Editing Three teachings (section)

== Three teachings harmonious as one ==
The phrase also appears as the ''three teachings harmonious as one'' ({{zh|c=[[wikt:三|三]][[wikt:教|教]][[wikt:合|合]][[wikt:一|一]]|s=|t=|p=San Jiao He Yi |labels=no}}). In common understanding, ''three teachings harmonious as one'' simply reflects the long history, mutual influence, and (at times) complementary teachings of the three belief systems.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vuong|first1=Quan-Hoang|date=2018|title=Cultural additivity: behavioural insights from the interaction of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in folktales |journal=Palgrave Communications|volume=4|issue=1|pages=143|doi=10.1057/s41599-018-0189-2|s2cid=54444540 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

It can also be used in reference to the "[[Sanyi teaching]]", a [[syncretic]] sect which was founded during the [[Ming dynasty]] by Lin Zhao'en, wherein Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist beliefs are combined according to their usefulness in [[self-cultivation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://faculty.franklin.uga.edu/kirkland/sites/faculty.franklin.uga.edu.kirkland/files/linchao.pdf |title=Lin Zhaoen (Lin Chao-en: 1517-1598) |first=Russell |last=Kirkland |access-date=16 February 2011}}</ref> However, the phrase is not necessarily a reference to this sect.

While Confucianism was the ideology of the law, the institutions and the ruling class, Taoism was the worldview of the radical intellectuals and it was also compatible with the spiritual beliefs of the peasants and the artisans. The two, although opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum, jointly created the Chinese "image of the world".<ref>Freiberg, J.W. “THE DIALECTIC OF CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM IN ANCIENT CHINA.” Dialectical Anthropology 2, no. 3 (1977): 175–98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29789901.</ref>

The joint worship of the three teachings can be found in some [[Chinese temple architecture|Chinese temples]], such as in [[Hanging Temple]].

Sanjiao believers think that "[t]hree teachings are...safer than one" and that using elements from all three brings good fortune.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clayre |first=Alasdair |title=The Heart of the Dragon |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-395-35336-3 |edition=First American |location=Boston |pages=35 |author-link=Alasdair Clayre}}</ref>