| Abstract |
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. |
