The vinegar tasters
The Vinegar tasters (三酸圖, three sips; 嘗醋翁 or old men tasting vinegar; 嘗醋圖, 尝醋图), is an alegoric picture that represents to the confucianism, the buddhism and the taoism, favorably with the last one and critically with the other two.
In the picture it can be seen three men dipping a finger in a vinegar pot and tasting it. One of the men reacts with a sour expression, other reacts with a bitter expression and the last one reacts with a sweet expression. The three men are representations of Confucius, Gautama Buddha and Laozi and represent the three greatest Chinese philosophical traditions and the predominant attitude towards the life of each one of them.
The confucianism sees the life like somthing sour that needs rules to correct the degeneration of the people's attitudes. The buddhism sees the life like a bitter experience, filled of fear and pain. The taoism, nevertheless, don't waste time valuing the life, it simply sees the things as they are in their natural state and accept them as they are.
Other interpretation of the painting is one called "three teachings in one".
- Kakuzo. The Book of Tea (EasyRead Edition). ReadHowYouWant.com. 2006. p.23. ISBN 1-4250-0026-6.
- Hopfe, Lewis M; revised by Woodward, Mark R. "Religions of the World". Pearson Prentice Hall. 2007. p 176. ISBN 0-13-224045-9
- Ji, Sang. Religions and Religious Life in China. China Intercontinental Press, 2004.
- Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1958.
The Vinegar Tasters Media
The Three Vinegar Tasters, depicting Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi over a pot of vinegar, respectively perceiving it as sour, bitter and sweet.Painting by an artist of the Kanō school.Japan, Muromachi period, 16th century.
Painting by Kanō Isen'in.Japan, Edo period, 1802-1816.
The traditional Asian allegorical image "The Vinegar Tasters". Source = 配图古诗精选, ca. 1880, p. 27, author unknown - traditional.
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Other websites
- Three teachings in one in English Wikipedia
- An excerpt from The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
- An interpretation of The Vinegar Tasters