《莊子‧應帝王》中「季咸見壺丘」一段故事，歷來雖深受注目，然難得善解。而「壺子四示」該作修養境界看？還是作統治技藝看？者兩者皆是？又或兩者皆非而別有意旨？似乎不易決定。筆者以為不管做何種詮釋，都會牽涉到「技藝」這個觀念，而這「技藝」一方面關聯著作為主體指向自身的修養，一方面又關聯著指向主體之外的「他者」的統治，無怪乎歷來解釋總在「修養－統治」這光譜的兩端間游移。本文中，筆者擬暫時擱置一般的閱讀假定，讓《莊子》的書寫由思維表象轉為思維生發的導引，順著「季咸見壺丘」一段故事的脈絡中包藏的隱喻分析，通過此劇幕的重新演出，看看吾人作為觀者，在與此展示之不期然的遭遇可「發生」什麼。最後回到〈應帝王〉的篇名，檢視其何以能同時容納「修養境界」與「統治技藝」的詮釋可能。

The story of ”Ji-xian meets Hu-qiu” in ”Zhuangzi” which had been attention-getting was still hard to properly interpret. The question is: ”the four demonstrations of Master Hu” should be treated as realms of cultivation? techniques of domination? both or neither? I thought the question must implicate the concept ”technique” regardless of what interpretations we took. The concept ”technique” refers to the subject's self-cultivation on the one side, and to the domination over others on the other side. No wonder so many interpretations waved between two pole of ”cultivation-domination”. I will epochē the general reading assumptions, by following the context to analyze the metaphors, and let representation thinking turn to procreation thinking to anticipate what will ”happen” when we as readers meet this demonstrations. Finally, I will propose my opinion about why the chapter title ”responses for emperors and kings” can accommodate both interpretations as ”realms of cultivation” and ”tech- niques of domination”.