輪扁故事旨趣何在？

What is the Wheelwright Bian Story About?

《莊子．天道》中輪扁斲輪故事，看似旨在說明技藝之不可言傳性；若連結到其他論及技藝與語言之《莊子》篇章來看，如此詮釋誠然有跡可循，而在現代學界也確實傾向以此脈絡來理解或應用輪扁之故事。鑒於《莊子．天道》中，另有其他段落以「書」為題，本文擬從《莊子．天道》整章的脈絡來探討輪扁故事之旨趣。本文將根據輪扁故事中有關書的問題，分別探究：書的功能何在？為何批判書？書中少了什麼？依據《莊子．天道》提供之線索探討上述諸問題時，可以發現輪扁之故事應視為政治論述之一環；換言之，技藝與語言等議題，或許無關於其宏旨。

The wheelwright Bian story in chapter 13 of the Zhuangzi is generally read in terms of the inexpressibility of skill. Connections with other Zhuangzi passages on skill and language skepticism readily suggest themselves, and this is indeed the direction in which the story has been developed and contextualized in the scholarship. In this paper, we take an alternative approach. Prompted by the observation that the status of books is a topic not only in the wheelwright story but also in three other sections of chapter 13, we attempt to read the story in the context of its chapter. The three main parts of the paper correspond to questions regarding books suggested in the wheelwright story: questions pertaining to the function of books, to the reason why books are criticized, and to what is absent from books. In addressing these issues, we will draw on a variety of clues present in chapter 13. The picture that will emerge is one in which the wheelwright story is seen as part of a political polemic. To the extent that the story is part of a political polemic, it is less obviously about skill and language per se.