佛教常識_佛教是什么時候傳入中國的？

When was Buddhism first introduced into China?
佛教是什么時候傳入中國的？

It is difficult to ascertain the exact time of the introduction of Buddhism into China. In the early years of its introduction, its followers were few and may not have been noticed by the upper bureaucracy and historians. In the year 2 BC, Yi Cun, the envoy of the king of Great Ku?ā?a (a kingdom established by a powerful minority ethnic group after its migration from Gansu, China, to Central Asia), arrived in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), capital of the Han Dynasty. He recited Buddhist teachings to a high-ranking scholar-administrator named Jing Lu. This is the earliest record of the introduction of Buddhism into China. We may presume that 120 years before this, with the opening up of communication with the Western Regions by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism, which had spread from India to Central Asia, was probably already being carried eastward by travelers. According to another tradition, at the time of Qin Shihuang (who reigned during 246-210 BC, contemporaneously with A?oka in India, who reigned during 272-226 BC), 18 Indian sama?as—Sri Fang and others—came to Xianyang (near present-day Xi'an). After the Third Buddhist Council, held in about 250 BC during the reign of A?oka, Buddhist missions were sent to various countries, so it is quite possible that a mission came to China. Besides, some identify the word "Xianmen" which appears in Song Yu's Ode of Gao Tang and the Biography of Qin Shi Huang in the Annals of History with the word "Sama?a". Yet this is hard to verify since there are no extant translations or other books on the matter.
佛教傳入中國的具體時間和年代，現(xiàn)在很難考定。最初傳入時，不過在少數(shù)人中奉行，未必為上層官府和史官之流所注意。公元前2年，大月氏國（原居我國甘肅的一個強盛的少數(shù)民族西遷中亞后建立的國家）國王的使者伊存到了當時中國的首都長安（即今西安），他口授佛經(jīng)給一個名叫景盧的博士弟子，這是中國史書上關(guān)于佛教傳入中國的最早的記錄。我們可推斷，由于在此一百二十年前漢武帝開辟西域交通的結(jié)果，當時由印度傳布到中亞細亞的佛教很可能早已通過行旅往來而向東方漸進。也有傳說：在與印度阿育王（約公元前272—公元前226在位）同時的秦始皇（公元前246—公元前210在位）時代，已有印度的沙門室利房等十八人來到我國咸陽。阿育王時舉行第三次結(jié)集約在公元前250年，會后派大德赴各國傳教，前來中國很有可能。另外，也有認為宋玉《高唐賦》和《史記·始皇本紀》中的“羨門”即沙門的，但因無譯述學(xué)說傳世，無從確考。