Culture Arena
China · Religion & Belief · Normal
Which Chinese goddess of mercy, originally the male bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in Indian Buddhism, became female in Chinese iconography and is depicted as a compassionate mother figure holding a vase of pure water?
Answer: Guanyin — Guanyin (Kannon in Japanese) underwent a gender transformation in China between the 10th and 12th centuries, and is now the most widely worshipped Buddhist figure in China—her full name Guanshiyin means 'perceiving the sounds of the world' (of suffering).
- A Mazu
- B Xi Wangmu
- C Doumu
- D Guanyin ✓
Guanyin (Kannon in Japanese) underwent a gender transformation in China between the 10th and 12th centuries, and is now the most widely worshipped Buddhist figure in China—her full name Guanshiyin means 'perceiving the sounds of the world' (of suffering).