Timeline of Chinese Buddhism (Till Tang Dynasty)

67: Buddhism officially came to China, with the two monks Moton and Chufarlan.

148: An Shigao, a Parthian prince and Buddhist monk, arrived in China and proceeded to translate many Buddhist works in to Chinese.

399-414: Faxian traveled from China to India, then returned to translate Buddhist works in to Chinese.

402: At the request of Yao Xing, Kumarajiva travels to Changan and translates many Buddhist texts in to Chinese.

403: In China, Hui Yuan argues that Buddhist monks should be exempt from bowing to the emperor. 405: Yao Xing honours Kumarajiva.

475: Bodhidharma arrives in China, where he will later found the Zen school at the Shaolin Temple. 500s: Zen adherents enter Vietnam from China.

552: Buddhism was introduced to Japan via Baekje according to Nihonshoki. (Some scholars place this event in 538)

600s: Xuanzang traveled to India, noting the persecution of Buddhists by Sasanka (king of Gouda, a state in north-west Bengal), before returning to Chang An in China to translate Buddhist scriptures.

671: Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I-Ching visited Palembang, the capital of the partly-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. He reported over 1000 Buddhist monks in residence.

841-846: Li Yan, also known as Emperor Wuzong of Tang China, reigns in China during the Tang Dynasty, one of three Chinese emperors to prohibit Buddhism.

Chinese Schools of Buddhism

When Buddhism moved to China it met a religiously sophisticated culture. As a result a number of Indian-transplant as well as Chinese-indigenous schools of Buddhism developed.

Indian transmitted