在杜甫多病的晚年詩作中,其中明顯陳述病名者,乃為「消渴症」,在有關消渴的詩篇中,呈有病名、病因、病徵,病痛當下的心裡念想,構成相當完整的疾病敘事。我們可以從杜甫低吟的詩歌中,聆聽他如何敘述與他生命交纏的「消渴」。 杜甫的消渴症,可能為痛飲所致,而痛飲所置放的消渴意涵,是吞嚥著不斷「發覺」的國家衰竭以致內心虛竭的混合體,於是,內心虛竭與實質痛飲的不斷交替,最終跨度到實際病症的產生。然而,詩人真正患得消渴症時,疾病卻成為他掩護虛渴心靈的色澤,他認可了因病而「無力」、而「萎頓」、而「愧」,而將人生的理想光點拋擲在病癒之後,卻在同時,疾病的自我映照中,杜甫立即告知藥石罔效的事實,他將自我病症的治療途徑,歸回在個人形骸與家國形體有機連結上的共療,唯有在國家生氣之原-生民-進藥,使其生化不息,潤澤四海,才能真正療癒杜甫與國家的「消渴」。
In the Du Fu's poetry of his sickly old age, the most obvious illness is the dispersion-thirst. The consciousness with illness, pathology, symptoms and ailment in the poetry about dispersion-thirst constructs almost complete the narrative of illness. From Du Fu's poetry, we can find out how he described with the illness, which was interknitted his life. Du Fu's dispersion-thirst resulted from drinking. The meaning of his dispersion-thirst is the mix of the dispersion-thirst of soul and country corrosion. The alternation of dispersion-thirst of soul and drinking is result in disease. However, the illness became the cover of his spirit. He accepted the weakness and abashment consequent on disease and he finally threw away his ideal even after recovery. In the same time, Du Fu realized the fact that he could not be cured by medicine, because he had already connected his illness with the country corrosion. The only effective medicine for his dispersion-thirst is to revive the country.