In

Zhuangzi

庄子， the concept of “Dao” encompasses multiple dimensions—acting as a metaphysical foundation， a principle of action and a way of viewing the world， which determines the complexity and richness of its modes of speaking. Previous reflections on the strategies of articulating the Dao in

Zhuangzi

have primarily focused on “Three Modes of S

peech”：

yuyan

寓言，

zhongyan

重言 and

zhiyan

卮言. In fact，

Zhuangzi

also employs three special strategies—silence， insufficient speakability， and skill （technique）—to navigate the fundamental aporia that “the Dao cannot be spoken”. Specifically， silence is not merely aphasia， but an exceptional state of speech with profound philosophical connotations. Given that language cannot break through the boundary between concrete things and the Dao， silence aims to verify and embody the ineffable wondrous Dao through non-verbal mental capacities. Secondly， “insufficient speakability” serves as a weakened version of the “ineffability of the Dao”， often manifesting as “attempting to speak of it” and through apophatic （negative） expressions， thereby indicating that the Dao defies objectified definition. Finally， skill， as a category of practical philosophy， reveals the instrumental characteristic of the Dao as a principle of action. This represents a form of ineffable tacit knowledge， which can only be exhibited through specific technical operations and embodied practices. An examination of these three special strategies deepens our understanding of the discursive modes of

Zhuangzi

.