The inheritance tradition of Buddhism

According to historical records, it should be the Qin Dynasty that Buddhist monks entered China one after another.

However, according to the generally accepted regular time, according to the Preface to Forty-two Chapters, Theory of Mouzi's Confusion and other ancient books, during the Yongping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 58-75), Liu Zhuang, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, dreamed of a god man flying around in front of the temple at night in the seventh year of Yongping (AD 64). The next day, ministers will get together and ask, "What kind of god is this?" At that time, a learned minister, Yi Fu, replied, "I heard that there are Buddhists in the west. They can fly in the air and have magical power. Your majesty must have dreamed of Buddha. " In the second year, Emperor Hanming sent ten people, including Dr. Cai Cheng (Y and N) and his disciple Qin Jing, to the Western Regions. After the mission arrived in Dayue State, it copied 42 Buddhist scriptures (this is the famous "Forty-two Chapters"), and in the tenth year of Yongping (AD 67), it met local eminent monks Jia She Mo Teng and Zhu Fa Lan, and invited the Second Division to spread Buddhism in Han. The second division accepted the invitation, rode a white horse carrying Buddha statues and scriptures, and came to Luoyang with Cai Cheng and his party. Emperor Han Ming welcomed them. In the 11th year of Yongping (AD 68), a Buddhist temple was built for them and named "White Horse Temple". Baima Temple is the earliest Buddhist temple in China in the Han Dynasty, and the Buddhist scriptures retrieved are collected in the "Lantian Stone Room" of the Royal Library and Archives. This is the story of "White Horse Carrying Sutra".

It should be said that it was officially introduced to China in 68 AD.

The White Horse Temple in Luoyang and the White Horse Statue in Tuojing that year.