出师表

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。 侍中、侍郎郭攸之、费祎、董允等,此皆良实,志虑忠纯,是以先帝简拔以遗陛下。愚以为宫中之事,事无大小,悉以咨之,然后施行,必能裨补阙漏,有所广益。 将军向宠,性行淑均,晓畅军事,试用于昔日,先帝称之曰能,是以众议举宠为督。愚以为营中之事,悉以咨之,必能使行阵和睦,优劣得所。 亲贤臣,远小人,此先汉所以兴隆也;亲小人,远贤臣,此后汉所以倾颓也。先帝在时,每与臣论此事,未尝不叹息痛恨于桓、灵也。侍中、尚书、长史、参军,此悉贞良死节之臣,愿陛下亲之信之,则汉室之隆,可计日而待也。 臣本布衣,躬耕于南阳,苟全性命于乱世,不求闻达于诸侯。先帝不以臣卑鄙,猥自枉屈,三顾臣于草庐之中,咨臣以当世之事,由是感激,遂许先帝以驱驰。后值倾覆,受任于败军之际,奉命于危难之间,尔来二十有一年矣。 先帝知臣谨慎,故临崩寄臣以大事也。受命以来,夙夜忧叹,恐托付不效,以伤先帝之明,故五月渡泸,深入不毛。今南方已定,兵甲已足,当奖率三军,北定中原,庶竭驽钝,攘除奸凶,兴复汉室,还于旧都。此臣所以报先帝而忠陛下之职分也。至于斟酌损益,进尽忠言,则攸之、祎、允之任也。 愿陛下托臣以讨贼兴复之效,不效,则治臣之罪,以告先帝之灵。若无兴德之言,则责攸之、祎、允等之慢,以彰其咎;陛下亦宜自谋,以咨诹善道,察纳雅言,深追先帝遗诏,臣不胜受恩感激。 今当远离,临表涕零,不知所言。
The late emperor had not accomplished half of his cause before he went to heaven. Currently the whole empire is divided into three parts and our country is fragile and at the edge of danger. Yet, our ministers are never sluggish in national affairs and our loyal soldiers are devoting their lives at the forefronts, for they have kept all the favors the late emperor had bestowed upon them in mind and wish to repay him by serving you devotedly. Therefore, it is wise of you to open your ears to those capable talents so as to extend the sacred virtues of your father and stimulate our soldiers’ morale, rather than look down upon yourself and make improper remarks to hamper rectitude and practical remonstrance. All the courtiers and soldiers in and out of the palace of the emperor shall abide by the law without any exceptions. There shall be no bias in exercising the practice of rewarding and penalizing. All wrongdoers and law-breakers, as well as those good-deeds doers should be receive punishments and rewards from the officers respectively, so as to demonstrate your Majesty’s impartial and open administration. Always remember not to be partial to someone and ruin the consistence of the laws in and out of the court. The Senior Officers like Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi, Dong Yu, etc, are all loyal and honest men who were promoted by the late emperor to serve you. My advice is that you, my dear Majesty, should consult them in all affairs in the court, whether it be big or small, before taking actions. By doing so you will surely have all the misdeeds and drawbacks corrected beneficially. Xiang Chong is a good-virtued and easy-going general who is versed in military tactics. After he was tested in the past, the late emperor had spoken highly of his capabilities and he was elected by all others the Grand Commander. My advice is that you should consult him in all military matters. By doing so you will surely keep all armies in great harmony, render them exert their best talents. Staying close with loyal ministers and keeping away from the mean ones is the reason why the Former Hans was so prosperous. Staying close with mean ministers and keeping away from mean ones is the reason why Latter Hans was overthrown. When the late emperor was alive and discussed this with us, he would sigh miserably at the stories of Emperor Huan and Ling. Si Zhong, Shang Shu, Zhang Shi, Can Jun(all are the official titles in that era) are all loyal and dedicated people. So I wish you, my dear Majesty, could stay close with them and trust them. Then the prosperity of our country will be soon approached. I was originally an ordinary man farming in Nanyang, only to secure my humble life in this troubled time without any wish to join the nobles. It was the late emperor who overlooked my commonness and humbled himself to visit me in my shabby hut, consulting me about the current affairs modestly. I felt so grateful that I promised to serve him since then. So I was appointed in the most critical moment when our armies underwent consecutive defeats and crises. It has been 21 years since then. The late emperor acknowledged my prudence and confided the great task to me when approaching his end. Since then, I could not help worrying and sighing day and night, in fear that I could not accomplish the task given by the late emperor and ruin his wisdom. So I embarked on the expedition to the barren lands over River Lu. Now the Southern part of the nation has been quelled and we have plenty of military resources. So it is high time that we should lead our armies to the Northern part. I would exhaust my poor talents and capabilities to wipe out all wicked people and restore the Han Dynasty and our old capital. That what I am obliged to do to manifest my deepest gratitude to the late emperor and you, my dear Majesty. As with the decision making and advice proposing, it is Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi and Dong Yun’s duty. I strongly desire you, my Majesty to assign to me the task of suppressing the rebels and restore the Han Dynasty. If I fail, I am willing to receive punishment to soothe the soul of the late emperor. If you hear no practical advice, then it is those advisers who are to blame. You, my dear Majesty should also spare no effort to come up with the right ideas, ask for advice by yourself, adopt the right suggestion and keep what your father said in mind. Then I will feel more than grateful to what you have done! Now I am about to depart on a long march. I cannot help heavily tearing before this letter and had no idea what I have said.