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Secondary sourcePainting1368–1644

Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu and Confucius

Unknown · 1368–1644

A Ming-dynasty painting showing the Buddha, Laozi and Confucius together, symbolizing the 'three teachings' of Chinese thought.

Laozi appears here alongside the Buddha and Confucius, reflecting his later status as one of China's three great sages.

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Painting on silk or paper with a pale grey-blue background, a bare-branched pine tree at left, and three robed figures standing on rocks: a white-robed elder with a staff at left, a barefoot bearded man in a brown-red robe in the center, and a white-robed bearded elder at right. A red seal appears in the lower left corner, framed by a gold brocade border.
Unknown artist, Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu and Confucius, Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

About this source

What it is

This is a painting made during the Ming dynasty, by an unknown artist. It shows three robed figures standing on rocks beside a bare pine tree: likely representations of the Buddha, Laozi and Confucius, the founders of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

Why it matters

The painting reflects a long Chinese tradition of showing these three teachers together, suggesting that their philosophies could be seen as complementary rather than rival. It tells us more about how later generations viewed Laozi and the other sages than about Laozi's own life, since it was painted many centuries after he supposedly lived.

Look closer

  • How does the artist use clothing and posture to distinguish the three figures?
  • Why might an artist want to paint these three teachers together in one scene?
  • What does this painting suggest about how later Chinese society understood the relationship between different belief systems?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Laozi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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