le communities took the message on board and monks lived along the way. Many ruins exist in the desert regions where numerous finely decorated caves formed the center of monasteries. Some areas have up to a thousand caves in a single group. Many of these caves had beautiful wall paintings and Buddha images which often were sponsored by travelers who sought protection for their journey ahead or gave thanks for having made it that far.In the middle of the first century AD, a Han Chinese Emperor became interested in Buddhism. He sent envoys to India and in 67AD they returned with Buddhist writings. He then proceeded to have these texts translated into Chinese.According to legend, the Han Emperor Mingti, who had already heard of Buddhism, dreamt of a golden figure floating in a halo of light - that was interpreted by the Emperors wise men to be the Buddha himself. Consequently, an group representing China was sent to India to learn about the new religion. They returned with sacred Buddhist texts and paintings as well as Indian priests to explain the teaching of the Buddha to the Emperor. Monks, missionaries and pilgrims began travelling from India to Central Asia and then on to China, bringing Buddhist writings and paintings, while converts followed the Silk Road West.After spreading to China, the Chan school of Buddhism developed and later became the Zen School of Japan. This interpretation of Buddhism is today almost non-existent in its founding country. The need to spread texts contributed to the development of block printing techniques in China. The Pure Land School also began in China before moving into Japan and Korea.In 845, foreign religions were banned in China and a persecution of Buddhist groups greatly reduced numbers. This was followed by the political issues of the 20th Century which discouraged most religious activities. Although China helped to pass on the Buddhist teachings, the Buddhist philosophy almost disappeared in Ch...
