AHC: Curb Buddhism in China

With a PoD in the Third Century CE, how can the rise of Chinese Buddhism that OTL saw in the Fourth through Sixth Centuries be as reduced as possible?
 
Everywhere Buddhism spread and flourished, it did so because there was a degree by which cultural norms could intuit its teachings. Taoism for instance really helped Buddhism's spread due to the mere fact that emptiness was a part of Taoist philosophy, meaning a super complex idea that is essential to Mahayana doctrine was already well in place.

So abort Taoism and you might also see Buddhism fail to make major headway.
 
So abort Taoism and you might also see Buddhism fail to make major headway.
Well the Third Century is pretty late to try and "abort" Taoism; that said, Taoism was going through a fairly important evolution in the south, which itself might have been curbed, had China been reunited under the north before the Han could really split. (I hypothesized such a possibility here, on Cao Cao winning Red Cliffs.)
 
Well the Third Century is pretty late to try and "abort" Taoism; that said, Taoism was going through a fairly important evolution in the south, which itself might have been curbed, had China been reunited under the north before the Han could really split. (I hypothesized such a possibility here, on Cao Cao winning Red Cliffs.)
Ah missed the third century pod part. That does sound like a cool TL though
 
Everywhere Buddhism spread and flourished, it did so because there was a degree by which cultural norms could intuit its teachings. Taoism for instance really helped Buddhism's spread due to the mere fact that emptiness was a part of Taoist philosophy, meaning a super complex idea that is essential to Mahayana doctrine was already well in place.

So abort Taoism and you might also see Buddhism fail to make major headway.

I've always wanted to see a TL about a Mohist China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohism

They've got one of the most blunt and straight-forward holy texts around, especially like this bit:

"They behave like beggars, stuff away food like hamsters, stare like he-goats, and walk around like castrated pigs." (about Confucians)
 
So would Cao Cao winning the Battle of Red Cliffs and preventing the Three Kingdoms period be a workable PoD?
Yes.I also rather doubt that the Simas could coup a fully unified dynasty.In the history of China,a fully unified dynasty was only couped twice(Wang Mang and Wuzetian)--they were both conducted by relatives of the emperor,and resulted in strong backlash.Both attempts resulted in a quick restoration of the ruling dynasty.
 
Thinking longer term -- FWIG of this period in Chinese history (the 4th to 6th centuries), the south was generally more stable, or at least politically cohesive, than the north, which only managed to stay united at most for a century prior to the rise of the Sui. And, as mentioned, Daoism (and general openness to Buddhism) was, as of the third century, much stronger in the south than the north.

So if I'm right, let's say that, in addition to all of Han China remaining united longer, the subsequent warring states period goes much better for the north than OTL. This surviving empire holds much more firmly to the old civilization, sort of reminiscent of how the Byzantines held to "true" Roman civilization OTL; from there...
 
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