History of Chinese Buddhism

Part of a series on
Chinese Buddhism
History Buddhism in Central Asia Dharmaguptaka Silk Road transmission Dunhuang manuscripts Four Buddhist Persecutions in China
Major figures Lokakṣema Kumārajīva Sengzhao Jizang Dharmakṣema Paramartha Xuanzang Kuiji Woncheuk Daoxuan Huiyuan Tanluan Daochuo Shandao Zhiyi Zhanran Fazang Chengguan Śubhakarasiṃha Vajrabodhi Amoghavajra Bodhidharma Huineng Daman Hongren Mazu Daoyi Hongzhi Zhengjue Dahui Zonggao Linji Zongmi Hanshan Deqing Zhu Hong Ouyi Zhixu Miyun Yuanwu Taixu Tanxu Hsu Yun Hsuan Hua Yang Wenhui Yin Shun Nan Huai-Chin Nenghai
Traditions Chan Tiantai Huayan Pure Land Weishi Sanlun Esoteric Buddhism Humanistic Buddhism
Texts Chinese Buddhist canon Taishō Tripiṭaka
Architecture Buddhist architecture in China
Sacred Sites Mount Wutai Mount Emei Mount Jiuhua Mount Putuo Mount Lu Tiantai Mountain White Horse Temple
Culture Buddhist Association of China Cuisine Martial arts Diyu
v t e

Part of a series on
Mahāyāna Buddhism
Teachings Bodhisattva Buddhahood Mind of Awakening Buddha-nature Skillful Means Transcendent Wisdom Transcendent Virtues Emptiness Two truths Consciousness-only Three bodies Three vehicles Non-abiding Nirvana One Vehicle Bodhisattva Precepts Bodhisattva vow Bodhisattva stages Pure Lands Luminous mind Dharani Three Turnings
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Shakyamuni Amitabha Adi-Buddha Akshobhya Prajñāpāramitā Devī Bhaiṣajyaguru Vairocana Mañjuśrī Avalokiteśvara Vajrapāṇi Vajrasattva Maitreya Kṣitigarbha Ākāśagarbha Samantabhadra Tara Wrathful deities
Mahayana sutras Prajñāpāramitā sūtras Lotus Sūtra Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra Vimalakirtinirdeśa Pure Land Sutras Lalitavistara Sūtra Samādhirāja Sūtra Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra Tathāgatagarbha sūtras Śrīmālādevī Sūtra Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra Ghanavyūha sūtra Golden Light Sutra Tathāgataguhyaka Sūtra Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra
Major schools Mādhyamaka Yogācāra Tiantai Tendai Huayan Zen Shingon Pure Land Nichiren Vajrayāna Tibetan Buddhism Dzogchen Fo Guang Shan Tzu Chi Fa Gu Shan Chung Tai Shan
Key figures Nāgārjuna Ashvaghosha Āryadeva Lokakṣema Kumārajīva Asanga Vasubandhu Sthiramati Buddhapālita Dignāga Bhāvaviveka Dharmakīrti Candrakīrti Zhiyi Bodhidharma Huineng Shandao Xuanzang Fazang Amoghavajra Saichō Kūkai Shāntideva Shāntarakshita Wohnyo Mazu Daoyi Jinul Dahui Zonggao Hongzhi Zhengjue Hōnen Shinran Dōgen Nichiren Śaṅkaranandana Virūpa Ratnākaraśānti Abhayākaragupta Nāropā Atisha Sakya Pandita Dolpopa Rangjung Dorje Tsongkhapa Longchenpa Hakuin Hanshan Taixu D. T. Suzuki Sheng-yen 14th Dalai Lama Thích Nhất Hạnh
Regional traditions China Han Chinese Taiwan Japan Korea Vietnam Tibetan Nepal Newar Bhutan Mongolia Malaysia Indonesia West
v t e

The history of Chinese Buddhism begins in the Han dynasty, when Buddhism first began to arrive via the Silk Road networks (via overland and maritime routes). The early period of Chinese Buddhist history saw efforts to propagate Buddhism, establish institutions and translate Buddhist texts into Chinese. The effort was led by non-Chinese missionaries from India and Central Asia like Kumarajiva and Paramartha well as by great Chinese pilgrims and translators like Xuanzang.

After the Han era, there was a period in which Buddhism became more Sinicized and new unique Chinese traditions of Buddhism arose, like Pure Land, Chan, Tiantai and Huayan. These traditions would also be exported to Korea, Japan and Vietnam and they influenced all of East Asian Buddhism.

Though Buddhism suffered numerous setbacks during the modern era (such as the widespread destruction of temples during the Taiping Rebellion and Cultural Revolution), it also experienced periods of reform and revival. Buddhism is currently the largest institutionalized religion in mainland China.^[1]