在中國先秦典籍裏，德行智能完美無缺的最高理想人物，普遍都是用「聖」或「聖人」來表述的。《莊子》一書卻是一個很特殊的例外。至高理想人物除了被稱作「聖人」外，在不同的語境裏也被稱作「至人」、「神人」或「真人」。絕大部分的古今中外學者，在討論《莊子》書裏「聖人」、「至人」、「神人」和「真人」等詞時，通常都把它們當作是作者用來描述最高理想人物的四個同義語。本文以《莊子•內篇》為焦點，來檢視作者對於「聖人」、「至人」、「神人」和「真人」之描寫，並由之而討論《莊子》的描述散文藝術。除了〈養生主〉和〈人間世〉兩篇外，其餘五個〈內篇〉都有直接關於終極理想人物的描述。莊子所追求和嚮往的至高理想人格，是呈現在有絕對精神自由的人物身上的。〈內篇〉裏直述理想人格的章節之間，存在著很多雷同、近似或稍有更動的細節和語句。本文借電影配樂裹的「主題樂曲變奏」的配曲技巧，來解析《莊子•內篇》裏這個很特出的寫作手法。本文發現《莊子•內篇》裏的聖人、至人、神人和真人大致都有能飛的本事。因有許多細節以及「飛昇的主樂曲」之前後呼應，這些分散於各篇的描述，就成了同是述寫理想人物這一主題的形形色色的變奏了。用「主題變奏」來分析莊子的散文藝術，一方面我們能看出莊子行文之極富變化，而另一方面也能欣賞〈內篇〉的文章，在其多變化中，自有其美妙的藝術的一貫、整體性。能善用「主題變奏」的手法，無疑是莊子成為中國偉大散文家的主要原因。

In ancient Chinese texts, those figures with perfect moral character and superior intelligence are generally referred to as sages. The Zhuangzi is an exception. The supreme ideal person is here called the "perfect person," the "daimonic person," or the "authentic person," in addition to the "sage." Most scholars of the Zhuangzi regard the "sage," the "perfect person," the "daimonic person," and the "authentic person" as four synonymous terms referring to the same ideal person of the highest attainment. Focusing on the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, this paper attempts to examine the depiction of the ideal persons with an eye to the art of descriptive prose of this great ancient Chinese text. With the exception of "The Secret of Caring for Life" and "In the World of Men," the other five Inner Chapters all entail direct depictions of the ideal persons who have reached the highest level of attainment. The ideal persons in the Zhuangzi are those with absolute spiritual freedom. There exist interesting cross references and mutual complementation among many sections of the Inner Chapters in which the ideal persons are depicted. The ideal persons in these chapters are mostly found to have the ability to fly. This paper attempts to employ the technique of theme and leitmotif used in film music to analyze the art of prose of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi text. Because of the correspondences of the leitmotif of flying and other details within the Inner Chapters, the depictions of the ideal persons constitute variations on a theme. Using the idea of the variations on a theme to analyze the art of prose of the Zhuangzi allows us to appreciate the fact that the prose of this text exhibits rich variations on the one hand and a mysterious sense of unity and harmony on the other. The skillful use of the technique, comparable to the variations on a theme in music, is undoubtedly the main reason that the Zhuangzi is such a great work in the history of Chinese literature.