Buddhism’s spread from India to China started with a Han emperor’s dream
When Emperor Ming saw the Buddha in a dream, he sent a mission to India, triggering a chain of events that led to Buddhism’s rise in China.
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
No cultural or historic sight in China links the great Indian and Chinese civilisations more than the White Horse Temple Complex in Luoyang in the country’s Henan province. In 68 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han or Mingdi, this temple became the first Buddhist house of worship in China. It was also from here that Buddhism spread further to Vietnam, Japan and Korea.
A reminder of the temple complex’s kinship with India is an Indian-style Buddhist temple inaugurated by Indian President Pratibha Patil in 2010. “Historically, it has the unique distinction of symbolising an inter-mingling of Indian and Chinese cultures,” Patil said.
As per a widely believed legend, the temple’s construction as well as the arrival of Buddhism in China began with a dream. In this story, Mingdi, the emperor of the Later Han or Eastern Han Dynasty, dreamt that a golden figure flew over his palace, with the sun and moon behind its head. The next morning, he discussed his dream with his ministers, who suggested it could have been the Buddha.
At that time, it was only the learned men of China who knew of Buddhism – since the message of the Buddha arrived with traders and travellers – while the...
