Chinese philosophy Hogarth regularly encountered, going back (3)
I believe the answer is:
tao
'chinese philosophy' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'hogarth regularly encountered going back' is the wordplay.
'regularly encountered' indicates alternate letters.
'going back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
The alternate letters of 'hogarth' are 'oat'.
'oat' backwards is 'TAO'.
(Other definitions for tao that I've seen before include "Chinese philosophical principle" , "In China, code of behaviour in harmony with natural order" , "Element of Chinese philosophy" , "Universal principle of Chinese philosophy" , "true path" .)