Vinegar tasters
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The Vinegar Tasters is an allegorical image representing Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism (Daoism), and generally favourable to Taoism and critical of the other two. It depicts three men dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one man reacts with a sour expression, one reacts with a bitter expression, and one reacts with a happy expression.
The three men are depictions of K'ung Fu-tse (Confucius), Buddha, and Lao-tse (Lao Tzu, Laozi), and represent the three traditions of China — Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Each man's expression represents the predominant attitude of the religion: Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules to correct the degeneration of people; Buddhism saw life as bitter, dominated by pain and suffering; and Taoism saw life as fundamentally good in its natural state.
| “ | From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of "The Vinegar Tasters". | ” |
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—from The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff |
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A more conciliatory interpretation of the painting is that, since the three men are gathered around one vat of vinegar, "the three teachings are one". Another contrasting interpretation is that the vinegar in the vat was of very poor quality, but Lao-tse tasted it with relish because of his sunny disposition and undiscriminating palate.
It may also be interpreted with Confucianism being concerned with the outside world, and viewing the vinegar as "polluted wine"; Buddhism being concerned with the self, and viewing the vinegar as a polluter of the body and soul of the taster; and Taoism being concerned with a holistic view, viewing the vinegar as perfectly in order, because vinegar is supposed to have a sour and bitter taste.
This painting was made even more popular when it was cited in Benjamin Hoff's book, The Tao of Pooh. As mentioned in the book, the scroll painting was a popular piece of art in ancient times. However nowadays it is rarely painted in China anymore with the exception of dedicated speciality places like the one at Vinegar Tasters Painting store.
