It is said that the original artistic prototype of Guanyin Bodhisattva is a pair of lovely twin foals in ancient Indian Brahmanism, so it is also known as the "stable boy god". After Buddhism came into being, its artistic image became a foal named Guanyin Matou, a kind-hearted Bodhisattva. Later, it was personified as a powerful male image. After it was introduced into China from India, it was still a male image for some time, such as the bronze statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva in Taihe period of Northern Wei Dynasty unearthed in Pingquan, Hebei Province, which was rough and powerful in image and simple in dress. But then why did he become a woman?
One theory is that after Emperor Taizong proclaimed himself emperor, the real dragon emperor was unique, and the image of Guanyin changed from male to female. He also said that because the word "teacher" in his name was the same as the emperor's name, it was deleted for taboo, so it was renamed Guanyin. Another view is that the disguised form of Guanyin image depends more on people's aesthetic hobbies at that time. According to Buddhism, Guanyin has 32 incarnations, including some female bodies. Guanyin can change her gender and identity in order to speak. So in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people began to dedicate their favorite female beauty to the revered Guanyin Bodhisattva, and female Guanyin gradually appeared in temples. By the Tang Dynasty, women's social status was improving day by day, and artists transplanted their love for women to Guanyin statues. Since then, Guanyin has been fixed as a graceful, charming, gorgeous and charming female image. Guanyin usually sits on her back, holding a clean bottle in her left hand and a willow branch in her right hand, smiling, as if spreading her journey in the bottle to the world and bringing happiness to mankind.