In 290 A.D. the “Turbulence of Eight Princes” broke out among the royal kinsmen. The northern minorities then squeezed their way down to the Central Plains. North China bogged in serious split and disruption. In the larger new kingdoms, such as the Later-Zhao, the Early-Qin, the Later-Qin and the Northern Liang, Buddhism developed quickly. In the Later-Zhao, while the traditional Chinese Classics were promoted, the Han literati were used as officials, and the Han culture was used to educate all the minority nationalities. The saintly monk Fu Tucheng was revered and his “miracles” were advertised among the populace, thus contributing to the fast development of Buddhism. The Early-Qin Kingdom “gathered thousands of monks to propagate Buddhism”. The Later-Qin Kingdom gathered 5,000 monks, thus inaugurating a dynasty with the most thriving culture among the Sixteen Kingdoms. The Northern Liang Kingdom opened up communication with countries in the Western Region , built many Buddhist statues and invited Tan Wuchen to translate Buddhist canons , thus promoting Buddhism and spreading its influence as far as Chang’an 
( modern Xi’an ) an Jianye ( modern Nanjing ).
The Eastern – Jin Dynasty succeeded the Western-Jin Dynasty and exercised its sovereignty over the South of the Yangtze River. The study of Prajna pertaining to Buddhism that prevailed earlier in the Wei-Wu- Western Jin period now infiltrated the scholar-officialdom. An increasing number of renowned monks emerged and more literati were interested in discussing Buddhist doctrines. All emperors of the Eastern Jin Dynasty believed in Buddhism and made friends with monks and nuns, giving them special favorable treatment and even allowing them to enter the imperial palace and intervene in the state affairs. The scholar-officials did no less. They got interested in Buddhist scriptures and built Buddhist temples. They provided food and clothes for hundreds of monks but would not succor their poverty-stricken relatives and friends. The building of imposing temples in a large scale by the royal families and nobles formed a special feature of Buddhist religion in the Eastern Jin nobles formed a special feature of Buddhist religion is the Eastern Jin Dynasty . That means a new social stratum, the monks had come into being and Buddhism had got a firm foot in China.
The development and dissemination of Buddhism in the Eastern-Jin and the Sixteen-Kingdoms made it a common belief of all the nationalities, which promoted the mutual understanding and communication of the nationalities in the North and South of China. In the split situation at that time, the development of Buddhism played a very significant role in breaking the bounds between the Han nationality and the other nationalities and in maintaining mentally their identification with each other. Also, to a certain extend, Buddhism played a role in stopping killings and stabilizing the society.
