The historical record of the time when Buddhism spread to China is during the time of Emperor Ming of Eastern Han (Chin.: Dong Han 东汉 25-220) dynasty around 67 C.B.E. Emperor Ming (chin.: han ming di 漢明帝), dreamed about a Gold God coming from the west flied around a temple in circles, so he dispatched 18 envoys led by by Minister (chin.:dachen 大臣) Cai Yin (蔡愔), Qin Jing (秦景)and a delegation of 18 officials to the Western Region to seek Buddha dharma.
In India, the envoy met two monks from the Yueh Chi country (Afghanistan), Kasyapa Matanga (Chn. Ye Moteng 葉摩騰) and Dharmaraksha (Chn. Zhu Fa Lan 竺法蘭). They were on their way to China so the envoy invited them back to China to do missionary work and propagate Buddhism (chin.: chuanjiao 傳教).
On the way to Luoyang, Buddhist Scriptures (Chn. Fojing 佛經) and Sakyamuni Statues (Chn. Shijiamouni xiang 釋迦牟尼像) were carried by two white horses (chin: baima 白马. To honor them Emperor Ming built for them a Monastery. The Temple was named after the white horses White Horse Monastery (chin.: Baimasi 白马寺).
In the Baimasi they translated the first Buddhist literature in China, The Sutra in Forty-two Sections (chin.: Sishi Er Zhang Jing 四十二章經), Spoken by the Buddha.
Suggested Keywords for further search: Sayings of Buddha | 42 Sections Sutra | Teachings of Buddha
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