The Chan lineage starts with Buddha Shakyamuni around 500 BC and ends today with all contemporary masters. The first 28 successors of Buddha were born in India, including Bodhidharma (around 500 BCE) who is one of the teachers that brought Buddhism to China. He is regarded as the first Chinese patriarch and founder of the Chan lineage.
Five more patriarchs followed, ending with Huineng (638-713), the sixth and last ancestral founder. He is the ancestor of all Chan Schools. Following Huineng, the transmission divided into five branches, of which Linji and Caodong survived. The Linji School, founded by Linji Yixuan (died 866), was also transmitted to Japan where it became the Rinzai School of Zen. The Caodong School, founded by Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), became the Soto School in Japan.