Kasyapa Matanga And Dharmaratna

White Horse Temple In Luoyang, China / Image Credit

In the 1st century AD, Buddhism was introduced to China by Kasyapa Matanga, an Indian Buddhist monk who traveled  from India to Luoyang in Imperial China with another Indian monk, Dharmaratna or Gobharana. 

Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty constructed the White Horse Temple or Bai Ma Temple in 68 CE in the Han capital Luoyang in honour of these two Indian monks. White Horse Temple is reputed as the first Buddhist temple in China. These two monks learned Chinese and translated several Buddhist books, the first of which was the Sutra of 42 Sections Spoken by Buddha.