The Dynastic Deity of the Liao Imperial Family -The White-robed Guanyin Statue from the Heavenly Palace of the Qingzhou White Pagoda

Abstract

The Liao shi and the Qidan guo zhi contain intriguing records about the Liao imperial family’s faith in the White-robed Guanyin. One is that Emperor Taizong enshrined a statue of the White-robed Guanyin at Xingwang Temple in Mt. Muye and honored the bodhisattva as a dynastic deity who guarded over the imperial family. The other is that Emperor Xingzong had the statue worshipped before others during Ji shan yi, the most prestigious sacrificial ritual to Mt. Muye. This study linked these written records with the White-robed Guanyin Statue excavated from the Heavenly Palace of the Qingzhou White Pagoda, commissioned by the imperial family during the reign of Emperor Xingzong, and examined the overall development of the faith in the Liao imperial family and the statue’s style and historical and religious background. Consequently, this examination revealed that Taizong introduced the faith of the White-robed Guanyin to pacify the discontented Han Chinese population within the empire. Xingzong, in turn, elevated the deity to the supreme position. This move profoundly impacted the faith of the people and the imperial family in the late Liao. The statue from the Qingzhou White Pagoda, in particular, with its white robe, low crown, and lotus bud, does not stop at embodying the Buddhist teachings but also represents the intricate union between the Liao imperial family’s lineage, unique ritual customs, distinct faiths, and enshrinement rituals that originated from Yanjing area, present-day Beijing. Among the surviving examples, this statue is one that most closely follows the shape of the dynastic deity of the Liao imperial family, showing that it was likely created under careful considerations of the Great Master Xuanyan Yungui, who was well-versed in the particular faith of the Liao imperial family.