隱居在亂世往往有著避禍之目的。司空圖為唐末「著名」的隱士，他既決意歸隱，卻又廣受朝廷、藩鎮、文人注意，該如何解釋這看似衝突的現象是學界較無涉及之面向。本文指出，躲避唐末庚子亂離是司空圖隱居的動機，其後對世道有了自保心態。然他不因此而不問世事，相反地，他雖自知無法救世，仍在詩文中展現入世精神。如此依違出入世之間的隱士，在書寫策略上必然更加審慎。例如，他為地方藩鎮撰寫多篇碑文，所述皆講究事實，其中卻刻意忽略敏感人物，乃為避開潛在的殺身之禍。從當時政治情勢來說，如何適當地表達出處進退之思，當是值得注意的部分。

Reclusion in troubled times often has the purpose of avoiding disasters. There has been little research regarding the seemingly conflicting fact that Sikong Tu remained a “famous” recluse yet still attracted attention of the court, military governors and other literati. This paper points out that Sikong Tu lived in reclusion to avoid the Gengzi disaster, after that he held an attitude of self-preservation and stayed away from direct involvement with politics. However, he was still concerned about the political situation. Although he was aware that he could not single-handedly save the empire, his poems still showed political concerns. Being a restless recluse required him to be more cautious in writing strategies. For example, he wrote many realistic inscriptions for local military governors, but deliberately steered clear of sensitive names to avoid potential persecution. It is noteworthy how Sikong Tu expressed political intention appropriately, considering the political situation at that time.