The teachings of Buddhism became more appealing to the Chinese around ad 200 because of the simplicity of its approach and because of their similarities with Taoism, the predominant religion - along with Confucianism - in China at the time.
Also, the collapse of the Han dynasty around 220 AD was followed by a period of chaos and confusion during which Confucianism and Taoism yielded place to Buddhism brought by missionaries and traders along the Silk Road, and by sea from India and Sri Lanka.
