The Qianshou Kwan-yin Statue, a national treasure from the Tang Dynasty, which was sent to Japan 63 years ago, will soon be returned to China. A ceremony will be held in Wanfo Tower at Pilu Temple on December 28 to mark the completion of the platform to house the statue and allow for devotees to bring offerings to the Tang Dynasty Qianshou Kwan-yin, the treasure of Pilu Temple.

The Kwan-yin in the photo is glittering with gold, and sitting solemnly on a lotus flower, both hands clasped together, with numerous lifelike hands behind her. According to Master Chuanyi, abbot of Pilu Temple, the statue had been enshrined in Hengshan Mountain before the Qing Dynasty. Zeng Guoquan met with Haifeng, a senior monk at the Hengshan Mountain during Emperor Tongzhi's reign during the Qing Dynasty (1862-1874).

Zeng once said half jokingly, "If I can govern the Liangjiang Area, I will build a temple for you." In 1884, Zeng became the governor of Laingjiang, and he subsequently built the Pilu Temple in Nanjing to fulfill his pledge and invited Hai Feng to be the abbot. He not only built the magnificent and grand Wanfo Tower but also specifically asked for the Kwan-yin Statue from the Hengshan Mountain to be sent to the tower and become the treasure of the temple.

It is reported that the Kwan-yin Statue was presented to Nagoya, Japan in 1941 by the traitor government of Wang Jingwei. In exchange, Japan presented China with an 11-sided Kwan-yin Statue that was constructed with Chinese juniper from Taiwan's Alishan area. After the Kwan-yin Statue arrived in Japan, it was first lackadaisically placed in the Nitaiji Temple and later moved to the Peace Pavilion in the Peace Park in suburban Nagoya.

As the 11-sided Kwan-yin Statue was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, the Japanese government had initially said that they could not return the Kwan-yin Statue for it was presented in exchange for the 11-sided Kwan-yin Statue. However, through the untiring efforts of the Chinese and Japanese people, the Kwan-yin Statue will return home, to China, in the near future. It will be placed at the Pilu Temple in Nanjing.

(Chinanews.cn December 29, 2004)