Kuan-Yin:The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara

Yü presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon -- one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yü explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin -- from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.