The White Horse Temple Complex, located in Luoyang in Henan province, China, stands as one of the most significant cultural landmarks linking the ancient Indian and Chinese civilizations. Established in 68 CE during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, this temple became China’s first Buddhist house of worship and played a crucial role in the spread of Buddhism across East Asia, including Vietnam, Japan, and Korea.
A key reminder of the cultural connection between India and China is an Indian-style Buddhist temple within the White Horse Temple Complex, which was inaugurated by Indian President Pratibha Patil in 2010. Speaking at the event, Patil emphasized the significance of the site, stating, “Historically, it has the unique distinction of symbolising an inter-mingling of Indian and Chinese cultures.”
The legend surrounding the temple’s origins offers a fascinating narrative of the introduction of Buddhism to China. The story begins with a dream experienced by Emperor Mingdi of the Later Han Dynasty. In the dream, a golden figure appeared, flying over his palace with the sun and moon behind its head. Upon discussing the dream with his ministers, it was suggested that it might have been a vision of the Buddha.
At the time, knowledge of Buddhism was limited in China, with only a few learned men familiar with the religion. Buddhism had entered China through traders and travelers, while Confucianism remained the dominant belief system in the country. As American Buddhist scholar Kenneth Saunders noted in a 1923 article for the University of California, Berkeley’s Journal of Religion, “While Gotama was preaching in the Ganges Valley, Confucius and Lao-tse were grafting upon the ancient Chinese stock of Animism, or ‘Universism,’ their own distinctive teachings.” Saunders argued that Emperor Mingdi’s dream must have had some basis in earlier Buddhist teachings already circulating in China, possibly brought back by an expedition in 121 BCE.
Following his dream, Emperor Mingdi sent a delegation to India to learn more about Buddhism. The group of 18 individuals set off for India, passing through what is now Xinjiang. Over the three years of their journey, the delegation engaged with both lay Buddhists and monks, learning as much as they could about the teachings of the Buddha.
The delegation’s efforts resulted in the recruitment of two Indian monks, Kashyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, both of whom became central figures in the early spread of Buddhism in China. Kashyapa Matanga, originally from a Brahmin family in Central India, was well-versed in Mahayana sutras, while Dharmaratna was a highly learned scholar. Saunders believed that these monks had previously attempted to spread Buddhism among the Yuezhi people, a nomadic community in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan, before traveling to China with the imperial delegation.
The two monks made their journey with a white horse, which carried a bundle of Buddhist sutras and images of the Buddha. The journey was arduous and took a toll on the monks, but their arrival in Luoyang was met with a warm and grand reception. Saunders described the scene, saying, “Weary with their long journey, they would enjoy the wide prospect over lake and river, and not far away were mountains dear to the Buddhist heart.”
Upon their arrival in 67 CE, Kashyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna were tasked with translating Buddhist texts and spreading the teachings of Buddhism. According to Saunders, their first work was a handbook of moral teachings that presented no significant challenge to Confucian or Taoist beliefs. This text was largely based on Theravada Buddhist principles but included elements that would appeal to the Chinese, such as advice on maintaining a sublimated family life. The Sutra of Forty-Two Sayings, likely written by Kashyapa Matanga, became an important part of their mission. Saunders noted that this text was well-received and respected in China for its skillful presentation of Buddhist teachings in a way that was sensitive to Chinese cultural norms.
The story goes that, within a year of the monks’ arrival, Emperor Mingdi commissioned the construction of the White Horse Temple to honor the white horse that had carried the sacred Buddhist scriptures. However, some scholars dispute this version of events. Godfrey Liu and William Wang, in the Chinese Journal of Linguistics, suggested that the temple’s name might have been derived from the Sanskrit word for lotus (padma) and that the Chinese term for “white horse” (bai ma) was a result of folk etymology. Despite this theory, the connection between the white horse and the temple is widely accepted among pilgrims and temple authorities.
The monks did not live long after their arrival in Luoyang. Kashyapa Matanga is believed to have died in 73 CE, and Dharmaratna likely passed away soon afterward. However, their legacy was significant. As Saunders wrote, “The two pioneers did not long survive their arrival at the capital, but they left a tradition of sound scholarship and earnest work, and their Monastery of the White Horse became the model for many of its successors.”
The two monks were honored with a rare distinction in China: they were buried within the White Horse Temple complex. Centuries later, the famous scholar and traveler Xuan Zang, who made a pilgrimage to India in the 7th century, became the abbot of the White Horse Temple, further cementing the temple’s importance in the history of Buddhism in China.
After the deaths of Kashyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, many other Indian monks began making the long journey to China, bringing Buddhism with them. According to Madhavi Thampi, a scholar of Chinese history, “Indian monks were no doubt motivated to travel to China, in spite of the difficulties of their journeys and the slim likelihood of ever returning to their homeland, because of the respect and warmth with which they were received in China.” This respect was evident not only from the Chinese emperors and princes but also from ordinary people, who warmly embraced the Buddhist missionaries.
Indian Buddhist monks continued to travel the Silk Road to China until the 11th century when Buddhism in India began to decline. As KM Pannikar, India’s first ambassador to China, noted, the interaction between India and China through Buddhist missionaries was one of the most significant events in Asian history. This millennium-long exchange laid the foundation for much of the shared cultural and religious history between the two great civilizations.
