290. 贾生（李商隐）
正文
现代汉语译文
正文
宣室求贤访逐臣，贾生才调更无伦。
现代汉语译文
汉文帝在宣室殿访求贤才，召见被放逐的臣子贾谊；贾谊的才华气度，更是无人能比。
“宣室”是汉未央宫中的殿名，代指皇帝的召见之所。“逐臣”指被贬逐的臣子，即贾谊（他曾被贬长沙）。这两句先扬：皇帝求贤，贾谊才高，似乎是明君贤臣的遇合。“更无伦”是无人能比，把期待抬得很高。
正文
可怜夜半虚前席，不问苍生问鬼神。
现代汉语译文
可叹的是，谈到半夜，皇帝白白地移近坐席来听；他问的不是天下百姓，而是鬼神之事。
“前席”指帝王听得出神，把坐席向前挪动、靠近说话的人；“虚”字点出这份专注落了空。“苍生”指百姓；“鬼神”用《史记》所载汉文帝在宣室向贾谊询问鬼神之事的旧事。移席是真的，可惜问错了题目——君主关心的不是民生。
赏析 · Commentary
先扬后抑的一转 · A Turn from Praise to Lament
前两句把话说得很满：求贤、访逐臣、才调无伦，像要写一段君臣相得。第三句“可怜”一转，第四句点破：问到半夜，问的却是鬼神。诗人不指责贾谊，也不直接骂皇帝，只把“不问苍生”四个字摆出来，失望和讥讽就都在里面了。
The opening couplet says it all in praise: seeking worthies, summoning a banished minister, talent beyond compare—it looks like a story of ruler and servant well met. The third line turns on the word pitiable, and the fourth reveals: they talked past midnight, and the subject was ghosts and spirits. The poet blames neither Jia Yi nor the emperor directly; he sets down the words asked not about the people and leaves the disappointment and the irony inside them.
有才的人怕遇不上好题目 · Talent's Fear: The Wrong Question
贾谊一番应对，让文帝听得移席，可见其才学确实打动人；但这番本事用在了鬼神上。李商隐写此事，未必只是替古人叹，也含着对当世的感慨：世上有才的人不少，难得的是君主肯问该问的事。末句不下断语，却比断语更重。
Jia Yi's replies made Emperor Wen move his mat, proof that his learning truly moved the man; yet that gift was spent on ghosts and spirits. In writing this, Li Shangyin need not be sighing only for an ancient; he also speaks to his own age: the world has no shortage of talent, but it is rare for a ruler to ask what ought to be asked. The last line passes no verdict, and weighs more than a verdict would.