▌Liao Dynasty wood carving Water Moon Guanyin statue Collection of Nelson Atkinson Museum, USA

The Liao Dynasty wood-carved statue of Guanyin of the Water Moon has been praised as "the most spectacular statue in existence in China," a "triumph of religion and aesthetics," and has been described by the media as "one of the thirty finest works in an American public institution."

Water Moon Guanyin, also known as "Water Auspicious Guanyin" or "Water Auspicious Bodhisattva", is one of the most common 33 Guanyin statues in later generations. However, the name "Water Moon" does not come from the early Buddhist scriptures, but was born after Buddhism was introduced to China and integrated with China's local culture. According to folklore, one day Guanyin Bodhisattva came to Gusu City and saw hundreds of thousands of people killed by Jin soldiers, so she turned into a beautiful woman to build a platform and chant sutras, casting spells to save wronged souls. After the recitation period, someone realized that the woman was the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, and asked to see the real body. When the bodhisattva pointed to the river, everyone found a bright moon shadow reflected in the water, and the bodhisattva's treasure was also hidden in the moon shadow. In the crowd, there happened to be Qiu Zijing, who was good at painting. He painted the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva appearing in the water moon, and after it was spread, the world called it "Water Moon Guanyin".

▌The Liao Dynasty wood carved Water Moon Guanyin statue is displayed in the "Chinese Temple" hall of the Nelson Museum in the United States

To accompany this image, the Nelson Museum has dedicated a huge space called the Chinese Temple Exhibition Hall. Behind the Shuiyue Guanyin, the mural of the Yuan Dynasty "Blazing Light Buddha Meeting Map" from the original Guangsheng Temple in Shanxi is placed, and on the top is the Ming Dynasty carved dragon mojing and Qing Dynasty Pingqi, and the carved lattice door in front of it comes from a Qing Dynasty official residence in Beijing. The mural and lattice gate were sold and donated to the museum by Lu Qinzhai in 1932, respectively, and Moi and Heiqi were purchased by Smenk in China in 1931.

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