At about the same time as, or a little earlier than, Confucius, Buddhism was founded by Sakyamuni, who was originally a prince of a small state in North india, on the border of present-day Nepal. At that time india was divided into many states with different traditions and languages.

Buddhism was first introduced into China at the beginning of the Eastern Han. This had something to do with the opening of the Western Regions, which made travel between China and india easier than before. In AD 67, two indian monks came to Luoyang. Emperor Ming Di ordered the building of the White Horse Temple and asked them to translate Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. They were followed by other monks from india and West Asia. At first, Buddhism was known only to members of the ruling class. It was during the period of the Southern and Northern dynasties that it was spread among the ordinary people.