以死養生：對看朱賢哲《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》與《莊子．養生主》

Nurturing Life through Death: A Comparative Study of Zhu Hsien-Zhe’s Pick of the Litter: Stray Dogs in Taiwan and Zhuangzi’s“Nourishing the Lord of Life”

目前對於朱賢哲《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》的論述，大多環繞影片內容與動保議題；尚未見到深入對讀《莊子》思想與流浪動物主題者。此影片與《莊子．養生主》的內容差異不小，但朱賢哲的影像引申了《莊子》。《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》是流浪狗的悲歌，《莊子．養生主》則像這曲悲歌的不和諧對位。本文主張：必須並置對看《莊子．養生主》，才更能得見朱賢哲《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》影像反襯出的深沉悲哀。
《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》片中人物對於流浪狗的處理方式雖無共識，但全片沒有壞人，每個角色都懷抱善意；在「善─善衝突」之下，人狗共生的理想顯得遙不可及，對於總體現實的無力與無奈不言可喻。這是紀錄影像，也是悲劇影像，其中逍遙不存在，幽默不可能，真實的體會便是面對動物的大悲心。《養生主：臺灣流浪狗》是對《莊子．養生主》的引申，更是沉哀的衍義。

Current discussions regarding Zhu Hsien-Zhe’s Pick of the Litter: Stray Dogs in Taiwan mainly focus on the content of the film and issues related to animal protection. There has been little in-depth analysis connecting Zhuangzi’s philosophy with the film’s theme of stray animals. While there are significant differences between this film and Zhuangzi’s“Nourishing the Lord of Life,”Zhu Hsien-Zhe’s visuals extend Zhuangzi’s ideas. Pick of the Litter: Stray Dogs in Taiwan is a lament for stray dogs, and Zhuangzi’s“Nourishing the Lord of Life”seems like a disharmonious counterpoint of this lament. Watching Zhuangzi’s“Nourishing the Lord of Life”can further reveal the profound sorrow contrasted in Zhu Hsien-Zhe’s Pick of the Litter: Stray Dogs in Taiwan.
Although the characters in the film have no consensus on how to deal with stray dogs, there are no villains in the film; every character harbors goodwill. Under the conflict of“good vs. good,”the ideal of human-dog coexistence seems out of reach, implicitly conveying the helplessness and frustration of the overall reality. This is a documentary image and a tragic image, where there is no carefreeness, no humor, and the real experience is the deep compassion for animals. Pick of the Litter: Stray Dogs in Taiwan is an extension of Zhuangzi’s“Nourishing the Lord of Life”and a profoundly sorrowful interpretation.