After Emperor Ming of Han ascended the throne, he sent envoys to comfort the surrounding ethnic minorities, easing the strained relations between the Han dynasty and these groups caused by Wang Mang's tyranny. He also vigorously promoted the study of Confucianism throughout the country, strengthened central authority, strictly forbade the relatives of imperial concubines from participating in court affairs, and increased vigilance against high-ranking officials and nobles with outstanding achievements or noble status. Emperor Ming showed no leniency toward those who violated the law.
When Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty was still the crown prince, he deeply revered Confucian scholarship, and his teacher was the renowned Confucian scholar Huan Rong. Emperor Ming was naturally intelligent and quickly achieved academic success; after ascending the throne, he often lectured on the classics at the Imperial Academy, the highest institution of learning in the central government, and was very popular among the students. No matter what difficult questions they raised, Emperor Ming could explain each one in detail.
One night, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty had a strange dream. In the dream, a person glowing with golden light sat cross-legged in midair, with a white halo above his head, swaying as he floated through the sky. Suddenly, this floating figure pointed westward and then swiftly flew away in that direction. After waking up, Emperor Ming could not figure out the meaning of the dream, so during the morning court session, he recounted it to his ministers, hoping someone could explain it.
After the ministers heard this, they exchanged bewildered glances, none daring to offer any rash comments. At that moment, a minister named Fu Yi said, "I have heard that in the West there is a country that worships a deity called Buddha. The person in Your Majesty's dream pointed westward and flew in that direction—this may very well be Buddha." Emperor Ming of Han immediately perked up and urgently asked Fu Yi to elaborate on that country. Fu Yi then explained in detail: that country was called Shendu, also known as Tianzhu, and had contact with the Central Plains since the Western Han Dynasty. The swift cavalry general Huo Qubing, during his campaign against the Xiongnu, had visited the Xiutu Kingdom and brought back a golden statue from the Xiutu king's palace. According to the Xiutu people, that golden statue had been passed down from Tianzhu, and the Xiutu king valued it greatly, enshrining it in his palace. After obtaining it, Emperor Wu of Han had carefully examined it, and the statue's appearance closely resembled the figure in Emperor Ming's dream. Unfortunately, that golden statue was lost during the chaos of war.
After Emperor Ming of Han heard this, he decided to send envoys to Tianzhu (ancient India) to investigate. Thus, the court officials Cai Yin and Qin Jing, carrying a large amount of wealth and leading a team of people, set out on a mission to Tianzhu with Emperor Ming's commission.
Cai Yin and Qin Jing traveled westward, and while staying in the Kingdom of the Yuezhi, they happened to encounter two eminent monks from the Kingdom of Tianzhu (ancient India). Delighted, Cai Yin and Qin Jing invited them to spread Buddhism in the Han Dynasty, and the two monks accompanied the Han delegation back to the Central Plains.
Two monks carried Buddhist scriptures and a golden statue of Shakyamuni to Luoyang on a white horse. Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty personally welcomed them and arranged for them to stay at the Honglu Temple, a facility designated for hosting religious figures. The emperor invited the two eminent monks to the palace to explain the Buddhist scriptures to him. Perhaps due to differences in ideology, Emperor Ming did not fully understand the scriptures, but he greatly admired the golden statue of Shakyamuni, feeling it closely resembled the figure he had seen in a dream. In 68 AD, Emperor Ming ordered the construction of a temple outside the Yongmen Gate in the western part of Luoyang for the Indian monks to reside in. Because the two eminent monks had brought Buddhism on a white horse, the temple was named the White Horse Temple.