The Spread of Buddhism Along the Silk Roads

佛教沿丝绸之路的传播

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After Siddhartha Gautama’s enlightenment around 500 BCE, his teachings slowly moved beyond India.

公元前500年左右，悉达多·乔达摩悟道后，其教义逐渐传入印度以外地区。
Merchants, monks, and travelers carried Buddhist ideas eastward along trade routes connecting Asia.

商人、僧侣和旅行者沿连接亚洲的贸易路线，将佛教思想向东传播。
Monasteries sprang up near oases, offering shelter while becoming centers for learning and translation.

寺院在绿洲附近兴起，既为旅人提供庇护，也发展为学习与翻译中心。
Artists painted murals and carved statues showing Buddha’s life, helping illiterate people understand key ideas.

艺术家绘制壁画、雕刻佛像，描绘佛陀生平，帮助不识字者理解核心教义。
Local rulers often supported Buddhism because it promoted peace, ethics, and education.

地方统治者常支持佛教，因其倡导和平、伦理与教育。
By the 4th century CE, it had reached China, where translators adapted Sanskrit terms into Chinese characters.

至公元4世纪，佛教已传入中国，译者将梵文术语转译为汉字。
Buddhism changed as it moved—blending with Daoist and Confucian thought in East Asia.

佛教在传播中不断演变，于东亚与道家、儒家思想相融合。
This peaceful exchange shows how religion, trade, and culture shaped each other across continents.

这场和平交流彰显了宗教、贸易与文化如何跨越大陆相互塑造。