In ancient China, the most widely spread religion was Buddhism. However, in the beginning (probably before the Eastern Han Dynasty) Buddhism wasn’t a domestic religion in China. People know Buddhism began in ancient India about 2,500 years ago.

But in the Easter Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu Zhuang dreamed of a golden man but knew nothing about him. The next day he called his courtiers to discuss this dream and finally he was told that the golden man was called Buddha from Xitianzhu (ancient India). So, he sent his courtier named Cai Yin to seek the Buddhist doctrine. After 7 years, he came back to China with Buddhist scripture and figures. This was the first record on China's Buddhist figures in ancient books, but it didn't tell what kinds of figures they were. From the existing stone sculptures and pottery Buddhist figures, we will find that the Han people carved them according to the images of celestial beings in vogue at that time.

In the Five Dynasties and 16 States, Buddhist figures in Chinese style began to show up. They were not reliefs or shallow-carved images attached to other objects, but whole Buddhist figures with complete body structures. The statues, however, still followed the suit of Indian models.

In the Northern Wei period, the art of Buddhist figures flourished and began to shake off traces from ancient India. At that time, emperors believed in Buddhism which resulted in a nationwide practice to cast figures. The early works were greatly influenced by the Indian arts. The most attractive was two gold-plated copper Buddha sitting abreast. Hebei region was then the figure-carving center and had gathered many skillful craftsmen from around the country. Among the Yungang Grottoes we found many ancient outstanding works.