The fuller name is 观世音 (Guānshìyīn, 'observer of the world's sounds'). 观音 is the shortened form that became standard after the Tang dynasty, partly to avoid the taboo character 世 in Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's name.
Chinese form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit 'the one who perceives the cries of the world'). Originally depicted as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin took on an overwhelmingly female appearance in Chinese Buddhism from the Tang-Song period onward. Revered across Mahayana Buddhism; also appears in 《西游记》 as a key helper to the pilgrims. Sacred site: 普陀山 in Zhejiang.
