Joseph Needham has described the unity of Chinese civilisation as organismic, with the various parts functioning like those of a living organism. We think of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, and even of popular religion. These are separate traditions; they are also parts of a greater whole. That is why the term ‘Chinese tradition’ may be used both in the singular and in the plural. That is why many Chinese still claim to be at the same time, Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist.
–Julia Ching, Mysticism and Kingship in China: The Heart of Chinese Wisdom , p. 265
Hold It All
