Original sentence: 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.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 sweet expression.The Vinegar Tasters (三酸圖, three sours; 嘗醋翁, vinegar tasting old-men; 嘗醋圖, 尝醋图, all not common names of this painting), vinegar tasting picture is an allegory image representing Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism (Daoism), and generally favourable to Taoism and critical of the other two.The three men are depictions of Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi, and represent the three major philosophical traditions of China — Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.This painting was made even more popular when it was cited in Benjamin Hoff's book, The Tao of Pooh
Edited sentence: Each man's expression represents the predominant attitude of his 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.It favors Taoism and is critical of the others.The Vinegar Tasters (uncommon names: 三酸圖, three sours; 嘗醋翁, vinegar tasting old-men; 嘗醋圖, 尝醋图), is a traditional subject in Chinese religious painting.The allegorical composition depicts the three founders of China's major religious & philosophical traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.The three men are Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi.The three men are 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 sweet expression.This painting was popularized in the West by Benjamin Hoff's book, The Tao of Pooh