Initial period of penetration, distribution, and sinicization of Buddhism in China

Buddhism begins to penetrate into China at the turn of the first millennium AD. This process was characterized by a complex interaction of Buddhist doctrine with the highly developed Chinese culture, where stable forms of Confucian and Taoist ideology the had already formed. The division of this interaction into base points allows us to specify the process of penetration into several main periods and give them historical and cultural description. The first period was an acquaintance with Buddhism. The second period was Buddhism penetration into China, which began with the invoking Buddhists by the emperor Mingdi. The third period was characterized by the spread of Buddhism in China and the processes of reproducing the Buddhist model of personality among the Chinese. These three periods more fully describes Buddhism penetration into China and acceptation of Buddhist doctrine by Chinese society. At the same time, all these periods permeated the process of Buddhism sinicization, and determined the adaptation of Buddhist doctrine to the Chinese mentality and socio-cultural environment. As a result Buddhism became an integral part of traditional Chinese culture.