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[[File:The Tiger Carries Off Miao Shan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting in Chinese style of Miao Shan on the back of a tiger|Miao Shan being carried off by a tiger]]
[[File:The Tiger Carries Off Miao Shan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting in Chinese style of Miao Shan on the back of a tiger|Miao Shan being carried off by a tiger]]
It is widely believed that Kuan Yin took embodiment as the third daughter of Miao Chuang Wang, identified with the Chou dynasty, a ruler of a northern Chinese kingdom about 700 <small>B</small>.<small>C</small>. The king had seized his throne by force of arms, and he desperately desired a male heir to succeed him. Instead he had three daughters. The youngest, Miao Shan, was a devout child who “scrupulously observed all of the tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed, to be to her a second nature.”<ref>This account is taken from Edward T. C. Werner, ''Myths and Legends of China'' (London: Harrap, 1922), chapter X.</ref>
It is widely believed that Kuan Yin took embodiment as the third daughter of Miao Chuang Wang, identified with the Chou dynasty, a ruler of a northern Chinese kingdom about 700 <small>B</small>.<small>C</small>. The king had seized his throne by force of arms, and he desperately desired a male heir to succeed him. Instead he had three daughters. The youngest, Miao Shan, was a devout child who “scrupulously observed all of the tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed, to be to her a second nature.”<ref>This account is adapted from Edward T. C. Werner, ''Myths and Legends of China'' (London: Harrap, 1922), chapter X.</ref>
She recognized the impermanence of riches and glory and desired nothing more than “a peaceful retreat on a lone mountain.” She told her sisters that “If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness.... I will rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I will save the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spirits which do evil, and cause them to do good.”
She recognized the impermanence of riches and glory and desired nothing more than “a peaceful retreat on a lone mountain.” She told her sisters that “If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness.... I will rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I will save the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spirits which do evil, and cause them to do good.”