Buddhism in China
Seated Buddha, from the Chinese Tang Dyn-
asty, Hebei province, ca. 650 CE.
Chinese Buddhism (traditional Chinese: ???
?; simplified Chinese: ????; Pinyin: fójiào)
refers collectively to the various schools of
Buddhism that have flourished in China prop-
er since ancient times. Many of these schools
integrated the ideas of Confucianism, Taoism
and other indigenous philosophical systems
so that what was initially a foreign religion
(the buddhadharma) came to be a natural
part of Chinese civilization, albeit with a
unique character. Buddhism has played an
enormous role in shaping the mindset of the
Chinese people, affecting their aesthetics,
politics, literature, philosophy and medicine.
At the peak of the Tang Dynasty’s vitality,
Chinese Buddhism produced numerous spir-
itual masters.[1][2]
Early History of
Buddhism in China
Arrival along the Silk Road
Fresco describing Emperor Han Wudi
(156-87 BCE) worshiping two statues of the
Golden Man as described, Mogao Caves,
Dunhuang, ca. 8th century CE.
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king
Ashoka (260-218 BCE).
According to European historians, Mauryan
emperor Ashoka the Great sent royal monk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buddhism in China
1
Massim Sthavira to Nepal , Bhutan and China
to spread Buddhism. An 8th century Chinese
mural in Dunhuang describes an Emperor Wu
of Han (156–87 BCE) worshiping the Golden
Man statues; "golden men brought in 120 BC
by a great Han general in his campaigns
against the nomads". However, there is no
such mention of Emperor Wu of Han worship-
ing the Buddha in Chinese historical literat-
ure.[3]
The Hou Hanshu then records the visit of
Yuezhi envoys to the Chinese capital in 2
BCE, who gave oral teachings on Buddhist
sutras to a student, suggesting that some
Yuezhi had already started to disseminate the
Buddhist faith in eastern Asia during the 1st
century BCE (Baldev Kumar (1973), exact
source needed).
The Hou Hanshu describes the enquiry
about Buddhism made around 70 CE by the
Han Emperor Ming (58–75 CE):
The