| As a wide-spreading religious phenomenon, Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) belief has had an important effect on the history and the culture of China and some other countries in the East. However it has not yet received its deservingly adequate attention from Chinese academic circle so far in that no systematic and deep research books could be available in addition to that the most of the papers concerned seem to be superficial, especially concerning the issue of the origin and development of Guanyin belief which is still under such an obscuring condition that the comprehensive and proper understanding of Guanyin Belief has been unavailable. Moreover, owing to its covering different historical periods as well as running through multi-nations and regions throughout its evolution, the Guanyin belief inevitably includes more complex factors such as the practical and theoretic issues about the religious origin, development, spread and transformation, as well as more interesting and more ubiquitous theoretic issues about the human cultural exchange and human civilization contacts. Therefore, the issue concerning historical evolution of Guanyin belief from India to China has become an important theoretical one which has both abundant connotation and extensive denotation instead of remaining a simply historical issue oFocusing on the historical evolution of Guanyin belief, this dissertation tries to unveil the process of the transformation of Guanyin belief from India to China, and then to analyze the structure of sinozied Guanyin belief and to reveal its features as well. In order to reach this goal, this dissertation, using the method of historical and religious studies, directed by the materialistic historical viewpoint, firstly tries to clear out the related historical materials, and then on this basis trace back to the origin of Guanyin belief in India and unveil its historical track of expansion, development, amalgamation and transformation, and especially probe into the spread of Guanyin belief from India to China systematically and thoroughly.The basic viewpoints and achievements of this endeavor are as follows: 1. the Guanyin belief of ancient India originated from the mythology of sea savior which circulated in southern end of Indian continent; 2. pure land belief began to absorb savior Guanyin belief into its system after it developed into a new period, and this broadened the connotation of Guanyin belief; 3. Prajna school assimilated Guanyin, which made another new type of Guanyin belief, i.e. Prajna Guanyin belief, come into being; 4. Guanyin became to play an important role in Tantra Buddhism and therefore Tantra Guanyin belief shaped up, which was an important transformation based on the former inclusion of Guanyin belief; 5. The Guanyin belief spreading in ancient Indian society, which belonged to the form of practical Guanyin belief, had the characters of civil life, secularity, diversification, and transformation, which is much different from the form of theoretical Guanyin belief. The two forms of Guanyin belief had influences on each other and promoted the'development of whole Guanyin belief; 6. Guanyin's Chinese name evolved through three periods, each relating to the context of the time, and the shortened form of"Guanyin" was not the result of the system of imperatorial name taboo in the early Tang Dynasty; 7. Guanyin belief of ancient India spread into China initially in Wei-Jin time in the forms of pure land Guanyin belief and parts of Prajna Guanyin belief and the savior Guanyin belief, but the one that Chinese people accepted immediately was the latter; 8.the acceptance of savior Guanyin belief by Chinese people was not because of its similarity with Chinese culture but its difference, so savior Guanyin belief was not an attachment but a filling-vacancy in Chinese culture; 9. During East Jin and South-North Dynasty, the primary types of Guanyin belief from ancient India could be divided into the following systems: the system of savior belief, pure land belief, Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipul...
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