韓愈“足弱不能步”與“退之服硫黄”考辨

Textual Research on the Facts That Han Yu"Couldn’t Walk Because of Zuruo" and "Tuizhi Took Sulfur"

韩愈晚年是否服食硫黄以及为何服食硫黄，是韩愈生平研究与品格评价中仍无定说的关键问题。以韩愈自述的“足弱不能步”、张籍的《祭退之》诗、白居易的《思旧》诗与隋唐相关医籍相比对，韩愈确实服食了硫黄类的“药汤”；但服此药汤的目的，是对症下药地治疗脚气病中的“足弱”之症，而非喜好声色的壮阳之需。韩愈罹患“足弱”的病原，则与其长期的南土经历、丰肥的体型、远贬潮州的沉重打击有关。韩愈之卒，亦因“足弱”病症。而非硫黄中毒。

In Han Yu's old age,whether and why he took sulfur are the indefinite issues in the study of Han Yu's life and character evaluation. Comparing Han Yu's own account that he 'couldn't walk because of zuruo ( a kind of beriberi ) ,' Zhang Ji's poem 'In Memoriam to Tuizhi,'Bai Juyi's poem 'Reminiscences'with the related medical books of Sui and Tang dynasties,this article argues that Han Yu did take a kind of'medicine soup'of sulfur,yet it was the remedy for 'zuruo' rather than the aphrodisiac for sensual needs. As for the cause of his death,it was not sulfur poisoning, but the disease of'zuruo',which was due to his long stay in the South,his overweight figure,and the severe blow for his demotion to Chaozhou.