Buddhism was first brought into China from India along the Silk Route in the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). Unlike supposedly home-grown Taoism which believed in an ordered society, Buddhism directly addressed concepts of human suffering in a way which was very appealing to the Chinese, providing them with the metaphysic lacking in Taoism. Nonetheless, Buddhism was taught through the principals and language of Taoism and both philosophies benefited from the exchange. China embraced the Mahayana school of Buddhism, which incorporated the broader appeal of Buddha’s teachings, as opposed to the Theravada school which focused on a close reading of original texts. Mahayana Buddhism produced other schools such as Zen, Pure Land and Tibetan which increased its popularity further. It is no surprise then that many of the country’s rulers including the Mongols and Manchus adopted Buddhism as the state religion to connect with the masses and justify their rule. Even today there are an estimated 100 million Buddhists on the mainland and its influence alongside Taoism in the spiritual and creative development of China should not be overlooked.