Chinese Budhism (traditional Chinese: 漢傳佛教; simplified Chinese: 汉传佛教) refers collectively to the various schools of Buddhism that have flourished in China proper since ancient times. These schools integrated the ideas of Confucianism, Taoism and other indigenous philosophical systems so that what was initially a foreign religion (the buddhadharma) came to be a natural part of Chinese civilization albeit with its own unique character. Buddhism has played an enormous role in shaping the mindset of the Chinese people affecting as it has aesthetics, politics, literature, philosophy and medicine.