Buddhism
Though Indian in design and containing elements of Hinduism, like so many outside influences that reached China, Buddhism was adopted and adapted to fit Chinese beliefs and needs. Aspects of Buddhist dharma could be likened to Taoism and the fact that Buddhism didn't outlaw recognition of other gods allowed it to incorporate facets of traditional folk religions, and to prosper in China.
History in China
White Horse Temple
Buddhism came to China in 67 AD, and the first Buddhist place of worship is believed to have been the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Shandong province, founded in 68 AD, by two Indian monks who arrived on a white horse. However, the religion only really gained popularity after the arrival of Bodhidharma, an Indian monk who is said to have journeyed to Shaolin Temple in the fifth century and is also credited with the development of Chinese martial arts. The Tang dynasty was Buddhism's great era in Chinese history and monks numbered in the hundreds of thousands. It was also during this period that China's great Buddhist cave art flourished, most spectacularly at Longmen near Luoyang in Shandong province, at Dunhuang in Gansu province and at Dazu in Szechuan province.
Life of Sakyamuni
Buddhism is a religion borne of Sakyamuni, a Nepali prince, also known as Siddhartha Gautama. Having been sheltered from the harsh realities of life by living within a palace, Siddhartha was shocked by his first glimpses of the outside world and renounced his earthly possessions in the search for release from the earthly cycle of life, death and re-birth. After several years as an ascetic, Sakyamuni realized that physical vigilance in the form of fasting, contortion and the like were not the answer. Finally he achieved nirvana (enlightenment) under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya in Bihar, India, and became Buddha (the Enlightened One), though he never claimed to be anything more than a man. He then gave sermons at Sarnath on the banks of the Ganges, where he spoke of realizing the existence of suffering and finding the dharma, or path to enlightenment, through meditation and giving up the desire for all worldly things. Sakyamuni spent the remainder of his life traveling around the Ganges floodplains in northeastern India, teaching and receiving visitors.
Sakyamuni
Basics of Buddhism
Buddhism is based on realization of the Four Noble Truths: Life means Suffering; The Origin of Suffering is Attachment; The Cessation of Suffering is Attainable; and The Path to the Cessation of Suffering. The way to achieve enlightenment is detailed in the Eightfold Path. Pinning down exactly what enlightenment constitutes is a tricky one, but could be described as an omniscience of all beings, in all their lives, the consequences of their actions and thus the symbiosis inherent in the cosmos!
Schools of Buddhism
Yellow Hat monks
Buddhism has many forms, the most significant of which are mahayana(Greater Vehicle), as practiced in China, and theravada (Lesser Vehicle), prominent in Southeast Asia. Theravada is the version which originally arrived in China, but its focus on gaining nirvana as an individual had little hold with the regimented group mentality prominent in the Middle Kingdom. Thus, mahayana, which indicated that release could only come as a whole, and that arhats (known in China as luohan) and bodhisattvas (enlightened beings who choose to stay on earth) would remain on this earth to guide others, was far more suited to China. Over time, bodhisattvas and arhats came to be worshipped themselves and local deities were brought into the fold.
Chan (Zen) Buddhism, a school of meditation, also found its feet in China and has gained standing around the world, facilitated by its belief that you don't have to be a monk or recluse to achieve enlightenment. Tibet also managed to absorb Buddhism into its pre-existing shamanistic religion, Bon, greatly aided by Guru Rinpoche, an Indian Buddhist, who was invited to the kingdom in the seventh century. The various Tibetan Buddhist schools are collectively known as Lamaism, of which Gelugpa (or Yellow Hat) is the most prominent today and includes the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama among its following.
Confucianism
Confucianism is seen as the most Chinese of its belief systems and, though it was never intended as a religion, if you visit a Confucian temple and see people worshipping him, you'd struggle to see it purely as a philosophy. Confucianism has also had an effect outside of the Middle Kingdom, especially in Korea. Though there is doubt as to whether Confucius actually ever lived, what is certain is that his system of hierarchical values continues to affect modern Chinese thought and interaction.
The Life Of Confucius (551-479 BC)
Confucius (kong fu zi in Chinese) was supposedly born in 551 BC and experienced poverty in the early part of his life, only managing to become a junior official through hard study. Disheartened by the chaos and disorder as the Zhou dynasty declined into the Warring States Period (see Zhou Dynasty), Confucius sought to implement a system that would restore order. To this end he opened a number of private schools where he instructed thousands of students in his code of moral values. His style of teaching was more in tune with modern methods than those of the day, promoting elicitation and student participation over traditional learning by repetition. Confucius traveled to the various states and gave lectures on his beliefs about hierarchy within all structures, from families to governments. After the rejection of his advice by many of the state leaders, Confucius returned to his ancestral home town, Qufu, in Shandong province, as an old man. He continued his teachings and his following grew. It was also during this time that he contributed his thoughts to the writings of the day, now known as The Five Classics, which includes the Book of Songs and the I Ching, or Book of Changes. The Analects is a collection of Confucius' sayings published many years after his death which, along with the rest of the Confucian canon, became required reading for civil officials.