科举“龙虎榜”中的穆贽究竟是谁，自北宋乐史《登科记》《文苑英华》南宋校订本产生以来便众说纷纭，其后《登科记考》及《登科记考补正》等文献所记对此亦悬而未决。通过对穆贽与中唐河南诸穆在登第时间、仕宦经历、行第称谓、起名规范诸方面的考察，认为贞元八年（公元792年）登第的穆贽，为穆审之子，穆宁之侄，与赞、质、员、赏等为从兄弟，是僖宗时宣武节度使仁裕之父，曾任兵部员外郎。基于此，《全唐文》所收《与僧彦范书》的作者当为穆贽而非穆质。

There are different opinions on who Mu Zhi is in the "Dragon and Tiger Announcement" of the imperial examination in the 8th year of Zhenyuan period ( 792 ) since the emergence of the revised edition of  Wenyuan Yinghua  in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was recorded in the literature of  Deng Ke Ji Kao  and  Supplements to Deng ke ji kao  Through the investigation of Mu Zhi and the Henan Mu surname in the middle Tang Dynasty in the time of Successful Candidates in Imperial Exams,the official experience, the brothers ranking order, and the standardization of the name, it is believed that Mu Zhi, who Being Admitted to Successful Candidates in Imperial Exams in the 8th year of  Zhenyuan period ( 792 ), was the son of Mu Shen, the nephew of Mu Ning, and the brother of Mu Zan, Mu Zhi, Mu Yuan, and Mu Shang. He was the father of Mu Renyu, the Military Governor of Xuanwujun during the reign of Xizong, and had been a councilor of the Ministry of War in feudal China. Based on this, the author of  Quan Tang Wen  and A letter to the monk Yan Fan should be Mu Zhi rather than Mu Zhi.