The moment
A Chinese legend says Emperor Ming dreamed of a golden figure and sent envoys west, who returned with monks and sūtras carried on white horses. Historians treat the tale as later pious tradition: Buddhism was carried into Han China by Central Asian merchants and monks during the 1st century CE, and the first surviving Chinese translations were made at Luoyang in the 2nd century. It went on to become one of China's Three Teachings.