Since Śākyamuni attained nirvāṇa under the Bodhi tree two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Buddhism has spread far and wide. Discover what was happening in the Buddhist world from ancient India to the modern West. Select a country above to view country-specific time periods, or use the tool below to select a specific year. The corresponding eras will be highlighted below; click them to view resources for that time period.
| Years | Era | China | India | Japan | Korea | the West | Tibet | Vietnam | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -18 | to | 660 | Paekche dynasty | |||||||
| 25 | to | 220 | Eastern Han dynasty | |||||||
| 386 | to | 534 | Northern Wei Dynasty | |||||||
| 500 | to | 1000 | Anurādhapura | |||||||
| 550 | to | 577 | Northern Qi Dynasty | |||||||
| 589 | to | 618 | Sui dynasty | |||||||
| 600 | to | 1400 | Six Dynasties period | |||||||
| 618 | to | 907 | Tang dynasty | |||||||
| 645 | to | 710 | Taika era | |||||||
| 668 | to | 935 | Unified Shilla dynasty | |||||||
| 710 | to | 784 | Nara era | |||||||
| 794 | to | 1185 | Heian era | |||||||
| 907 | to | 960 | Five Dynasties | |||||||
| 918 | to | 1392 | Koryŏ dynasty | |||||||
| 960 | to | 1279 | Song dynasty | |||||||
| 1000 | to | 1253 | Polonnaruva | |||||||
| 1009 | to | 1225 | Lý dynasty | |||||||
| 1185 | to | 1333 | Kamakura era | |||||||
| 1225 | to | 1407 | Tran dynasty | |||||||
| 1232 | to | 1272 | Dambadeṇiya | |||||||
| 1272 | to | 1284 | Yāpahuwa | |||||||
| 1279 | to | 1368 | Yuan dynasty | |||||||
| 1293 | to | 1341 | Kuruṇegala | |||||||
| 1336 | to | 1573 | Muromachi era | |||||||
| 1341 | to | 1411 | Gampola | |||||||
| 1368 | to | 1644 | Ming Dynasty | |||||||
| 1392 | to | 1910 | Chosŏn dynasty | |||||||
| 1411 | to | 1597 | Koṭṭê | |||||||
| 1414 | to | 1788 | Lê dynasty | |||||||
| 1480 | to | 1815 | Kandy | |||||||
| 1568 | to | 1603 | Momoyama era | |||||||
| 1603 | to | 1867 | Tokugawa era | |||||||
| 1644 | to | 1911 | Qing dynasty | |||||||
| 1868 | to | 1912 | Meiji era | |||||||
| 1910 | to | 1945 | Japanese colonial period | |||||||
| 1912 | to | present | Modern era | |||||||




















