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出师表

The Memorial on Going to War (Chu Shi Biao)

诸葛亮

Zhuge Liang

名篇Masterpiece 奏疏Memorial (royal address) 忠义Loyalty and righteousness

先帝创业未半而中道崩殂，今天下三分，益州疲弊，此诚危急存亡之秋也。
然侍卫之臣不懈于内，忠志之士忘身于外者，盖追先帝之殊遇，欲报之于陛下也。
诚宜开张圣听，以光先帝遗德，恢弘志士之气，不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失义，以塞忠谏之路也。
宫中府中，俱为一体，陟罚臧否，不宜异同。
若有作奸犯科及为忠善者，宜付有司论其刑赏，以昭陛下平明之理，不宜偏私，使内外异法也。

The late Emperor fell before his great undertaking was half fulfilled; now the realm is divided three ways, and Yizhou is weary and spent — this is truly the critical hour of life and death.
The court and the administration are one body; in reward and demotion, in praise and blame, there must be no double standard. If any break the law or serve with loyal devotion, let the proper offices fix their penalty or reward, to display Your Majesty's impartial and enlightened rule, and show no favor that would make palace and court obey different laws.

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Meaning

Zhuge Liang warns the young ruler Liu Shan that the state faces a moment of mortal danger, with Yizhou exhausted and the realm split. He urges the ruler to heed counsel widely, honor the late Emperor's virtue, and rouse the spirit of loyal subjects, rather than belittle himself and block the path of honest advice. He further insists that court and administration form one body and that law must be applied without favoritism, inner or outer alike.

先帝开创的大业还没有完成一半，就在中途去世了。如今天下分成魏、蜀、吴三国鼎立的局面，我们益州地方困乏疲弊，这确实是形势危急、决定存亡的关键时刻啊。可是宫廷里侍奉守卫的臣子，在内毫不懈怠；忠诚有志的将士，在外舍生忘死——这都是因为追念先帝对他们特殊的恩遇，想要报答在陛下身上啊。陛下实在应该广开言路、听取意见，来发扬光大先帝遗留下来的美德，振奋志士们的士气；不应该随便看轻自己，说话不合大义，以致堵塞了臣子们尽忠进谏的道路。皇宫中的侍臣和相府里的官员，本是一个整体，赏善罚恶，评定好坏，不应有所不同。如果有作奸犯科的人，或者尽忠行善的人，都应当交给主管部门，评定他们的刑罚和奖赏，来显扬陛下公正严明的治理；不应该偏袒徇私，使宫内和宫外有不同的法度。

Appreciation

This is a landmark memorial blending parallel and prose styles, built with rigorous structure and fused feeling and reason. It first states the crisis, then explains the loyalty of the court, and finally sets forth the ruler's duties and the principle of impartial law, advancing step by step. The language leans on balanced antithesis and measured particles, earnest yet graceful, persuasion that is both clear and humble.

【白话串讲】 “先帝创业未半而中道崩殂”——诸葛亮写《出师表》。“今天下三分，益州疲弊，此诚危急存亡之秋也”——“受任于败军之际，奉命于危难之间”——“鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已”——他北伐前写给刘禅。千百年后，陆游说：“出师一表真名世，千载谁堪伯仲间”。【意象与手法】本文是骈散结合的奏疏名篇，结构谨严、情理交融：先陈危急之势，再析人臣之心，后申为君之道与用人之法，层层逼进。语言上多用对仗（「侍卫之臣不懈于内，忠志之士忘身于外」）、排比与虚词转折，语气恳切，说理透辟而不失臣子的谦恭【情感与主旨】全文核心是「忠」与「忧」：忠在先帝之托付，忧在国势之危殆。诸葛亮以老臣口吻叮咛后主，将个人命运与蜀汉存亡融为一体，一片赤诚溢于言表，千载之下犹令人动容【名句点睛】「此诚危急存亡之秋也」以警语定全篇基调；「不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失义，以塞忠谏之路」与「陟罚臧否，不宜异同」皆为千古规谏名句，体现严于法治、广开言路的政治智慧

Background

The Memorial on Going to War was written in 227 CE, the fifth year of Jianxing of Shu-Han, as Zhuge Liang prepared to lead the northern campaign and presented it to the young ruler Liu Shan. Zhuge Liang (181–234), styled Kongming, of Langya Yangdu, lived in retirement at Longzhong in his youth until Liu Bei visited him thrice in his thatched cottage and won his service; he helped found Shu-Han and rose to Chancellor, enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuxiang. The background was grim: after Liu Bei's crushing defeat at Yiling and death at Baidi, Shu was badly weakened, the south had just been pacified, while the northern Wei and eastern Wu loomed as threats. Liu Shan was youthful and indulgent, leaving the state to Zhuge Liang alone. Knowing the northern campaign was the only road to revive the Han, Zhuge Liang submitted this memorial on the eve of departure. Repeatedly invoking the late Emperor, it is both sincere feeling and shrewd counsel — using the father's will to bind the son and the father's favor to rouse the ministers. A later memorial followed the next year, with the famous line 'bow till you drop, die only when done.'

《出师表》作于蜀汉建兴五年（公元227年），是诸葛亮率军北伐前向后主刘禅呈上的奏章。诸葛亮（181—234），字孔明，琅琊阳都人，少时隐居隆中，躬耕陇亩，刘备三顾茅庐后方出山辅佐，助刘备联孙抗曹、建立蜀汉，官至丞相，封武乡侯。此表创作的时代背景极为严峻：刘备于夷陵之战惨败后病逝白帝城，蜀汉元气大伤，南中叛乱初平，而魏国雄踞中原、兵强马壮，吴国据有江东、虎视在侧。后主刘禅年幼即位，宠信宦官，国政赖诸葛亮独力支撑。诸葛亮深知北伐是兴复汉室的唯一出路，也是维系蜀汉政权合法性的必然选择，故于临行之际上表劝谏。表中反复以「先帝」为念，既是真实情感的流露，也有深沉的现实考量——以先帝遗志约束后主，以先帝殊遇激励群臣，使上下同心。此表又有前、后两篇，前表作于北伐之初，即本篇所节选部分，劝谏重点是广开言路、执法公平；后表作于次年，有「鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已」的名言。后人将两表并称，视为忠臣泣血的肺腑之作。

Art

This is the supreme model of the memorial form, a public document blending parallel and prose. A memorial is an address from subject to sovereign requiring earnest feeling and clear argument, and this is its perfection. Structurally it opens with the alarm 'the critical hour of peril and survival,' setting the theme; it then analyzes why courtiers 'never slacken within' and 'forget themselves without' — tracing it to gratitude for the late Emperor's grace, proving Shu still has hope; it turns to counsel, opposing 'open your sacred hearing' and 'widen the spirit of the loyal' against the negative warnings 'do not slight yourself' and 'speak what misfits the right,' bright against dark; the closing passage turns to law, arguing 'palace and ministry are one body' and that reward and punishment must know no favor. In language it favors four-character lines and antithesis — 'slacken within' against 'forget themselves without' — with particles like 'yet,' 'truly,' 'should not' carrying the turns, layered and gentle. It shuns ornament and allusion, trusting plain statement, the very model of persuading by reason and moving by feeling.

本文是奏疏体（表）中的千古名篇，属于骈散结合的公牍散文。表是臣下向君主陈情的文体，历来要求情辞恳切、说理明晰，本文正是这一文体的极致范本。章法结构上，文章以「危急存亡之秋」的警语开篇，先立全篇纲目；接着分析朝中内外臣子「不懈于内」「忘身于外」的原因，归结于「追先帝之殊遇」，从人心入手论证蜀汉尚有可为；然后转入劝谏的主体，提出「开张圣听」「光先帝遗德」「恢弘志士之气」的正面主张，与「妄自菲薄」「引喻失义」的反面告诫相对照，正反对举、褒贬分明；末段转论执法，以「宫中府中，俱为一体」立论，主张「陟罚臧否，不宜异同」「付有司论其刑赏」，强调法治平等，反对偏私。语言艺术上，全文多用四字句与对偶（「不懈于内」对「忘身于外」、「作奸犯科」对「为忠善者」、「平明之理」对「内外异法」），节奏整饬而气势充沛；同时杂以「然」「诚宜」「不宜」「若有」等虚词转折，使说理层层推进、语气恳切委婉。通篇不尚藻饰、不用典故，而以直陈见长，是「以理服人、以情动人」的公牍典范。

Allusions

Though it piles up no allusions, the piece is steeped in the core categories of Chinese political ethics. 'The late Emperor' and 'the undertaking' evoke the orthodox ideal of 'reviving the Han house' — Liu Bei claimed Han blood, and Shu rooted its legitimacy in that inheritance, so 'the undertaking half done' lifts the war to a moral duty. 'The critical hour of peril and survival' echoes the Analects' sense of crisis and Mencius' 'survive by worry, perish in ease,' the classic gentleman's vigilance. 'Open your sacred hearing' derives from the Documents' 'open the four eyes, clear the four ears,' while 'slight yourself' hints at the rites' care in speech. 'Demotion and praise' comes from the Documents' canon on triennial assessment — promotion, punishment, approval, blame — fusing Legalist 'two handles' of reward and penalty with Confucian 'virtue first.' The thread of 'repaying grace' runs throughout, the gratitude culture projected onto ruler and minister, akin to the Songs' 'you gave me a peach, I return a jade.' Together these forge the memorial's character of loyalty and righteousness.

《出师表》虽不堆砌典故，其文化内涵却极为深厚，处处关涉中国传统政治与伦理的核心范畴。其一，「先帝」与「创业」之语，关涉「兴复汉室」的正统观念。刘备以汉室宗亲自居，蜀汉政权以继承汉统为合法性根基，表中反复言「先帝创业未半」，正是将北伐置于「继先帝之遗志」的道德高度。其二，「危急存亡之秋」化用《论语》「天将以夫子为木铎」的时代忧患意识，与《孟子》「生于忧患，死于安乐」的安危之辨一脉相承，是传统士大夫「居安思危」精神的直接体现。其三，「开张圣听」本于《尚书》「明四目，达四聪」的圣王听政之训，「妄自菲薄」则暗合《礼记》「言必虑其所终」的慎言之道，皆以经典为政治规谏背书。其四，「陟罚臧否」四字出自《尚书·舜典》「三载考绩，三考黜陟幽明」的考课制度，「陟」为升迁、「罚」为惩处、「臧」为嘉许、「否」为贬斥，四字涵盖赏罚褒贬的全部机制，体现法家「刑赏二柄」与儒家「德主刑辅」的融合。其五，「报恩」观念贯穿全篇——「欲报之于陛下」，是感恩文化在君臣关系中的投射，与《诗经》「投我以木桃，报之以琼瑶」的报恩传统相通。这些观念共同铸就了《出师表》「忠义」的文化品格。

Commentary

The Memorial is the peak of Chinese political prose, its influence stretching across ages. Chen Shou of Jin included it whole in the Records of the Three Kingdoms and noted Zhuge Liang 'rewarded even foes who served the age, punished even kin who broke the law,' matching the text's legalism with practice. Du Fu in Shu sang 'thrice summoned, the realm's great plan; two reigns served, the old minister's heart,' and 'the campaign unfinished, the man dead, heroes weep forever' — the same devotion. Lu You called it 'truly famed for ages, none since its equal'; Wen Tianxiang numbered Kongming among the righteous breath. Later emperors used it to exhort ministers, scholars to steel their character; Yue Fei copied it before resisting the Jin. It founded the 'feeling as text' tradition of memorials, influencing Li Mi's Memorial on Filial Feeling and Wei Zheng's Ten Admonitions. Today its lines are national symbols, their worth lying not in style but in a statesman pouring his whole life into words.

《出师表》是中国政治散文的巅峰之作，其影响贯穿古今、泽被士林。三国之后，此文即被奉为忠臣范本：晋人陈寿《三国志》全文收录，并评诸葛亮「尽忠益时者虽仇必赏，犯法怠慢者虽亲必罚」，可见表中法治思想与其行政实践一致。唐代杜甫在蜀中凭吊武侯祠，作「三顾频烦天下计，两朝开济老臣心」，又于《蜀相》中「出师未捷身先死，长使英雄泪满襟」，所咏正是此表背后的鞠躬尽瘁精神。宋代陆游《书愤》「出师一表真名世，千载谁堪伯仲间」，将《出师表》推为千古第一奏章；文天祥《正气歌》亦取孔明忠义为正气之列。后世帝王常以之勉励臣下，士子则以之砥砺节操，岳飞更于抗金之际手书《出师表》以明志。就文学史而言，此文确立了「以情为文」的奏疏传统：此后李密《陈情表》以孝动人、魏征《谏太宗十思疏》以理谏君，皆受其影响。现代以来，《出师表》长期入选中学语文教材，「鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已」「危急存亡之秋」等语已成为民族精神符号。其价值不在辞采，而在一个政治家将全部生命与信念注入文字的赤诚。

Prosody

Form Memorial (biao) form, a parallel-prose public document奏疏体表文，骈散结合的散体公文

Rhyme As prose it does not rhyme, yet it closes lines with particles like 'ye' and 'yi' to form a ringing, sighing breath; line-final words like 'inner,' 'outer,' 'spirit,' 'path,' 'rule,' 'difference,' 'law' all fall on oblique tones, giving each sentence decisive weight. Antithesis and particles ('yet,' 'truly,' 'should not,' 'if') link sentence to sentence, making a wave of regular and loose rhythm.本文为散文体奏章，不押韵，但通篇以「也」「矣」等语气词收句，形成回环咏叹的声气；「内」「外」「气」「路」「理」「异」「法」等句尾字皆以仄声收束，使每句读来都有决断之力。句与句之间靠对偶与虚词（然、盖、诚宜、不宜、若有）衔接，形成「整—散—整」的节奏波浪。

Tone pattern Mostly four-character lines ('Yizhou is spent,' 'all are one body,' 'demotion and praise'), mixed with five- and six-character and long clauses, short and long interlaced; the drumbeat of four-character lines and the river-flow of long ones balance urgency and ease into an earnest, unhurried tone of counsel. Many judgment lines close on 'ye,' firm yet tactful, fitting a minister's voice.句式以四字句为主（「益州疲弊」「俱为一体」「陟罚臧否」），杂以五言、六言及长句，长短相间、骈散交错：四字句如鼓点急促，长句如江河纡徐，急徐相济，形成恳切而不迫促的进谏语调。多处以「也」字收尾的判断句，语气坚定而不失委婉，正合臣子上书的身份与口吻。

Reading note Though a prose document, its rhythm is finely crafted, a model of 'sound aiding feeling.' It does not rhyme but is ruled by the particle 'ye': such lines abound, not by chance — a memorial read aloud to the throne needs long breath and broken sense, and 'ye' both completes the judgment and creates a three-fold sigh, as if an old minister speaks face to face. Zhuge Liang uses four-character lines for solemn haste — 'now the realm divided, Yizhou spent,' 'palace and ministry, one body,' 'demotion and praise, no difference' — crisp as military orders, then opens into long clauses at the crises, one breath through, short and long alternating, matching the 'first warn, then counsel' layering. His antitheses — 'slacken within' against 'forget themselves without,' 'honor the late Emperor's virtue' against 'widen the loyal spirit,' 'clear rule' against 'different laws' — are natural yet musical. A Qing critic called it 'earnest to the heart, as if from the lungs' — sound and feeling together make a document literature.《出师表》虽为散体公文，其节奏声韵却极具匠心，是「以声助情」的典范。全文不押韵，而以语气词「也」字统领句读——据统计，本篇「也」字句俯拾即是，这并非偶然：奏疏上达君听，诵读须气长而意断，「也」字收句既使判断完整，又造成一唱三叹的声气，读来如老臣当面陈词，恳切之情随声气流转。句式上，诸葛亮善用四字句营造庄重急促之势：「今天下三分，益州疲弊」「宫中府中，俱为一体」「陟罚臧否，不宜异同」，皆为四字连排，如军令般斩截；又在紧要处放开为长句：「然侍卫之臣不懈于内，忠志之士忘身于外者，盖追先帝之殊遇，欲报之于陛下也」，一气贯注、曲折尽意，短促与纡徐交替，正与劝谏内容「先警后劝」的层次相应。对偶句的运用更使文章有韵律之美：「不懈于内」对「忘身于外」，「光先帝遗德」对「恢弘志士之气」，「平明之理」对「内外异法」，词性相对、平仄相调，虽不刻意求工，而自然成韵。清人评此文「恳恻周至，如肺肝而出」，正因其声情并茂、情理兼胜，使一篇公文成为传诵千古的文学作品。

Line by line

先帝创业未半而中道崩殂，今天下三分，益州疲弊，此诚危急存亡之秋也。

The late Emperor fell before his great work was half done; now the realm is split three ways and Yizhou is spent — this is truly the critical hour of peril and survival. (Opens with a four-fold sketch of the crisis, setting the anxious tone; 'half done' and 'midway' voice regret and sudden loss, while 'truly' and 'critical hour' hammer the warning home.)

先帝开创的大业还未完成一半就在中途去世了；如今天下三分鼎立，益州疲乏困弊，这确实是决定存亡的危急时刻啊。

The Late Emperor's enterprise was half begun when, midway, he passed away; today the realm is divided in three, and Yizhou is worn and exhausted — this is truly the season of desperate peril and survival.

这是全表的开篇警语，四句之内完成了形势的全面勾勒，定下全文忧危的基调。首句「创业未半而中道崩殂」以「未半」「中道」两个时间状语，写出大业未竟的遗憾与先帝骤逝的突然，为后文「追先帝之殊遇」「报之于陛下」埋下情感伏笔。次句「今天下三分」以冷静的笔触交代三国鼎立的政治格局，「今」字领起，将古（先帝）与今（当下）对照，凸显事业接续的紧迫。第三句「益州疲弊」以四字直陈蜀汉国力之困——刘备夷陵之败后，蜀中物力凋敝，此语非危言耸听，而是实事求是的战略分析。末句「此诚危急存亡之秋也」以判断句收束，「诚」字加重语气，「危急存亡之秋」将抽象的形势凝为警钟，是全篇的「眼」。四句由远及近、由整体到局部，层层收拢，最后落在「存亡」二字上，使后主一读即知事态之严峻，为全篇劝谏立下不容回避的立足点。

This is the opening warning of the whole memorial, completing in four clauses a full survey of the situation and fixing the mournful, vigilant tone. The Late Emperor's enterprise was half begun when, midway, he passed away uses the two time-adverbs half and midway, writing the regret of the unfinished work and the suddenness of the emperor's death, planting the emotional ground for cherishing the Late Emperor's extraordinary favor and repaying it to Your Majesty below. Today the realm is divided in three states the political landscape of the tripartite division; the word now sets the ancient (the Late Emperor) against the present, pressing the urgency of succession. Yizhou is worn and exhausted states, in four characters, the exhaustion of Shu's resources — after Liu Bei's defeat at Yiling, the region's means drained; no exaggeration, but a realistic strategic analysis. This is truly the season of desperate peril and survival closes in a judgment sentence; the word truly weighs the tone, and the season of desperate peril and survival condenses the abstract situation into an alarm bell, the eye of the whole. Four clauses from far to near, from whole to part, layer by layer closing, and landing on survival, so that the heir to the throne, reading, knows at once the gravity of the state, establishing the unavoidable footing for the memorial's counsel.

然侍卫之臣不懈于内，忠志之士忘身于外者，盖追先帝之殊遇，欲报之于陛下也。

Yet the guards never slacken within, and loyal hearts forget themselves without — because they cherish the late Emperor's special grace and would repay it to Your Majesty. (The pivot of the argument: after the crisis comes the hope; 'yet' turns from peril to possibility, and the causal 'because' ties the sovereign's favor to the ministers' loyalty, counseling without seeming to.)

可是宫廷侍卫之臣在内毫不懈怠，忠诚有志的将士在外舍生忘死，这都是因为追念先帝特殊的恩遇，想要报答在陛下身上啊。

Yet the officials at guard do not slacken within, and the loyal officers give no thought to their lives without — it is because they cherish the extraordinary favor of the Late Emperor, and wish to repay it to Your Majesty.

这一句是全篇论证的枢纽：在指出危机之后，立即指出希望所在，一忧一喜、一张一弛。作者以「然」字转折，从「危急」转入「可为」，结构上极见匠心。句中「侍卫之臣不懈于内，忠志之士忘身于外」两两对举，内与外相对、不懈与忘身相映，以整饬的骈句铺陈出蜀汉上下同心的士气，为后文「恢弘志士之气」张本。更值得注意的是「盖追先帝之殊遇，欲报之于陛下也」的因果推断：诸葛亮把臣下的忠勤归于「追先帝之殊遇」——以「盖」字引出推测之辞，将君恩与臣忠系于一条感情纽带。这一判断有深意：一方面以先帝之恩凝聚人心，激励臣下继忠旧君；另一方面暗示后主应效法先帝的待士之道，否则人臣之心将无所维系。由人及己、由臣及君，劝谏之意含而不露，深得臣子进言的分寸。

The sentence is the pivot of the whole argument: after pointing out the crisis, it at once points out the hope, one grief and one hope, one tension and one release. The author turns with yet, moving from desperate to possible, a structural craft to note. Within the sentence, the officials at guard do not slacken within and the loyal officers give no thought to their lives without are paired, inner against outer, unslackening against self-forgetting, laying out, in ordered parallel clauses, the morale of a united Shu, preparing for broaden the spirit of his loyal followers below. More notable is the causal inference of it is because they cherish the extraordinary favor of the Late Emperor, and wish to repay it to Your Majesty: Zhuge Liang attributes the officials' loyalty to cherishing the Late Emperor's favor, the word it is introducing the conjectural, binding ruler's grace and official's loyalty into one emotional bond. The judgment is deep: on one hand, the Late Emperor's grace unites the people, urging the officials to continue their loyalty to the old ruler; on the other, it hints that the young ruler should follow the Late Emperor's way with men, or the officials' hearts will have nothing to hold them. From the people to the self, from the officials to the ruler, the remonstrance implied rather than spoken, precisely the due measure of the subject's counsel.

诚宜开张圣听，以光先帝遗德，恢弘志士之气，不宜妄自菲薄，引喻失义，以塞忠谏之路也。

Truly you should open your sacred hearing, to shine the late Emperor's leftover virtue and widen the loyal spirit; do not slight yourself or speak what misfits the right, lest you block the path of honest counsel. (The core admonition, positive against negative: 'open hearing' with its effects versus 'slight yourself' and 'speak amiss' as the two diseases of blocked counsel; 'block' answers 'open,' raising the stakes to the state's survival.)

实在应该广开圣明的听闻，来光大先帝遗留的德业，振奋志士的士气；不应该随便看轻自己，言辞失当不合大义，以致堵塞了忠臣进谏的道路。

You should indeed open wide your sage hearing, to carry on the Late Emperor's legacy of virtue and broaden the spirit of his loyal followers; you should not undervalue yourself or cite inappropriate analogies, and so block the road of loyal remonstrance.

此句正面提出劝谏的核心主张，正反对比、详略得当，是全文说理的典范段落。「诚宜」与「不宜」对举，构成鲜明的取舍结构：「开张圣听」是广开言路的正面主张，「光先帝遗德」「恢弘志士之气」是开张圣听的效果——光德则纲纪立，士气振则人心齐，两两递进；反面则连用「妄自菲薄」「引喻失义」两个四字短语，揭露堵塞言路的两种病源：一是自卑而不敢听，二是失义而不能听。「以塞忠谏之路」的「塞」字与「开」字相对，一开一塞，把言路的通塞提升到政权存亡的高度。全句以「也」字收尾，语气恳切而坚定。值得注意的是其句式：前半两句一韵，后半三句相贯，骈散结合，长短交错，读来抑扬顿挫。诸葛亮不责后主之昏，而劝后主之明，措辞温婉却针针见血，是臣谏艺术的最高境界。

The sentence states the core of the counsel positively, contrasting the positive and the negative with due proportion, the model passage of reasoned statement. You should indeed and you should not are paired in a clear structure of choice: open wide your sage hearing is the positive proposition of opening the channels; carry on the Late Emperor's legacy of virtue and broaden the spirit of his loyal followers are the effects — carry on the virtue and the standards stand, broaden the spirit and the hearts unite, advancing in pairs. The negative piles two four-character phrases, undervalue yourself and cite inappropriate analogies, exposing the two sources of blocking the channels: first, too low an estimate of oneself to hear; second, wrong analogies unable to hear. The word block in block the road of loyal remonstrance set against open, one opening and one blocking, raising the opening and closing of the channels to the height of the regime's survival. The sentence closes in the tone particle, earnest and resolute. Notable is its phrasing: the first half two clauses share a rhyme, the second three flow together, parallel and free mixed, long and short interwoven, read with rise and fall. Zhuge Liang does not blame the young ruler's blindness, but urges his enlightenment; the words gentle yet each point striking, the highest realm of the art of remonstrance.

宫中府中，俱为一体，陟罚臧否，不宜异同。若有作奸犯科及为忠善者，宜付有司论其刑赏，以昭陛下平明之理，不宜偏私，使内外异法也。

The court and the ministry are one body; in promotion, punishment, praise, and blame there must be no difference. If any break the law or serve loyally and well, leave them to the proper offices to fix reward or penalty, to show your just and clear rule; show no favor that would make inner and outer obey different laws. (Turns from hearing to law, breaking the wall between inner court and outer; all by statute, not by kin — 'no favor, no different laws' closes the ring with 'one body,' the legalist heart of the memorial.)

皇宫和相府本是一个整体，升降赏罚、褒贬好坏，不应有所不同。如有作奸犯科或尽忠行善的人，都应交给主管部门评定刑赏，来显扬陛下公正严明的治理，不应偏袒徇私，使内外法度不一。

The palace and the chancery are one body; whether promotion or demotion, praise or blame, there should be no difference of standard. If any commits evil or breaks the law, or acts with loyalty and goodness, let the proper officials judge the punishment or reward, to make plain Your Majesty's just and enlightened rule; there should be no favoritism, that the inner and outer courts may not follow different laws.

末段由言路转论法治，将劝谏推向制度层面，思想价值极高。「宫中府中，俱为一体」首先破除「内廷」与「外朝」的壁垒——东汉宦官专权、外戚干政皆因内外异法，诸葛亮此语直指政治积弊，主张宫府一体、法度划一。「陟罚臧否，不宜异同」八字涵盖赏罚褒贬的全部政务，与《尚书》考绩黜陟的制度精神相通。继而「若有作奸犯科及为忠善者，宜付有司论其刑赏」，主张一切依律断处、不因亲疏远近而移法，是法家「刑过不避大臣，赏善不遗匹夫」精神的儒家化表达；「以昭陛下平明之理」点明执法公正的终极目的——「平明」二字，既要求持平，又要求光明，是传统「明德慎罚」政治理想的凝练。末句「不宜偏私，使内外异法」与前文「俱为一体」遥相呼应，一正一反，首尾闭合。这一劝谏在此后的蜀汉政治中确有落实，史载诸葛亮治蜀「赏罚必信」，正与此表互为印证。

The closing moves from the channels of speech to the rule of law, pushing the counsel to the institutional level, of high value. The palace and the chancery are one body first breaks down the wall between inner court and outer government — the eunuch dictatorships and consort clans of the Eastern Han all arose from different laws within and without; Zhuge Liang's words strike directly at the age's ailment, advocating the unity of palace and chancery, the uniformity of law. Whether promotion or demotion, praise or blame, there should be no difference of standard covers in eight characters the whole business of rewards and praises, in the spirit of the Classic of Documents' system of merit-grading and promotion. Then if any commits evil or breaks the law, or acts with loyalty and goodness, let the proper officials judge the punishment or reward, advocating that all be judged by law, unmoved by nearness or distance, the Confucian expression of the Legalist spirit that punishment spares no minister and reward leaves no commoner; to make plain Your Majesty's just and enlightened rule names the ultimate purpose of just enforcement — just and enlightened, requiring both fairness and clarity, the condensation of the traditional political ideal of bright virtue and cautious punishment. The closing there should be no favoritism, that the inner and outer courts may not follow different laws echoes the earlier are one body, one positive and one negative, the beginning and end closing. This counsel was indeed carried out in the later Shu government, the records that Zhuge Liang's rule of Shu was faithful in rewards and punishments, mutually confirming this memorial.

Study

Word focus

危急存亡之秋 'The critical hour of peril and survival' — 'autumn' (qiu) here means a crucial juncture, as autumn is the season of withering and year's end; thus a moment of life or death. The word is apt: it figures the state's season as late autumn, carries an inherent solemnity matching the alarm, and with 'truly' before and 'ye' after lands like a hammer. It became a fixed phrase for national crisis. 「此诚危急存亡之秋也」之「秋」字，是全篇立论的关键。古人以「秋」为万物肃杀、一年将尽之时，引申为关键的时刻、紧要的关头，故「危急存亡之秋」即生死存亡的关键时刻。这个「秋」字选得极妙：一是以季节之秋喻国势之秋，蜀汉立国未久、内困外逼，恰如草木凋零的晚秋，形象而贴切；二是「秋」字本身带肃杀之气，与「危急存亡」的警惧意味相合，字面与语境浑然一体；三是四字结构凝重，前有「此诚」加重语气，后有「也」字收束判断，读来如重锤击鼓，令人悚然。与「创业未半」「益州疲弊」呼应，「秋」字将客观形势的严峻凝为一句警语，成为全篇的纲领。后世「多事之秋」「危急存亡之秋」遂成为汉语中描写危局的固定表达，可见此词生命力之强。

妄自菲薄 To 'slight oneself without cause' — 'wang' means recklessly, 'feibo' means to undervalue. Zhuge Liang warns the young ruler not to lose heart from the father's death and the state's weakness. The genius is in 'wang': he does not forbid all self-doubt, only groundless self-doubt, keeping his censure measured. Paired with 'speak what misfits the right,' it diagnoses both the heart's and the tongue's disease of a foolish ruler; the phrase entered common speech for 'do not sell yourself short.' 「不宜妄自菲薄」之「妄自菲薄」，是本文创造并流传千古的成语。「妄」者，胡乱、轻率之意；「菲薄」即轻视、看低；四字合起来指过分地看轻自己。诸葛亮以此规谏后主，劝其不要因先帝新丧、国力疲弊而自轻自弃、畏葸不前。此词的妙处有二：其一，「妄」字精准——并非完全否定「菲薄」，而是否定「妄」即没有根据的菲薄，留有余地而分寸不乱，可见用词之严谨；其二，「菲薄」本指物之微薄（如菲薄之礼），移以写人的自我贬抑，语带自谦古意而贬义分明。与下句「引喻失义」对举，「妄自菲薄」是心气之病，「引喻失义」是言辞之病，一内一外，构成对昏君之病的完整诊断。此词后来进入全民语汇，凡劝人自尊自信皆用「切勿妄自菲薄」，其规谏对象的普适性，正是诸葛亮语言生命力的证明。

陟罚臧否 Promotion, punishment, approval, blame — four characters covering the whole machinery of reward and censure. 'Zhi' is advancement, 'fa' penalty, 'zang' praise, 'fei' blame, rising against falling, praise against blame. Drawn from the Documents' canon on assessment, it condenses Legalist 'two handles' into direct counsel to the throne: equal law, sure reward and punishment, paving the way for 'draw near the worthy, far the petty.' 「陟罚臧否，不宜异同」之「陟罚臧否」，四字凝括了国家赏罚褒贬的全部机制，是全文法治思想的核心表达。「陟」为升迁，「罚」为惩处，「臧」为嘉许，「否」为贬斥——两两相对，升与降对、褒与贬对，涵盖人事任免与功过评定。四字连用，节奏短促有力，如鼓点般顿挫，读来有斩钉截铁之势。此语本于《尚书·舜典》「黜陟幽明」的考课古训，诸葛亮化「黜陟」为「陟罚」、增「臧否」之对，使对偶更工、语义更全。「不宜异同」四字紧随其后，以「不宜」领起反面告诫，「异同」为偏义复词，重在「异」——内外不同法、亲疏不同刑，正是政治腐败的根源。这一句将先秦以来的「刑赏二柄」思想转化为对君主的直接规谏，法度平等、赏罚信明，是《出师表》政治思想的精华，也为其后「亲贤臣，远小人」的用人主张作了铺垫。

出师表