〈述身賦〉極具個人傳記色彩,是李諧去職返鄉之後的半生回憶,內容多涉幼帝即位、太后臨朝、葛榮之亂、河陰之役、元顥入洛等北魏末年重大政治危機事件,以及作者置身亂世危境難以自我實踐的苦悶心理。因此,賦文本身除揭示李諧無力對抗時艱的創傷經驗外,亦頗能反映當時北朝知識份子在風刀嚴霜下的無所適從。此賦被魏收置於《魏書》李諧本傳之中,就表象觀之,賦乃傳主自述,史家載錄自可增益讀者對傳主之瞭解;然事實卻是北朝修史劣境中,史傳欲揭歷史真相而借題發揮的文獻史料,遂使此賦在既有文學價值上又別蘊史學意義,亦即倖存者的回憶與史學家的心聲交織成耐人尋味的史傳文本結構。
ShuShen Fu has the characteristics of an autobiography, and is the memoirs of Li Xie after he left his post and returned to his hometown. The content involved the major political crises of the final years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, such as the ascension of a young emperor, the political control of the empress dowager, the rebellion of GeRong, the battle of He Yin, and the entry of Luoyang by Yuan Hao, as well as the author's depression at being unable to self-actualize in a time of disorder. Thus, the text itself not only discloses the traumatic experience of Li Xie being unable to counter against the difficulties of his times, but can also reflect the inability of intellectuals in the Northern Dynasty to act in a martial context. The fu was placed by Wei Shou in the biography of Li Xie in Wei Shu. Superficially, the text was self-narrated by the author, and being recorded by a historian can enhance reader understanding of the author, but the fact was that in the adverse context of historical writing in the Northern Dynasty, the history sought to disclose historical truth by using it as historical materials. This gives this fu a unique historical as well as literary value, as the memories of a survivor and the voice of a historian, creating an intricate historical-autobiographical text structure.