A Mysterious Dream in the Imperial Palace
In the seventh year of his reign (64 CE), Emperor Ming of Han was plunged into grief: his beloved mother, Empress Dowager Yin Lihua, had passed away. Deeply affected, he struggled with insomnia and sorrow. One night, he dreamed of a golden figure with a luminous halo hovering above its head, drifting through the palace halls. Just as he tried to speak to it, the being rose into the sky and flew westward.
Startled awake, the emperor saw only the flickering candlelight – yet the vision lingered in his mind. At dawn, he summoned his ministers to interpret the dream. None could identify the golden man or divine its meaning.
Then Doctor Fu Yi spoke up:
“Your Majesty, in the Western Regions, there is a deity called the ‘Buddha’. The golden man you saw – flying west – must be him. Long ago, during his campaigns against the Xiongnu General Huo Qubing captured a golden idol from the King of Xiutu. It was said to have come from Tianzhu (India). Emperor Wu enshrined it in the Ganquan Palace, though it vanished amid later wars. Your dream likely reveals the Buddha’s presence.”
Intrigued, Emperor Ming dispatched Cai Yin and Qin Jing, two court envoys, on a historic mission: to journey to Tianzhu and seek Buddhist scriptures (sidenote: more than 500 years earlier than Tang Monk’s journey to the west to seek Buddhist scriptures).
The Origins of Buddhism: From Prince to Enlightened One
Tianzhu (also known as Shendu), encompassing ancient India and Nepal, was the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama – later known as Shakyamuni Buddha. Born in 557 BCE as a prince of the Shakya clan, he lived in luxury until confronted by the realities of old age, sickness, and death. Distraught by life’s inherent suffering, he renounced his throne at twenty-nine and retreated to the forests to seek liberation.
After sixteen years of meditation and ascetic practice, he attained enlightenment and founded Buddhism – a path teaching that:
- All material things are impermanent;
- The spirit endures beyond death;
- Karma governs rebirth – good deeds bring reward, evil brings retribution;
- All sentient beings – from humans to insects – are equal;
- Compassion and non-violence are the highest virtues.
In a society rife with slavery and inequality, his message resonated deeply. Disciples recorded his teachings in the Twelve Divisions of the Buddhist Canon, spreading his doctrine across the subcontinent.
The Journey to Tianzhu and the Return with Dharma
Cai Yin and Qin Jing endured perilous deserts, towering mountains, and foreign lands before reaching Tianzhu. There, they studied local languages and encountered two learned monks: Kasyapa Matanga (She Moteng) and Dharmaratna (Zhu Falan). These monks, fluent in Chinese, explained core Buddhist principles and agreed to accompany the envoys back to China.
Thus, the delegation returned bearing:
- A statue of the Buddha,
- The Sutra in Forty-Two Sections Sishier Zhang Jing),
- And two living emissaries of the Dharma.
They traveled on a white horse that carried the sacred texts – a detail that would echo through history.
Upon arrival in Luoyang, they were housed in the Honglu Temple, the imperial guesthouse for foreign dignitaries. Cai Yin and Qin Jing presented the relics and introduced the monks to Emperor Ming.
The Founding of White Horse Temple
Though Emperor Ming could not read the Sanskrit scriptures and barely grasped the monks’ explanations, he was moved by their sincerity. He ordered the Honglu Temple renovated to enshrine the Buddha image and appointed the two monks to conduct Buddhist rites. The white horse that bore the scriptures was also cared for on the grounds.
In time, the temple became known as White Horse Temple (Baima Si) – the first Buddhist monastery in China.
Yet Buddhism remained a curiosity. Most courtiers treated it as an exotic foreign novelty. Only one noble took it seriously: Prince Liu Ying of Chu (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), the emperor’s half-brother.
Faith or Treason? The Fall of Prince Liu Ying
Liu Ying sent envoys to Luoyang to learn Buddhist practices. The monks gave them a painted Buddha image, a copied sutra, and instructions on worship, prayer, and ritual. Back in Chu, Liu Ying erected an altar, prayed daily for protection (turning danger into safety, disaster into fortune”), and gathered Daoist magicians and mystics around him.
But his activities grew suspicious. He began producing “tokens of mandate” (fu ming) – inscribed talismans claiming heavenly sanction for his rule. Rumors spread: Prince Liu Ying sought the throne.
Before he could act, informants alerted the court. Investigations confirmed his treasonous designs. Emperor Ming, though reluctant, stripped him of his title. Liu Ying, abandoned and hopeless, took his own life – his faith offering no salvation.
Confucian Revival in the Wake of Buddhist Scandal
The scandal gave conservative Confucian scholars the opening they needed. They urged the emperor to reject foreign doctrines and reaffirm Confucian orthodoxy. Emperor Ming, never a true believer in Buddhism, readily agreed.
He established the Imperial Academy (Taixue) in the Southern Palace, mandating that nobles study the Classic of Filial Piety. His logic was political:
“If all sons obey their fathers, who would dare challenge the Son of Heaven?”
He even traveled to Lu (Confucius’ homeland) to sacrifice at the sage’s temple and personally lectured on filial piety at the academy – reinforcing loyalty through moral education.
This cultural renaissance nurtured a generation of literati. Yet paradoxically, it also inspired rebellion – of a different kind.
From Scrolls to Swords: The Rise of Ban Chao
Among the scholarly elite was Ban Chao, son of the historian Ban Biao and brother of Ban Gu, compiler of the Book of Han. Though raised in a family of scholars, Ban Chao grew restless with ink and paper. Watching envoys return from distant lands, he famously declared:
“A great man should emulate Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian – establish merit in foreign lands! How can I spend my life copying documents?”
He would soon abandon his desk for the frontier, becoming one of Han China’s greatest military diplomats in the Western Regions – proving that while the court turned inward to Confucian texts, the world beyond still demanded courage, not just calligraphy.
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