WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Buddhism entered China via the Silk Road. Buddhist monks travelled with merchant caravans on the Silk Road to preach their new religion.

Detailed explanation-2: -Towards the end of the Han dynasty around the year 200 CE, traders travelling from India to China along the Silk Road brought Buddhism with them. At first Buddhism was practised only by foreigners. To many Chinese, Buddhism initially seemed to be a variant of Daoism.

Detailed explanation-3: -Adopting the Buddhist way of paying homage through art, Taoist art began being created and China developed its architectural culture. Buddhism also changed in China. Buddhist schools were established and ideas from Confucianism and Taoism both became integrated into Buddhism.

Detailed explanation-4: -There are many reasons why Buddhism became popular in China. Buddhism united the Chinese people into a community of believers. This unification helped the Chinese overcome a period of war and unrest during the Warring States period. There is also the connection to exchange networks.

Detailed explanation-5: -Most historians of ancient China agree that Buddhism arrived in the 1st century AD during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), brought by missionaries from neighbouring India travelling along trade routes into China.

Detailed explanation-6: -The Silk Road, where much of the trading that China participated in took place, had become one of the key factors of how Buddhism spread to China. Foreign merchants, refugees, envoys and hostages40 that passed through the Silk Road helped spread Buddhism by word of mouth.