If you look at the statue, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has both male and female bodies. When early Indian Buddhism was first introduced to China, that is, before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Guanyin Bodhisattva was still in male form, and the obvious sign was a mustache on his lips. At that time, most of the images of Guanyin showed the appearance of a prince, with a strong physique, delicate appearance, and graceful bones. Some were wearing royal clothes, while others had a leisurely look and a modern appearance. The postures of standing and sitting were obviously male. Guanyin after the Tang Dynasty As the face gradually becomes plump and rounded, with slender eyebrows, red lips, beautiful nose, and flowing black hair, the face becomes more beautiful, and it is gradually called a female form that symbolizes motherly love. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, her dress seemed to be a transparent and thin skirt, which was elegant and luxurious, which was in line with the beauty of women at that time. It was not until the Song Dynasty that Guanyin Bodhisattva became a female form, and during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties she became a typical Chinese lady.
In fact, Mahayana Buddhism's view on the gender of men and women is: "All dharmas have no fixed identity, neither male nor female, and the same is true for all women. Although they appear in female bodies, they are not female." There are great differences and distinctions between men and women, but Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has boundless supernatural powers, is everywhere, and has great compassion and compassion. There is no distinction between male and female bodies in its thirty-two corresponding bodies for rescuing suffering. In order to facilitate the teaching of different types of sentient beings, Guanyin Bodhisattva adapts to various circumstances and adapts to the various habits and causes of the sentient beings' era, culture, customs, knowledge and hobbies, and freely manifests different bodies to rescue sentient beings, including male and female bodies. There is a female appearance, but the male and female appearance is just a convenience, and there is actually no gender distinction.
To sum up what has been said above, we can come to the conclusion that the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva mainly appears in the form of a male in the records of Buddhist scriptures. During the Six Dynasties, people said that most of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva they dreamed or saw were in male form. By the early Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were some portraits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva appearing in female form. Among the "Famous Paintings of Guanyin Precious Image", there is a silk portrait of Guanyin with a female appearance painted by Wu Daozi, a painter in the Tang Dynasty. The brushwork is superb, free and elegant. In the Song Dynasty, there were more portraits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with female appearances. For example, Ma Hezhi, a famous Qiantang painter at that time, painted many portraits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva with female appearances.
Looking at literary records, there are many poems and articles written by literati in the Tang Dynasty that describe the appearance of Guanyin Bodhisattva in female form. For example, "Putuo Mountain Chronicles" records: Wang Bo, one of the four heroes of the early Tang Dynasty, once took a boat south to Buduluojia Mountain and climbed the mountain to worship Guanyin. In his subsequent "Praise to Avalokitesvara", he described the appearance of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, which fully showed the grace, splendor, kindness and dignity of a woman who was dressed in extremely fine clothes:
The crown is shining with round rows of light, and the necklaces are all over the place. The body is bright and clean.
The face is like the lotus flower on the water, and the eyebrows are like the moon on the autumn night in the sky.
The embroidered clothes are covered with gold strands, and the haze is covered with clouds. The misty plain clothes are partial to the arms.
The jade jade pendant rings in the mountains, and the cloud ribbon is embellished with real pearls.
The red slender fingers are crispy and greasy, and the green lotus eyes have fine autumn waves.
The throat and neck are like ground jade, with ribs dyed with green mountains.
The red lips are bright and the teeth are lined, how much calamity will the auspicious person sit upright and proud?
Based on the above conclusion, we can say this: Guanyin Bodhisattva changed gender in China.
Why did Guanyin Bodhisattva change from male to female?
This is the compassion of the Bodhisattva, which is shown in response to the needs of the people's faith: women account for half of the human race, and women symbolize peace, love, gentleness, and kindness, which is consistent with the merits of Guanyin Bodhisattva's compassionate protection of living beings. . At the same time, Bodhisattvas are not all male. This symbol means that regardless of whether they are male or female, as long as they actively cultivate their moral character and diligently pursue the Buddha's path, they can achieve success. This is a major ideological breakthrough under the social conditions where the deep-rooted concept of "men are superior to women" is common among Chinese people. It is no wonder that the belief in Guanyin Bodhisattva is more popular among the people than the beliefs of other Bodhisattvas, and is especially popular among female believers. admired.
As far as Chinese culture is concerned: Mother is a symbol of "compassion", and the "compassion" embodied by Guanyin Bodhisattva itself is a maternal trait in Chinese culture, which is the so-called "father". A strict mother is kind." But in the Buddhist tradition, wisdom is seen as a female trait, while compassion is a masculine trait. Bodhisattvas love all living beings, just like the Buddha, so they are considered masculine. Chinese culture has always used motherhood to represent "compassion", so we can understand why the gentle female form of Guanyin Bodhisattva is particularly popular in China.
In addition, artists and craftsmen in India and Tibet often scrupulously adhere to the classic rituals in the depiction and creation of Buddha statues, and never innovate the form or make additions or subtractions. Therefore, they are of the same type. The images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are mostly similar in terms of painting techniques, shapes, colors, expressions, clothing, handprints or ritual instruments, but they are different after arriving in China. Chinese literati, artists and craftsmen "create statues as they please", believing that as long as they are sincere, even those who are not strictly trained ritual statue makers can still create and paint Buddha statues. Although the feminization of Guanyin Bodhisattva was not invented by artists or craftsmen at that time, they did prompt people to gradually establish the concept of female Guanyin Bodhisattva through visual images. The artists who painted or sculpted female Guanyin Bodhisattva were creating The process must have reflected the popular concepts at the time.
Finally, it is undeniable that the efficacious stories, legends and literary volumes of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the past dynasties have greatly contributed to the popularity of female Guanyin among the people.
Among them, the legend of Princess Miaoshan of Xiangshan Temple and the story of Guanyin in White are the most widely circulated. In addition, the social status of women in the Tang Dynasty was relatively improved. Wu Zetian once entered the temple as a nun and claimed to be the reincarnation of Maitreya. This had an influence on the change of Guanyin's appearance.
In short, the main reason why Guanyin came to China from India and changed from male to female in China is still unclear. However, this is related to Chinese cultural thoughts and artistic expression. The evolution of the times is closely related.