When did Buddhism first reach China, and how did it travel there?

While there are reports of Buddhists in China as early as the 3rd century BCE, the religion was not actively propagated there until the early centuries of the Common Era.1

Buddhism likely entered China gradually, primarily through Central Asia via the Silk Road, a network of trade routes that facilitated the movement of monks and texts between India, Central Asia, and China. Later, the religion also spread through trade routes around and through Southeast Asia.123

According to tradition, the formal introduction of Buddhism occurred during the Han dynasty under Emperor Mingdi (reigned 57/58–75/76 CE). Legend holds that after the emperor dreamed of a golden deity, he dispatched emissaries to India who returned with the Sutra in Forty-two Sections, which was subsequently housed in a temple near the capital of Luoyang.1