Emperor Ming of Han (28-75) is the second emperor of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.

He wain to spread into China.

One night, he is said to have dreamed of a golden man or golden men.

The next day he told his ministers, and the minister Zhong Hu explained to him that he probably dreamed of Buddha in India.

The emperor then sent a delegation of 18 headed by Cai Yin, Qin Jing and Wang Zun to seek Buddhism.

They returned from India with an image of Gautama Buddha, the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters and two eminent monks.

The next year, the emperor ordered the construction of White Horse Temple three li west of the capital Luoyang, to remember the horse that carried back the sutras.

It was probably China's earliest Buddhist temple.

Emperor Ming is a hardworking, able administrator of the empire who shows integrity and demands the same from his officials.

Emperor Ming also establishes the control of the Chinese Empire over the Tarim Basin and eradicates the Xiongnu influence there, through the conquests of his general Ban Chao.

The reigns of Emperor Ming and his son Emperor Zhang are typically considered the golden age of the Eastern Han Emperor and known as the Rule of Ming and Zhang.