顏之推〈觀我生賦〉寫於北齊潰亡以後，傳達出飄盪於異鄉的孤絕感，更對華夏文化之衰頹進行深刻的反省，同時承襲了傳統史家的精神與終極關懷，不僅翔實地記載歷史事件，也對各動亂之緣起提出敏銳的分析和批判。本篇論文嘗試說明，顏之推巧妙地將「自傳」－「紀實」－「歷史評論」安排於賦中，使三層結構井然有序地交錯，規律地切換個體視域與集體視域，並透過組織事件、細節選取、修辭手法及視角轉換等方式展開委婉的褒貶勸懲，將內心的法度與義理融入於歷史敘述，是以全文帶著明顯的價值判斷。在流亡的旅程裏，顏之推以「昔」定義「今」的照覽方式面對異域風景，透露了時間意識的淆亂及空間認知的錯位，進一步對社會秩序瓦解的因素和世界運作之律則提出痛切的質疑，又藉由人事現象探究更深層的存在問題，用生命完整地演繹了「觀卦」多層次的概念，也延伸出「咎與無咎」之辯證迴圈。

To convey the sense of loneliness for intellectuals to wander on foreign soil, Yan Zhitui composed the rhapsody, “Fu on Contemplation of My Life,” after the collapse of the Northern Qi Dynasty. The literary piece focuses on refl ecting the fall of the Chinese culture while it inherits the spirit and ultimate sympathy of traditional historians. At the same time, the rhapsody records the historical events in detail and off ers a keen analysis and criticism on the causes of each turmoil. This paper attempts to explain how Yan Zhitui skillfully arranges autobiography, documentary, and historical commentary in the rhapsody. The three-layer structure is interlaced in an orderly manner, regularly switching between the individual and collective points of view. Through the organization of events, selection of details, fi gures of speech, and switching of perspectives, Yan integrated his inner law of justice into the historical narrative with euphemistic praise and critique, consequently filling the piece with apparent judgments. During Yan's exile, he dealt with the unfamiliarity by contrasting and defining the present with the past, indicating his confusion in time and space.
Moreover, Yan cast severe doubts on both the causes of the societal collapse and the laws of the universe, while extending the contemplation to even more profound existence questions by observing people and events.