The sensational Avalokiteshvara, or Guanshiyin, the one who observes the sounds of the world, in Chinese, Kannon in Japanese has gone through a  profound transformation in Asia. Guanshiyin was a male icon as indicated by his moustache in Dunhuang mural paintings and banners. However by the 16th century he was represented as a Goddess of Mercy, often compared with Madonna. This talk investigates the illustrations of the Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra in caves and temples, and examines the transformation of the iconography in East Asia.

Dr. Lidu Yi specializes in Chinese art with an emphasis on Buddhist art in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies and the Department of East Asian Studies at McGill University in Canada. She has two ongoing research projects in China, one the cross-cultural study of the newly discovered mural paintings in Tuyuk in Xinjiang along the Silk Road, the other the study of caves in Shanxi Province.