WHY THIS CLASSIC
为什么入选
文章兼具劝谏、陈情与自叙，语气由理入情而不失分寸。它适合训练论说层次、称谓关系和情感节制，也能与《三国演义》的文学形象互相参照。
The memorial combines counsel, personal appeal, and autobiography while moving from reason to emotion with restraint. It supports close study of argumentative order, forms of address, and the difference between history and later fiction.
READING CONTEXT
阅读坐标
蜀汉建兴五年，诸葛亮准备北伐，向后主刘禅上表。文章面对的是实际政治风险：朝廷如何用人、赏罚如何公正、君主如何听取忠言，也包含一位老臣出征前的深切托付。
In the fifth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang prepared for a northern campaign and submitted this memorial to Liu Shan. It addresses practical risks—appointments, fair rewards and penalties, and honest counsel—while carrying the emotional weight of a senior minister departing for war.
SOURCE TEXT
从先帝遗德到临表涕零
From inherited duty to tears at the memorial
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。
The late emperor’s great undertaking was not yet half complete when he died. Now the realm is divided in three and Yizhou is exhausted: this is truly a moment of peril. Yet ministers within remain diligent and loyal officers abroad disregard their own safety, wishing to repay the late emperor’s exceptional trust through service to Your Majesty.
BILINGUAL CLOSE READING
从先帝遗德到临表涕零
From inherited duty to tears at the memorial
编辑说明
原典短读保留经过核对的文言片段；下方中英学习段落为本站原创梳理，不把解释文字伪装成诸葛亮原文。
The checked classical excerpt is kept separate from Hanyu365’s original bilingual study version, so explanation is never presented as Zhuge Liang’s wording.
中文 · 01
先把危局说清楚
开篇把三件紧迫之事并列呈现：先帝的事业尚未完成，天下仍然分裂，蜀汉的人力物力已经疲弱。诸葛亮没有先诉说自己的辛劳，也没有立刻提出个人请求，而是先建立君臣共同面对的现实。这样的开头既说明形势危险，也避免让劝谏显得只是私人意见。接下来关于广开言路、赏罚分明和任用贤能的建议，都可以从这组危局中找到必要性。文章的力量来自次序：先确认问题，再提出原则，最后说明执行者。读者因此看见，一篇好的议论文不靠不断加强语气，而靠让每一步都回应前一步已经证明的需要。
写法提示：有效的劝说先确认共同问题，再提出行动；开篇因此同时承担背景、判断和紧迫感。
English · 01
Naming the crisis first
The opening places three urgent conditions side by side: the late emperor’s mission remains unfinished, the realm is still divided, and Shu’s human and material resources are exhausted. Zhuge Liang does not begin by describing his own labour or making a personal request. He first establishes a reality that ruler and minister must face together. This beginning identifies danger while preventing the advice that follows from sounding like private preference. Recommendations to welcome honest counsel, apply rewards and punishments consistently, and appoint worthy officials all derive their necessity from the opening crisis. The memorial gains force through order: it identifies the problem, states governing principles, and then names people capable of carrying them out. Readers can therefore see that effective argument does not depend on endlessly intensifying the tone, but on making each step answer a need already demonstrated by the one before it.
Craft note: Effective persuasion first defines the shared problem, so the opening supplies context, judgment, and urgency at once.
中文 · 02
用具体的人承载原则
文章提出亲近贤臣、远离小人的原则，却没有停在正确而空泛的格言上。诸葛亮列举可以信任的文臣与武将，说明他们经过先帝考察，在哪些事务上能够承担责任，也建议遇到疑难时怎样向他们咨询。抽象原则因此被转化为君主回到朝廷后可以执行的安排。这样的写法还显示劝谏者的克制：他不是要求所有决定都依赖自己，而是在出征之前为制度留下可继续运转的人。真正的忠诚不仅表现为亲自做事，也表现为培养信任、分配职责，并使公共事务不因一个人的离开而失去秩序。
写法提示：抽象原则配上人物与职责，既增加可信度，也让议论获得可操作的落点。
English · 02
Making principles visible through people
The memorial states the principle of staying close to worthy ministers and distant from flatterers, but it does not stop at a correct and empty maxim. Zhuge Liang identifies trusted civil and military officials, explains that the late emperor tested their character, describes the responsibilities they can bear, and recommends consulting them when difficult questions arise. An abstract principle is thus translated into an arrangement the ruler can carry out after returning to court. The method also reveals restraint in the adviser. He does not demand that every decision remain dependent on himself; before departing for the campaign, he leaves capable people through whom government can continue. Loyalty is expressed not only by performing tasks personally, but by cultivating trust, distributing responsibility, and ensuring that public affairs do not lose their order when one important person is absent.
Craft note: Pairing principles with named roles increases credibility and gives the argument an actionable destination.
中文 · 03
以身世作为证据
写到自己早年躬耕南阳以及先帝多次来访，文章从国家形势进入个人记忆。诸葛亮回顾的并非一条自我夸耀的成功道路，而是一个原本只求自保的人怎样因为被理解、被尊重和被托付而改变人生方向。先帝的知遇成为他承担责任的起点，也说明今日出征不是为了追逐名位，而是要完成尚未结束的承诺。自叙放在全文后半部，使前面的理性建议获得情感根基。它提醒读者，忠诚不是一句孤立口号，而可能来自具体关系中的信任；一个人愿意长期尽责，常常因为曾有人认真看见他的能力，并把重要之事交到他手中。
写法提示：叙事被放在论说后部，使情感成为前文原则的证明，而不是取代理性判断。
English · 03
Using a life story as evidence
When Zhuge Liang recalls farming in Nanyang and the late emperor’s repeated visits, the memorial moves from national conditions into personal memory. He does not present a triumphant story of self-promotion. He explains how a person who once sought only to remain safe in troubled times changed direction after being understood, respected, and entrusted with responsibility. The late emperor’s recognition became the beginning of his public duty, and it clarifies that the present campaign is not a pursuit of rank but an effort to complete an unfinished promise. Because this autobiography appears in the latter part of the text, it gives emotional roots to the practical counsel that came before it. Loyalty is not left as an isolated slogan. It grows from trust within a specific relationship: people often accept long responsibility because someone once saw their ability clearly and placed something important in their hands.
Craft note: Placed late in the argument, autobiography supports the earlier principles with emotion instead of replacing reason.
中文 · 04
出征之前先把责任分清
诸葛亮即将离开朝廷，最危险的情况不是只有前线失利，也包括后方因权责不清而陷入混乱。因此文章反复区分君主、侍中、将军与自己的职责：谁负责听取意见，谁处理宫中事务，谁统领军队，谁承担出征成败。这样的分配使忠诚摆脱了一个人包办一切的想象。真正负责的人，不会故意让组织在自己离开后失去能力，而会把合适的任务交给可信的人，同时说明监督和问责方式。表文的恳切因此与制度意识并存。读者可以从中学习，重大行动开始以前，除了表达决心，还应明确决策链、执行者和失败时由谁说明原因。
写法提示：从人名和职务中读出责任分配，可以发现表文不仅抒忠，也在安排一套可执行的治理结构。
English · 04
Responsibility is distributed before departure
As Zhuge Liang prepares to leave the court, danger lies not only in possible defeat at the front. The government behind him could also fall into disorder if authority and responsibility remain unclear. The memorial therefore distinguishes the duties of the ruler, court attendants, military officers, and Zhuge Liang himself. It identifies who should receive counsel, who should manage palace affairs, who should command troops, and who must answer for the campaign. This distribution removes loyalty from the fantasy that one devoted person should perform everything. A responsible leader does not deliberately leave an organization incapable of functioning in his absence. He gives appropriate work to trusted people and explains how performance will be reviewed. The memorial’s emotional sincerity therefore coexists with institutional thought. Before major action begins, determination is not enough; decision paths, executors, and responsibility for failure must also be made clear.
Craft note: Reading names and offices as a distribution of duty reveals an executable structure beneath the expression of loyalty.
中文 · 05
把成败写进可以追问的承诺
文章结尾并不只说“我会尽力”，而是把不同人物可能承担的成败逐项写明。诸葛亮愿意对讨贼无效负责，也请求君主在臣下没有尽到职责时加以查问，同时提醒君主自己也要咨询善道、察纳忠言。承诺因此不是单向服从，而是一张彼此都有责任的位置图。这样的表达增强了文章的可信度：说话者没有把忠诚当作免受评价的理由，反而主动把行动交给未来结果检验。对今天的读者而言，这仍是重要的写作和行动原则。真正有分量的计划，应当说明目标、方法、责任人和复盘条件，使“尽心”能够被观察，而不是在失败之后仍只剩无法核实的态度。
写法提示：结尾用可追责的任务清单收束感情，使忠诚从态度变成能够由结果检验的公共承诺。
English · 05
Turning success and failure into an answerable promise
The conclusion does not merely promise that the writer will try his best. It identifies how success and failure should be assigned among different people. Zhuge Liang accepts responsibility if the campaign does not achieve its purpose, asks the ruler to investigate officials who fail in their duties, and reminds the ruler to seek good counsel and recognize honest advice. The promise is therefore not one-directional obedience but a map in which every participant occupies an answerable position. This structure increases credibility. The speaker does not use loyalty as protection from evaluation; he voluntarily allows future results to test his conduct. The principle remains valuable for present readers. A serious plan should state its goal, method, responsible people, and conditions for later review. Only then can devotion become observable rather than surviving failure as an attitude that nobody is able to verify.
Craft note: An answerable list of duties turns loyalty from an attitude into a public promise that results can test.
LANGUAGE FOCUS
关键词语
崩殂
bēng cú
古代称帝王去世。
a classical term for the death of an emperor
“中道崩殂”使未完成的事业成为全文的责任背景。
The emperor’s death midway through the undertaking establishes the memorial’s background of inherited duty.
开张圣听
kāi zhāng shèng tīng
扩大听闻范围，广泛听取意见。
to listen broadly and remain open to counsel
开张圣听把君主的第一项责任落实为倾听。
The phrase makes listening broadly the ruler’s first practical responsibility.
妄自菲薄
wàng zì fěi bó
毫无根据地过分轻视自己。
to belittle oneself without good reason
作者劝后主不要妄自菲薄，也不要堵塞忠谏之路。
The writer urges the ruler neither to undervalue himself nor to block honest advice.
庶竭驽钝
shù jié nú dùn
希望竭尽自己平凡有限的才能。
to hope to exhaust one’s limited abilities in service
庶竭驽钝以自谦表达坚定承担，而非推卸责任。
The self-deprecating phrase expresses determined service rather than an escape from duty.
DISCUSSION
读后思考
- 01
诸葛亮为什么先写危局，再写用人，最后才写自己的经历？
Why does Zhuge Liang move from crisis to appointments before telling his own story?
- 02
文章怎样同时保持君臣礼仪与直言劝谏？请选择两个称谓或句式说明。
How does the memorial preserve courtly respect while offering direct advice? Use two forms of address or sentence patterns.
- 03
把《出师表》与《三国演义》中的诸葛亮比较：历史奏表和小说形象各强调什么？
Compare the memorial with Zhuge Liang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. What does each form emphasize?
SOURCES & EDITIONS
资料与版本说明
- 1. 出師表
Chinese Wikisource · 核对 2026-07-24
- 2. 诸葛亮与《出师表》
Academy of Chinese Studies · 核对 2026-07-24
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