Xia Jing Shan left behind many portraits of Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin), and these depictions of Avalokiteśvara by Xia have also come to profoundly impact the worshipping of Avalokiteśvara that is observed in various social stratospheres in China. The otherworldly significance behind the worshipping of Avalokiteśvara is expressed by Xia in his Avalokiteśvara portraits, with Avalokiteśvara revered in a holy trinity alongside Amitābha and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara comes to rescue those who practice Pure Land Buddhism in the mortal world from suffering. Xia’s portraits of Avalokiteśvara include contents and elements featuring Avalokiteśvara saving sentient beings from mortal suffering and taking them to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The same is also observed in some of the portraits of Amitābha painted by Xia. At the same time, the worshipping of Avalokiteśvara in China is closely connected to “The Universal Gate Chapter” included in The Lotus Sutra. In “The Universal Gate Chapter”, the compassion of Avalokiteśvara who rescues those who are suffering and in torment is described, and this compassion is also expressed in portraits of Avalokiteśvara by Xia, which ties the paintings with the universal trait that is found in the worshipping of Avalokiteśvara in China. Furthermore, in addition to Avalokiteśvara’s distinctive image of rescuing sentient beings from suffering and taking them out of torment, Xia’s portraits of Avalokiteśvara also encompass some local Chinese elements, which give his heirloom Avalokiteśvara portraits an enhanced sense of Chinese local and folkloric quality. This also echoes with Buddhism’s sinicization. Xia’s Avalokiteśvara portraits serve to exalt and promote the Buddhist worshipping of Avalokiteśvara through the format of art.
