眾所周知，「言不盡意」乃魏晉玄學理論建構的方法論。其源頭根據則在於先秦《老子》的「道可道，非常道」，《莊子》的言、意、超言意的三層區分，以及《周易．繫辭傳》的「書不盡言，言不盡意」等觀念。 魏晉言意理論雖然多端，基本上仍以「言不盡意」為主軸，其中又以王弼「得意忘象」最具代表性。他以「名號」符應客觀事物，「稱謂」指涉主觀意求，以及不可言說的「自然之道」三個層次建意理論，層開畜學的論述。歐陽建的〈言盡意論〉雖是持客觀主義的立場，然其論述之內容和王弼之「名號」頗相一致。至於郭象的「寄言出意」，則未出「得意忘象」的範圍。

　　　　　It is well know that "meaning unexhausted in word" is the methodology through which Neo-Taoism in the Wei and JIn Periods is constructed. This very idea originates from the ideas of "the Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way" in Lao-zi, "word, meaning, and the extraordinary relationship between word" in "Xi Ci Zhuan" of Yi-Jing. Various as the theories about Word and Meaning are in the Wei and Jin Periods, they basically revolve around the idea of "meaning unexhausted in word," among which Wang Bi's concept of "seeing nothing but meaning" is the most representative. Wang constructs his theory about word and meaning according to the following three levels: first, "name" to correspond to the objective matters; second, "title" to refer to the subjective expectation; and third, the indescribable "natural way." Though Ou-yang Jian's "theory about meaning exhausted in word" is objectivist, its content is similar to Wang's theory about "name," while Gou Xiang's thoery of "connotation" is nothing more than what has been said in Wang Bi's "seeing nothing but meaning." The methodology of "meaning unexhausted in word" is to open up different interpretations about the classic texts and contribute to the communication between Confucianism and Taoism.