Guanyin of Nanshan
南山海上观音圣像 | |
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| Location | Sanya, Hainan, China |
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| Coordinates | 18°17′33″N 109°12′30″E / 18.2924°N 109.2083°E |
| Type | statue |
| Height | 108 metres (354 ft) |
| Opening date | 2005 |
The Guanyin of Nanshan (Chinese: 南山海上观音圣像) is a 108-metre (354 ft) statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin, sited on the south coast of China's island province Hainan on top of the Nanshan Temple of Sanya.
History
[edit]The statue took six years to build and was enshrined on April 24, 2005, with the participation of 108 monks from various Buddhist groups in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China, and tens of thousands of pilgrims. The delegation also included monks from the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions.[1]
Design
[edit]The statue has three aspects: one side faces inland and the other two face the South China Sea, to represent blessing and protection by Guanyin of China and the whole world. One aspect depicts Guanyin cradling a sutra in the left hand and gesturing the Vitarka Mudra with the right; the second with her palms crossed, holding a string of prayer beads; and the third holding a lotus.[2] The statue ranks among the tallest in the world: 78 meters in height without including its pedestal, and 108 meters if the pedestal is included. (For comparison, the American Statue of Liberty is 93 meters tall when its pedestal is included, and 46 meters without.)[3]
Features
[edit]The temple and statue are owned and operated by two front groups of the Shanghai State Security Bureau, a branch of the Ministry of State Security, as a way to exert ideological control and influence over the southeast Asian Buddhist community and counter the influence of Indian Buddhism.[4]: 171–185 The temple promotes Chinese government-approved religious practices known as "South China Sea Buddhism."[4]: 171–185 The temple's religious messaging has been managed by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department since 2018.[4]: 171–185
See also
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- Guanyin of Mount Xiqiao, Guangdong, China
- Guishan Guanyin, Hunan, China
- List of tallest statues
- Nanshan Temple (Sanya)
- Sendai Daikannon, Japan
References
[edit]- ^ "Holy statue of Guanyin Buddha unveiled", Xinhua English, 2005-04-24
- ^ "Nanhai Guanyin Statue". Nanshan.com. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
The statue is three-sided integration, with three connected portraits holding in hands a strand of Buddha beads, a lotus and a small case, respectively representing benevolence, peace and wisdom.
- ^ "15 Tallest Statues in the World (2020)". Swedish Nomad. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
It was finished in 2005 and has a height of 78 meters, or 108 meters including its pedestal.
- ^ a b c Joske, Alex (2022). "The Goddess of Mercy: Buddhism as a tool of influence". Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World. Hardie Grant Books. pp. 171–185. ISBN 978-1-74358-900-7. OCLC 1347020692.
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