'Buddha-nature' is a central theme in Chinese Buddhist thought. Discussions about Buddha-nature in China generally centre around four basic questions: 1. The meaning of the term 'Buddha-nature' 2. Different types of Buddha-nature and their significance 3. The relation between Buddha-nature and sentient beings 4. Whether all sentient beings without exception possess Buddha-nature This paper explains how and why these questions first appeared in the fifth century, and examines the different ways early Chinese Buddha-nature theorists, with their different doctrinal backgrounds, approached and answered these questions.