China's four major folklore are reflected in the Chinese people how the gender perspective

Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, is a household name in Chinese folklore, known to women and children. Speaking of Guanyin, in front of our eyes immediately appeared is a head wearing a crown, body clad in necklace, brocade embroidered skirt, autumn wave flow Hui, jade face with love, left hand holding a vase, the right hand to take the willow branch, foot on the lotus platform, the statue of the dignified, elegant image of the female figure. For thousands of years, this image seems to have been solidified in our minds. "The female big eighteen changes, changed into Guanyin face", in the view of many people, Guanyin is a beautiful, kind, compassionate woman, at the same time she can in people in need of time to give love and relief, but do not know that the Guanyin originally from India to the Middle Kingdom is a male image.

The Indian Buddhist concept of Guanyin as a male was created against the backdrop of traditional Indian Buddhism, which despised women and even believed that women could only achieve enlightenment after turning into a male body. Ancient India was a highly hierarchical society with four major castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The status of women, like the Shudras, was at the lowest level of society, the lowest category of citizens. They were merely subordinate to the males and had no social rights. The Code of Manu says: "It is the nature of women to induce men to fall, ...... for in the world of men women can make not only the foolish but also the virtuous deviate from the right path and make them prisoners of love and carnal desire." Shakyamuni founded Buddhism at the beginning of the Buddhists were all men, who became monks, cut off all ties with family and society, lived a life of asceticism and begging, and strictly prohibited women from joining the religion; and compared women with beasts and devils, believing that all three were the great enemies and destroyers of Buddhists practicing and learning the Way. While creating, consolidating and propagating its own theoretical system, primitive Buddhism absorbed the Brahmin belief in Guanyin and created its own Bodhisattva, named "Horse-Headed Guanyin" or "Horse-Headed King of Brightness". At this time, Guanyin retained many of the characteristics of the "two-horse child god" in terms of his image and his functions and duties, and his image was still that of a foal. With the further improvement of the Mahayana Buddhist system, the "Horse-headed Goddess of Mercy" began to change to a man's body. At the same time, Buddhist disciples also made many new explanations of the male Guanyin's life, described him as Amitabha's eldest son, and his second brother, Dasheshi Bodhisattva, to assist his father, to promote the Buddha's teachings, to become Amitabha's right and left rib service, the father and son of the three together known as the Western Three Saints.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Guanyin is also mostly male. Guanyin is one of the most widely worshipped gods in Tibet, and the "lotus hand" is one of the most typical Guanyin figures. Legend has it that the origin of the Tibetans came from the union of the rhesus monkey manifested by Guanyin and the Rakshasa woman manifested by the Dumu, so in order to adjust the borderland snowy demon in and out of Tibet, the lotus hand - Guanyin manifested as a side of the four-armed phase: the two main arms in the center of the heart of the palm knot the seal of the king, the back of the right hand holding a rosary bead, the back of the left hand holding a white lotus flower, the lotus flower is open beside the ear, the left shoulder Phi Ren animal skin, body as white as snow, decorated with all the treasures, the center of the head appears as Amitabha Buddha for the top of the Yan. "Lotus hand" as the first male ancestor of the Tibetan people as well as the main protector of God is extremely worship.

Originally a male bodied Goddess of Mercy was gradually transformed into a female body and fixed in people's concepts after being introduced to the Middle Kingdom. There are many reasons for this, but I think the main ones are as follows:

The popularity of the belief in Goddess of Mercy. The early popularity of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, was closely related to the introduction of the Lotus Sutra of the Dharma, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and other Guanyin-related sutras into the Middle Kingdom and their translation into the Chinese language. After the translation of the Myoho-renge-kyo by Hatamo Roshi, the belief in Guanyin gradually became known as this sutra became popular in the society. From the end of the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, a period in Chinese history characterized by frequent wars, ethnic conflicts, class conflicts and conflicts of interest within the ruling class, people from all walks of life had a sense of precariousness and fear, especially the people at the bottom of the social ladder, who were subject to the double oppression of natural and man-made disasters, and who desperately sought the shelter of a supernatural deity to get rid of the realities of the entanglement of misery. The translation of the Dharma Flower Sutra just meets this psychological need of the social strata. Compared with the unattainable Buddha who is far away in the Western Elysium, Guanyin is able to come out of the Lotus Seat and go through the lower realms, advocating the "follow the class and realize the degree of" with "great mercy and all the sentient beings' happiness, and great compassion and plucking up the sufferings of all the sentient beings. "The belief in Kwun Yum was born. Guanyin faith was born, plus the scripture proclaimed the oral recitation of the name of Guanyin, can be realized, to save suffering, which undoubtedly adds to its appeal. After the translation of the Dharma Flower Sutra, the monks carried out extensive propaganda, such as Liang Fayun made Dharma Flower Yi Ji eight volumes, Sui Zhiyi made Dharma Flower Xuan Yi twenty volumes, and Tang Zhanran supplemented Dharma Flower Xuan Yi to make Interpretation Signs twenty volumes, which made the Dharma Flower Sutra's influence in the society expanding continuously. As a result, the belief in Guanyin spread rapidly and popularized among the general Chinese public. "Maitreya Buddha in every house, Guanyin in every household", graphically summarizes the general popularity of the Guanyin faith in the society.

The influence of goddess beliefs in traditional culture, i.e., the public's worship of women, especially motherhood. Its roots are an accumulation of matrilineal clan social concepts, when women not only had an advantage in childbearing, but also took the lead in political and economic activities, and female chiefs and chieftains of clan tribes were embraced by their members and worshipped as heroes. There are numerous goddesses in early myths, the most famous being the female snail, who is omnipotent and has the ability to create beyond time and space. This primitive belief in women was y imprinted in the early memory of the nation, and as a collective unconsciousness, it subconsciously influenced the psychological characteristics of the nation.

At the same time, the attributes of the Goddess of Mercy within herself also provided the basis for her feminization. Guanyin's name is "Guanyin Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and Great Suffering", which means that she is compassionate, and her first priority is the salvation of the world. Volume 40 of the Avatamsaka Sutra says, "All sentient beings are the roots of the tree, and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are the fruits of the flower. If you use the water of great compassion to benefit all beings, you will realize the fruit of the wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas." Guanyin "transforms people according to their categories," transforming all people, regardless of gender, age, wealth, or even good or evil, as long as one chants her name, one can find the sound and come to her. Only a mother can be so unconditionally and actively concerned. In the second volume of the Guanyin Xuanyi, it is said, "And the Rulai Zang Sutra also says that Guanyin Manjushri is not yet a Buddha." The Sutra on the Precepts of the Upasaka Sutra says, "A wise person performs alms not for the sake of repaying kindness, not for the sake of seeking favors, not for the sake of protecting the stingy, not for the sake of being born into no one's happiness, not for the sake of having a good name circulated outside the world, not for the sake of fearing the suffering of the three evil paths, not for the sake of other people, not for the sake of winning over other people, not for the sake of losing wealth, not for the sake of having more than one thing, not for the sake of not using it, not for the sake of the family's dharma, not for the sake of being close to them." Guanyin, in order to save all people without becoming a Buddha, bestows favors for no reason, just gives, but does not ask for anything in return. To be able to be this unconditionally and positively concerned is only possible with a mother. Generally speaking, women are by nature loving and gentle, kind and generous, extremely compassionate and easy to approach. When people pray to the Goddess of Mercy for help, it is easy for them to visualize her as a woman. In this respect, the feminization of the Goddess of Mercy is more in line with her characteristics of great kindness and great compassion. The same example can be found in many of the world's major religions, such as Taoism, which honors the Jade Emperor, who worships his mother, Old Mother Yaochi, and Catholicism, which worships the Virgin Mary.

The influence of filial piety in the Middle Kingdom. During the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was established as a national school of thought, following the policy of "dismissing all schools of thought and honoring only the Confucians". In the two thousand years of feudal society since then, Confucianism has become the dominant ideology in ancient China. The influence of traditional Confucianism, centered on the Three Principles and Five Principles, on the Chinese people is deep-rooted, and the idea of "no filial piety is three times as great as having no offspring" permeates the deepest part of the people's ideology in the feudal society. The popularity of Guanyin's beliefs and the transformation of Guanyin's gender have an important relationship with this filial piety idea. The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma - Guanyin Bodhisattva's Universal Door Painting clearly says: "If there is a woman who wishes to have a man, and worships and makes offerings to Guanyin Bodhisattva, then she will give birth to a man of good fortune and wisdom, and if she wishes to have a woman, then she will give birth to a woman of uprightness and dignity, and she will have a long-lasting virtue and be loved and honored by all people. Endless Meaning! Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, has such power." In addition to hoping that Goddess of Mercy will be merciful and compassionate, saving lives, turning misfortune into good fortune, and eliminating disasters, the greatest wish of filial sons and wives is to give birth to a son early and pass on the family name to the next generation. The birth of a child is a woman's business, seeking a child should be the first woman to come forward; Guanyin as the god of child delivery, that is, the god of fertility, which from the rationale and physiological aspects, are not women can not. In the later generations, the folk of Guanyin, such as Guanyin, is a typical product of the integration of filial piety thought and Guanyin beliefs.

Political factors in the Tang Dynasty. The significant change in the gender of Guanyin is not unrelated to the reign of Wu Zetian and her vigorous promotion of herself. During the Tang Dynasty, the social status of women was relatively high, Wu Zetian had close contact with Buddhists, and she herself was a nun in a temple, and claimed to be the reincarnation of Maitreya, which had a great influence on the change of Guanyin's image. Monks also for wu zetian emperor and create public opinion, "the old tangshu" volume 183 "relatives biography attached xue huaiyi biography" cloud: "huaiyi and faiming, etc. make "big cloud scripture", Chen Fu life, said zetian is maitreya under the birth of the lord of yanhufuti, tang's together with the micro. Therefore, Zetian revolution called Zhou, Huaiyi and Fa Ming and other nine people and the county public, give things have difference, all give purple robe, silver tortoise bag." The Great Cloud Sutra, Volume 4, the Buddha said to the Pure Light Heavenly Maiden: "Shed is the heavenly form, that is to say, with a female body when the king's land, to get the reincarnation of the king's dominion of a quarter of the place. ...... You were a Bodhisattva at that time. In order to transform all living beings, you now receive a female body." In the Sutra of the Precious Rain, Volume 1, the Buddha said to the Son of the Moon in the East that in China, "You are indeed a Bodhisattva, and therefore you have assumed a female body and are the Lord of Self-Realization." Wu Zetian thus proclaimed that her claim to the throne was in accordance with the will of Heaven, "I have planted the cause in former times, and I have received the Buddha's remembrance. The Golden Immortal sent down a decree, and the verse of the Great Cloud was first manifested; the Jade searched for auspiciousness, and the text of the Precious Rain followed." The society also make the same view, such as jia yingfu in the "big cloud temple monument" said: "the bodhisattva has become the way, has been in the billions of years before; such as the Buddha should be the body, down to grant a lifetime of memory. The Great Cloud" sends its long celebration, "treasure rain" signs its special charm." Religion has a refractive reflection of social life, since the world can have a female emperor, Buddhism can also have a female bodhisattva who dominates the destiny of all living beings.

The Tang Dynasty completed the transformation of Guanyin's gender, since then the original male body of the Indian Guanyin was transformed into a female body in the Middle Kingdom, Guanyin's original image of a "mighty husband" gradually faded away in the world's mind, and replaced by a compassionate, peaceful, motherly smile on the face of the female Bodhisattva. The depiction of Guanyin's female character in literature can be seen everywhere, and in the Tang Dynasty, Kyauk Ran's "Praise of Guanyin" contains the line "Mercy is rain and favor is wind, sprinkling the fragrant lapel and attacking the light pendant". Han constrained's "Wing Willow" poem also implies the female appearance of Guanyin, the poem: "Curling rain drags the wind not to hold, the whole body is powerless to people hanging. When the jade fiber is folded and given to me, it will be like the hand of the Goddess of Mercy." Jade fiber usually refers to the fingers of a beautiful woman, as exemplified by Gu Ying's poem "Three Songs from the Mouth of the West Lake" in the Yuan Dynasty, "Thin red image reflects snowy skin, and jade fiber is used to comb the hair of the bun. The Journey to the West depicts Guanyin's image as a woman in an exceptionally distinctive way, as depicted in the eighth chapter, "All the people looked up to see the Bodhisattva: the four virtues of reason, the wisdom of the golden body. The necklace is draped with pearls and jewels, and the incense ring is knotted with jeweled light. The dark clouds were arranged in a dragon bun, and the embroidered belt fluttered with colorful phoenix plumes. The jasper button and the plain robe are covered with auspicious light; the brocade velvet skirt is a welcome sight. Eyebrows like a small moon, eyes like double stars, jade face born happy, Zhu lips a little red." In Wu Chengen's writing, Guanyin has become a lady of the house, with a dignified and charming demeanor, beautiful and relatable.

In fact, the Dharma Flower Sutra has already laid down a lot of potential female factors for Guanyin, which is recorded in the sutra: "The Buddha told the Bodhisattva of Endless Will: 'Good man, if there is a land where all beings should be born in the body of a Buddha, then Guanyin Bodhisattva will appear in the body of a Buddha and say; if they should be born in the body of a Pure Branches of Buddha, then they will appear in the body of a Pure Branches of Buddha and say; if they should be born in the body of a sound-hearing, then they will appear in the body of a sound-hearing, and say. The following text continues in the same vein, describing Guanyin's other incarnations: the Self-Realizing Heavenly Body, the Great Self-Realizing Heavenly Body, the Great General of Heavenly Body, the Vaisravana Body, the Lesser King's Body, the Elder's Body, the Guru's Body, the Zaijuan's Body, the Brahmin's Body, Bhikkhu body, Bhikkuni body, Upasai body, elder woman body, priest woman body, vizier woman body, Brahmin woman body, boy body, girl body, heavenly body, dragon body, nightjar body, kamchakra body, asura body, yingloura body, kinnara body, mokshuru raja body, and vajra-bearer body. Among these thirty-three incarnations, at least seven of them, namely, bhikkhunis, Upani?ads, elder women, priestesses, priests, Brahmins, and virgins, are distinctly female. Guanyin Bodhisattva has the two virtues of determination and wisdom. The main virtue of wisdom is known as Vishnu, in the form of a man; the main virtue of determination is known as Dora, in the form of a woman. According to the Dajangguang Manjushri Sutra - The Empowerment of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva "entered into the Samadhi of the universal light, Dora. With the power of samadhi, he enlarged the light from the right pupil of his facial chakra, and a wonderful female form appeared with the flow of light.") This Dora Bodhisattva illuminates all sentient beings and acts as a motherly, compassionate person who rescues all sentient beings from the suffering of birth and death. According to the Dainichi Sutra, the image of this Bodhisattva is that of a middle-aged woman in the form of a greenish-white color, with her hands clasped together, holding a green lotus flower, and wearing white clothes. This is the sutra's description of Kuan Yin's gender; she can appear as needed, either male or female, all according to the actual situation. In fact, there is no distinction between male and female when the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas achieve Bodhi, as the Pure Land Sect's Master Shengan said in his "Praise for the Statue of Guanyin," "The Dharma body of the Dharma Buddha is not a man or a woman, and the body is not yet a body, so how can one rely on it." Guanyin so show thirty-three bodies, is in order to adapt to the majority of believers in the faith worship habits, according to the phase of faith, according to the voice of the statement, as Xuan Ying, "the preface to the sound of all the sutras," said: "non-phase can not lead to the heart, non-sound can not be able to understand."

In summary, both due to the universal popularity of Guanyin's beliefs, and due to Guanyin's own intrinsic characteristics, the psychology of the Chinese people's real needs, the cultural traditions of the Middle Kingdom, and the political influence of the Tang Dynasty, and so on, many factors **** the same role, so that a mighty bodhisattva from India into a Chineseized female bodhisattva.