《莊子•外篇》詮釋《老子》考

How Did the “Outer Chapters” of the Zhuangzi Modify the Teachings of the Laozi

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

史遷稱許莊子，以爲其學無所不闚，然其要本歸於老子之言，作“《漁父》、《盜跖》、《胠篋》，以詆訿孔子之徒，以明老子之術。”可見老、莊關係密切。考前輩學者多致力於哲理層面，探討《莊子ᆞ内篇》與《老子》學説之傳承關係，而鮮有論及《莊子ᆞ外篇》者。本文嘗試全面搜集《莊子ᆞ外篇》詮釋《老子》之文，選其顯例，並析其詮釋之法，以見《莊子ᆞ外篇》實多詮釋《老子》之意，當中或襲用、或化用《老子》文辭，而多所推衍；或採擷不同《老子》篇章，加以重新組合、發揮而赋予新義。可見《莊子ᆞ外篇》詮釋《老子》之法不一而足，於《老子》之意，多所發揮，非僅純然因襲而已。全面考釋《莊子》一書詮釋《老子》之法，或有助瞭解老、莊學説之傳承關係。

In his biographical note on Zhuangzi 莊子 Sima Qian 司馬遷 said, “There was nothing on which his teachings did not touch, but in their essentials they went back to the words of Laozi.” “He worte Yufu 漁父 (The Old Fishermen), Daozhi 盜跖 (Robber Zhi), Quqie 胠篋 (Rifling Trunks) in which he mocked the likes of Confucius and made clear the teachings of Laozi”. Efforts have been made to explore the philosophical relationship between the Laozi and the “inner chapters” of the Zhuangzi, but that between the Laozi and the “outer chapters” has only been touched upon. By comparing the “outer chapters” of the Zhuangzi with the Laozi comprehensively, this paper shows that the former modified the latter in various ways, which involved summarizing, expanding, and paraphrasing. All in all, it can be argued that the modification was a systematic reworking on the Laozi. In addition to studying the parallel passages found in both books, this paper expounds on typical examples of the different modifications on the Laozi by comparing them with the “outer chapters” of the Zhuangzi in order to show how Zhuangzi did his reworking. This may facilitate the understanding of the relationship between the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi.