Guanyin Manifestations from the Six Dynasties give the world a glimpse of how the faith of Guanyin localized after it was introduced to China. The manifestations from the Six Dynasties include Fu Liang’s Guang Shi Yin Manifestation from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Yen’s Continued Accounts of Guang Shi Yin Manifestation from the Liu Song Dynasty and Lu Gao’s Addendum to Guan Shi Yin Manifestation from the Liang Dynasty. The contents of the three Manifestations gave early accounts of when Guanyin was first introduced to China. Firstly, the faith of Guanyin was supported by the scholar - officials and became widely spread. As the political focus shifted south, so did the faith of Guanyin. It became popular in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Secondly, the reason why the Manifestations were shared among people is that the readers were reflected through the characters. If the characters in these books were monks and officials, the monks and the officials were also the readers. Thirdly, the Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period of turbulence in China. People suffered from war, riots, fire and natural disasters such as flood. The Manifestations provided stories and testimonies about Guanyin’s rescues. Fourthly, in the Manifestations, the locations where the miracles occurred were also where the religion was popularized. In Former Qin, Later Qin and Later Zhao Dynasties where Buddhism was active, their bases such as Hebei, Shaanxi and Henan provinces naturally became where the faith of Guanyin became popular. Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the prosperous regions in the south, were also ideal for the faith of Guanyin. And lastly, the facts that by simply calling for Guanyin’s name, one can be rescued, and that Guanyin can defy karma, and the idol worshipping of Guanyin, and the incorporation of Chinese ghosts all demonstrate the localization of the faith of Guanyin in China.
