SONG-YUAN DYNASTY (960-1368)

Traditionally, Guanyin, the Chinese name for Avalokitesvara ('one who hears all the sounds in the world'), was considered the Bodhisattva of wisdom and mercy, and was represented as a masculine figure. Because of his appeal as the saviour of souls, the popularity of this particular bodhisattva was widespread in China, and by the Tang dynasty, the concept of Guanyin had evolved into a feminine figure and which had thirty-three different personifications, based upon a section in the Lotus Sutra. In that chapter, the sutra reveals Guanyin's ability to hear wishes for and to grant sons, and by the Song dynasty (960-1279) the image of Guanyin with a boy in her arms was developed and came to represent 'Songzi Guanyin' (Guanyin, the bringer of sons).