Guanyin (觀音) is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”. Originally regarded as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin has been more commonly depicted as female in China and most of East Asia since about the 12th century. Due to sociogeographical factors, Guanyin can also be historically depicted as genderless or adorning an androgynous apprentice. On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin’s attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated. Guanyin has been incorporated in other religions, including Taoism and Chinese folk religion. In Japanese, Guanyin is pronounced Kannon (観音), occasionally Kan’on, or more formally Kanzeon (観世音, the same characters as Guanshiyin); the spelling Kwannon, based on a premodern pronunciation, is sometimes seen.
Alias Guanyin
Real Names/Alt Names Kannon, Kwannon, Avalokiteśvara, “Perceives the Sounds of the World”
First Appearance Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) (c. 1st–2nd century CE)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Lotus Sutra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) (c. 1st–2nd century CE), Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (c. 4th–5th century CE), Dharani Sutras / Mahākaruṇā Dhāraṇī (c. 5th century CE),Mogao Caves Murals (Dunhuang, China) (c. 7th–9th century CE), Thousand-Armed Guanyin (Tang dynasty sculpture, c. 8th century CE), Guanyin of the Southern Sea (Song dynasty, c. 10th–12th century CE, visual/textual traditions), Ming Dynasty Folk Operas and Tales of Guanyin (c. 16th century CE)
Sample Read Konjaku Monogatarishū (Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection, Translated 1979) [Web]
Description Guanyin (觀音) is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”. Originally regarded as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin has been more commonly depicted as female in China and most of East Asia since about the 12th century. Due to sociogeographical factors, Guanyin can also be historically depicted as genderless or adorning an androgynous apprentice. On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin’s attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated. Guanyin has been incorporated in other religions, including Taoism and Chinese folk religion. In Japanese, Guanyin is pronounced Kannon (観音), occasionally Kan’on, or more formally Kanzeon (観世音, the same characters as Guanshiyin); the spelling Kwannon, based on a premodern pronunciation, is sometimes seen.
