The Chinese branch (see below) of the T'ien-tai (Heavenly Terrace) lineage starts with the monk Huiwen, an unusually gifted and enigmatic ascetic, who is said to have reached a deep enlightenment after contemplating Nāgārjuna's Dazhidu lun (Treastice on the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra).

Nāgārjuna's lineage, the Indian origin of the T'ien-T'ai School was outlined by Guanding (561-632), the fourth T'ien-tia Patriarch.

Huiwen's Dharma grandson Zhiyi (538-597), a translater and scholar, established the doctrinal basis of the T'ien-t'ai founding the order on the mountain T'ien-t'ai Shan, thus giving the order it's name. After years of translation and study, Chih-i was disconcerted with what he considered to be philosophical inconsistencies within the Sūtras. To reconcile this he found that if the Sūtras are considered according to "The five time periods" then these inconsistencies disappear.

One logical consequence of this categorization was that the Lotus and Nirvạ̄na Sūtras were placed in the "highest" position. The importance of the Lotus Sūtras to the T'ien t'ai Order is underscored by the fact that it is said that previous incarnations of both Zhiyi and his teacher Huisi were in attendance at Vulture peak in India when the Lotus Sūtra was first expounded.

The Chinese T'ien-t'ai declined as a result of the persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Hui-ch'ang in 845 but not before it had been taken to Korea and Japan. The present day Japanese Tendai Order which traces its origin to the Chinese T'ien-T'ai Order is widespread in modern day Japan.

The five time periods
Period	Span	Name	Development
1.	3 weeks	Avantaṃsaka Period
2.	12 years	Āgama Period	Theravāda
3.	8 years	Vaipulya Period	beginning Mahāyāna
4.	22 years	Prajñā-pāramitā Period	complete Mahāyāna
5.	8 years	Lotus and Nirvāṇa Sūtra Period