《莊子．養生主》右師寓言新解

A New Interpretation of the Story of the Commander of the Right (you shi) in Chapter 3 of the Zhuangzi

《莊子．養生主》右師寓言的現有詮釋可分為「命定說」「離物說」「獨立說」「殘全說」四個方向。基於施萊爾馬赫和博艾克的詮釋理論，本文從語言學、文學和哲學三條判準說明了現有各種詮釋的問題所在，並提出一種在此三方面皆更有優勢的新解：右師作為受刖刑失去一足的人，其「貌」與全人無異，毫無身體上的殘缺感和精神上的卑賤感。刖刑的重要作用在於心理上的羞辱。公文軒以為受刑失去一足的人，必受到強烈的自尊打擊，只有先天殘疾的人才可能在動作神氣上和全人無異，故誤以為右師的殘疾乃是天生，不是受刑所致。公文軒之錯誤推測，反襯出右師在受刑後保持尊嚴、自信與適然之不易。由此，右師以自己的身體書寫了一種對權力的批判。

Concerning the Story of the Commander of the Right in Chapter 3 of the Zhuangzi, four approaches of interpretation can be discerned in existing commentaries. Based on Schleiermacher and Böckh's theory, existing interpretations are tested by the three criteria of linguistics, literature and philosophy. A new reading of the story, which appears to have advantage over existing interpretations on all three criteria, is proposed: the Commander of the Right, who was previously found guilty and cut off one of his feet, looked exactly like a complete person, not showing any physical inadequacy or spiritual inferiority. In the pre-Qin society, an important function of mutilation was to impose shame on the criminal. Gong-wen Xuan thought that it was impossible for one who was mutilated to appear exactly like a complete one in his manners and self-esteem, for mutilation was bound to strike one's self-esteem fiercely. This was why he assumed that the Commander was born without one foot, and his mistake indeed reflects how uneasy it was for the Commander to preserve his self-esteem, confidence and ataraxia after his mutilation. By this, the Commander practiced a critique of power by his body.