EAST ASIA TIMELINE

8000 Jomon culture in Japan (until 300 BCE)

2852 Earliest dates for Chinese civilizations; the era of the three great cultural heroes, Fu Hsi, the inventor of writing, Shen Nung, inventor of agriculture, and the Yellow Emperor

2700 Indus Valley civilization and Harappa culture in India (until 1700 BCE)

2697 The beginning of the era of the Sage Kings in China: Yao, Shun, and Yü

1818 Beginning of Hsia dynasty in China (the first of the "Three Dynasties")

1500 Aryan invasions of the Indian subcontinent (until 1200 BCE); composition of the earliest hymns of the Rig Veda in India

1200 Composition of the Rig Veda (until 900 BCE)

1154 Beginning of Shang (or Yin) dynasty in China

1115 Beginning of Chou dynasty in China

900 The great war in India depicted in the Mahabharata ; the later Vedas, Brahmanas, and the early Upanishads (until 500 BCE)

817 Traditional date for the birth of the Jain savior Parshvanatha

800 Aryans reach Bihar and Bengal

600 End of the Brahmana period in India.

500 Period of Hindu lawbooks, epics, and the development of the six Hindu philosophical systems (from 500 BCE-500 CE)

483 Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha (563-483 BCE)

480 First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha.

468 Death of Vardhamana Mahavira, the great teacher and founder of Jainism

479 Confucius (551-479 BCE)

403 Beginning of Warring State Period in China (until 221 BCE)

391 Mo Tzu (470(?)-391 BCE)

380 Second Buddhist Council; Buddhism splits into two sects: the Theravada ("The Teachings of the Elders") and the breakaway Mahasanghikas ("members of the Great Order"). Probable date of the Lao Tzu.

327 Alexander the Great invades India.

300 Yayoi culture in Japan (until 300 CE)

298 Chandragupta, the first Maurya emperor and Jain king of India (322-298 BCE)

289 Mencius or Meng Tzu (372-289 BCE)

286 Chuang Tzu, second major early founder of Taoism (369-286 BCE)

237 Ashoka (273-237 BCE), emperor of India, significant patron of Buddhism

221 Ch'in dynasty in China (until 207)

202 Han dynasty in China (to 9 CE)

200 Period of greatest influence of Buddhism and Jainism in India (until 200 CE)

190 Greek kingdoms in India

185 Beginning of Shunga dynasty in India

170 Iranians invade India

124 Increased use of examinations for public officials in China

108 Chinese administration in north Korea.

9 Hsin dynasty in China (9-23 CE)

25 Latter Han dynasty in China (25-220)

57 Earliest mention of Japan.

65 First mention of Buddhism in China

79 Division of Jainism into Shvetambara and Digambara sects

100 Rise of Mahayana Buddhism (100-200 CE)

105 Invention of paper in China.

220 End of Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms in China: Wei, Shu, Wu (220-280)

280 Chin dynasty in China (280-420)

300 Christian community (from the Nestorian or Syrian sect) existing at Cochin in Southern India; tomb culture and Yamato state in Japan.

317 North China abandoned to the barbarians.

335 Chandragupta I (ruled 319-335), first emperor of the second great empire of India, the Guptas.

440 State patronage of Taoism in China; the Huns under the leadership of Attila invade India

540 End of Gupta dynasty in India

542 T'an-luan (476-542), patriarch of Pure Land Buddhist sect.

552 Introduction of Buddhism into Japan

562 The Korean kingdom of Silla destroys Japanese power in Korea and sets up the first Korean power.

575 T'ien-t'ai school of Buddhism founded in China by Chih-k'ai (531-597)

589 Sui dynasty in China (589-618).

594 Buddhism declared the state religion of Japan.

600 Discovery of block printing in China; appearance of Tantricism in Buddhism in India

618 T'ang dynasty in China (618-906)

666 Lao Tzu canonized by the T'ang dynasty as Most High Emperor of Mystic Origin

668 Silla dominates all of Korea.

693 Chinese empress adopts the Buddhist title, "Divine Empress Who Rules the Universe"

700 Civil service examinations greatly expanded in China; Buddhism spreads to Tibet and Nepal

710 Nara period begins in Japan; the first permanent capital of Japan set up in Nara.

755 An Lu-shan rebellion in China.

760 Manyoshu , the first major compilation of Japanese poetry

794 Heian period begins in Japan; capital moved to Heian-kyo (Kyoto).

800 Kana script developed in Japan.

845 Official repression of Buddhism in China.

858 Fujiwara family becomes the first hereditary dictatorship in Japan.

907 T'ang dynasty falls; period of Disunion in China (until 960)

960 Sung dynasty (960-1272)

972 Printing of Buddhist canon begins in China; death of Kuya (903-972), first mendicant to spread Pure Land Buddhist doctrine in Japan

999 Mahmud of Ghaznin raids India until 1026

1100 Confucian revival begins in China.

1132 Ryonin founds the forerunner of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan.

1191 Eisai brings Zen Buddhism to Japan.

1192 Muslims defeat the Hindus under Prithivi Raj; Buddhism disappears as an organized religious force in India; Delhi becomes the capital of India; beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate in Japan; Yoritomo becomes the first shogun of Japan.

1200 Chu Hsi (1130-1200)

1205 Hereditary regency of Japan handed over to the shoguns of the Hojo family.

1211 Beginning of the reign of Iltutmish, first sultan of Delhi (rules 1211-1236)

1212 Death of Honen (1133-1212), Japanese Pure Land Buddhist that established full Amidist doctrine

1227 Mongol destruction of Hsi-Hsia. Death of Ghenghis Khan.

1253 Dogen (1200-1253), brings the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism to Japan in 1227.

1260 Yüan (Mongol) dynasty in China. (1260-1368)

1274 First Mongol invasion of Japan.

1282 Nichiren (1222-1282), founder of Nichiren Buddhism

1281 Second Mongol invasion of Japan.

1310 Southern India conquered by the Delhi sultanate.

1313 Adoption by the Mongol government of civil service examinations based on the Confucian Classics.

1333 Hojo regency ends in Japan; direct imperial rule of Japan instituted in Go-Daigo.

1338 Beginning of the Ashikaga Shogunate in Japan; Ashikaga Takauji becomes shogun.

1368 Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

1384 Beginning of No drama in Japan; earliest No dramatist is Kan'ami (1333-1384)

1398 Timur's invasion of India and the sack of Delhi.

1400 The great No dramatist of Japan, Seami, flourishes for the next forty years.

1467 Onin war in Japan; beginning of "Warring States Japan": civil wars uninterrupted for the next century and a half break out in Japan.

1469 Birth of Guru Nanak, founder of Sihkism.

1498 Vasco da Gama lands on the Indian coast

1504 Babur occupies Kabul, beginning of Mughal dynasty in India.

1520 Portuguese embassy to Peking.

1540 Mughal ruler, Humayun, driven from India