《莊子》中的差異政治觀

The Political Views on Difference in Zhuangzi

本文將探討《莊子》的差異政治觀，首先，從《莊子》的視域出發，面對「周文疲弊」諸子百家具有兩種解決問題的嘗試，一是建構大一統觀，另一則是差異政治。其中《莊子》屬於後者。其次透過文本分析，指出《莊子》認為天下要恢復秩序，必須尊重多元差異，在政治操作上要因循百姓的意願。筆者將按幾個步驟證成《莊子》的差異政治：首先呈現《莊子》所看見的政治困境，其次則探討《莊子》如何從多元性的角度證成其政治觀，最後則論述差異政治帶來的和諧性與特色。
針對第一點，《莊子》有許多篇章探討削減差異所帶來的社會問題，這是大一統政治觀所帶來的困境。第二部分，對於《莊子》來，維持差異才是社會和諧的基本方針，它透過弱化統治者的意志，以及因循百姓意志等方式為實際操作。統治者應當尊重不同的生活方式，以及政治制度的制定應當以百姓的需求為依歸等。第三部分則指出，差異又和諧的社會能做到相互彼此友愛、幫助，並自我約束以防傷害他人。《莊子》中和諧社會的精神近似「團隊精神」，在一個團體中，成員具有共同目標，因此願意為了共同目標約束自己的意志，因為他們相信合作才能達致目標。筆者認為這個概念如果放在《莊子》，所呈現的意義是百姓相信彼此合作才能繼續維持社會穩定。

The present article aims to analyze the political views on difference in Zhuangzi莊子. Firstly, I indicate that when facing the cultural decline of the Zhou dynasty, the various schools of thought primarily had two methods to resolve the matter: constructing a unified view and politics of difference, the latter to which Zhuangzi belongs. Secondly, through a textual analysis, I show Zhuangzi believes that in order to restore order in the world, it is necessary to respect diversity and follow the will of the people within political workings. The politics of difference in Zhuangzi are demonstrated in several steps: first, presenting the political dilemma as seen by Zhuangzi; secondly, exploring how Zhuangzi confirms its political views from a perspective of diversity; and finally, discussing the harmony and characteristics brought about by the politics of difference.
Regarding the first point, Zhuangzi contains many chapters that explore the social problems caused by reducing differences, which is an issue produced by the view of unification. In the second part, I point out that maintaining differences is the basic principle for social harmony in the eyes of Zhuangzi, which is achieved through weakening the will of rulers and following the will of the people in practical political operations. Rulers should respect different lifestyles, and the formulation of political systems should be based on the needs of the people. Concerning the final point, I reveal that a harmonious society with differences can achieve mutual love, help, and self-restraint to prevent harm to others. The spirit of a harmonious society in Zhuangzi is similar to the concept of“team spirit,”in which members of a group are willing to restrain their individual will for a common goal that can be realized through cooperation. This article argues that if this concept is applied to Zhuangzi, one can note that the people of the time believed that only by cooperating with one another could they maintain social stability.