Spread of Buddhism in China Essay - 773 Words

It is believed that Buddhism spread to China through the Silk Road. When the Silk Road opened in the 2nd century BC, missionaries and pilgrims spread Buddhism to China. Chang Ch’ien was recorded to first bring Buddhism to China when he heard about India and Buddhist beliefs on his way back to China. In about the 1st century BC, a Buddhist community is said to have been living in China. But the most well-known story of the spreading of Buddhism is when Han emperor, Mingdi, had a dream about Buddha in 68 CE and sent Cai Yin, his official to learn more about it. Meanwhile, Mingdi learned from his ministers that he had seen Buddha, â€Å"the God of the West† in his dream. After 3 years Cai Yin came back to china with Buddhist teachings and†¦show more content†¦Starting in 468 BCE during the Zhou dynasty, the Grand Canal took about 6 million peasants about a millennium to build. The construction of this canal finally finished in 610 CE under Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty. Changing China’s staple from millet and wheat to rice was the main reason of the building of the canal, but it also helped Chinese economy by connecting the more productive southern China to the capitals in northern china. It increased interdependence between the north and the south. One section of the Grand Canal was also intended to supply Chinese armies which led to better defense and administration in China. Also, in building the canal, officials were required to work together, so the Grand Canal brought better authority and unity to political officials. The downside of this canal, though, was the number of peasants killed in constructing it. Over half of the 6 million peasants employed to build the canal died in building it, which was a reason the Sui dynasty fell. The great Grand Canal set the foundation for the great Tang dynasty. Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule China, ruled during the Tang dynasty, but exerted cruel and malicious met hods to gain power. She was born with the name Wu Zhao into a wealthy family and learned to write, read, and play music. Because of her beauty and intelligence, Wu became Emperor Tsung’s fifth favorite concubine, orShow MoreRelatedSpread of Buddhism in China834 Words   |  3 Pages Buddhism arrived in China by the first century C.E. by way of the Silk Road. Initially, the spread of Buddhism was met with positivity, but as the centuries passed, the Chinese began to view it in a negative light. Additionally, during a period of disunity and political instability, the Chinese peasants welcomed Buddhism, but as Buddhism became more popular, Chinese aristocracy and government saw it as a threat to their power and moved to discredit its movement. 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