對於史書記載的皇甫謐卒於「太康三年」(282)，享年六十八歲之說，向無異議。但由於皇甫謐曾為左思的〈三都賦〉作過序，如果謐卒於是年，則〈三都賦〉應撰成於是年之前；而史書記述的左思寫〈三都賦〉的有關活動，如左思訪蜀事於張載、訪吳事於陸機，為博覽群書向賈謐求為秘書郎等，均應在太康三年之後。這種矛盾現象應如何解釋呢？想把〈三都賦〉說成撰畢於太康三年之前者，則極力把此後的事向前拉，或者否定此後有關活動的可靠性；想把〈三都賦〉說成撰於太康三年之後者，則又懷疑皇甫謐為之作序的真實性。本文從《晉書．皇甫謐傳》記載的謐曾在近六十歲寫過一篇形同遺囑的〈薦終〉入手，認為如果謐卒於太康三年，則〈晉書本傳〉記載的謐作〈薦終〉之前的數次徵召活動都在其六十幾歲以後了，就其當時癱臥在�p的身體狀況看，這是不可能的；再加上如果謐卒於太康三年，則〈晉書本傳〉所載六十歲左右的活動就前後失序，文理不協了，等等。本文用充足的理由，用「理校」的方法，認為皇甫謐應卒於「元康三年」 (293)。誠如是，則史書記載的與謐卒年、與左思作賦種種活動之疑而難通之處，皆可迎刃而解了。

　　　　　The view according to historical records that Huangfu Mi died in the third year of the Taikang regime (282 A.D.), or at the age of 68, hasn't yet met any challenges. But it is important to note that Huangfu Mi wrote a preface to Zuo Si's "Fu (descriptive prose interspersed with verse) of Three Capitals." Had huangfu Mi died in 282 A.D., The "Fu of Three Capitals" should have been written the year before, but Zuo Si's activities (according to historical records) associated with the writing of the "Fu of Three Capitals," such as consulting about the Shu State with Zhang Zai, consulting about the Wu State with Lu J, applying to Jia Mi for a secretary post in return for access to books, should be after the third year of the Taikang regime. Such a contradiction requires a definite answer. For those who believe the "Fu of Three Capitals" was written before the third year of the Taikang regime, the answer is either Zuo Si's activities concerning the "Fu of Three Capitals" precede the writing, or historical data about Zuo Si's activities are not reliable. In contrast, those who believe the "Fu of Three Capitals" was written after the third year of the Taikang regime suspect that Huangfu Mi did not write the preface at all. This paper starts from "A Will" written by Huangfu Mi in his late fifties, arguing that if he died in 282 A.D., then dozens of instances in which he recruited talented people to be officials, according to the History of Jin, should have happened after he was 60, when he was confined to bed. Thus this assumption is unlikely to be correct. Moreover, if Huangfu Mi died in the third year of the Taikang regime, his activities around his 60th year, are difficult to order in time. Ample evidence is martialled here according to the "inferential emendation" method, to conclude that the year of Huangfu Mi's death should be the third year of the yuankang regime (293 A.D.). If this is true, puzzles about the year of Huangfu Mi's death, and Zuo Si's activities concerning the "Fu of Three Capitals," according to historical records, are easy to solve.