Religions of Ancient China by Herbert A. Giles

So early as the third century B. C., Buddhism seems to have appeared in / China, though it was not until the latter part of the first century A. D. / that a regular propaganda was established, and not until a century or / two later still that this religion began to take a firm hold of the / Chinese people. It was bitterly opposed by the Taoists, and only after / the lapse of many centuries were the two doctrines able to exist side / by side in peace. Each religion began early to borrow from the other. In / the words of the philosopher Chu Hsi, of the twelfth century, "Buddhism / stole the best features of Taoism; Taoism stole the worst features of / Buddhism. It is as though one took a jewel from the other, and the loser / recouped the loss with a stone."

From Buddhism the Taoists borrowed their whole scheme of temples, / priests, nuns, and ritual. They drew up liturgies to resemble the / Buddhist _Sutras_, and also prayers for the dead. They adopted the / idea of a Trinity, consisting of Lao Tzu, P'an Ku, and the Ruler of the / Universe; and they further appropriated the Buddhist Purgatory with all / its frightful terrors and tortures after death.