Title: The Beliefs in Avalokitesvara Manifested in the Novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Their Literary Functions
Abstract: The novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are of great value in folk history for us to understand the Avalokitesvara beliefs in that era.From the contents of the novels,we can find that the believers with the worship of Avalokitesvara were mainly composed of women,that Avalokitesvara had such clerical functions as helping women giving birth,saving people from their calamities,getting rid of the wicked and befriending the believers,and that the forms of the worship of Avalokitesvara included idol worship,printing and chanting the scriptures,the celebrations of Avalokitesvara's birthday and the day when Guanyin became bodhisattva.The literary functions of the beliefs in Avalokitesvara were manifestied in forming the inner structures of many novels and playing an important in delineating characters.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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