Shen Wuhua (沈婺华), born and died unknown, was a native of Wuxing Wukang (present-day Deqing, Zhejiang), and the daughter of Shen Junli, the Marquis of Yitong Sansi and Wangcai Zhenxian.
Shen Wuhua's mother, Princess Huimu of the Chen clan, was the daughter of Emperor Chen Baxian of Chen. Princess Huijimu died early, when Shen Wuhua was young, and the death of her mother made her grief-stricken and emaciated. After the completion of the mourning period, every year on the day of the festival, she still sat there alone and wept, and her mourning touched the people around her, and people near and far admired her very much.
In the third year of Taijian (571), Shen Wuhua married the crown prince Chen Shubao and became a crown princess. On the tenth day of the first lunar month of the fourteenth year of Taijian (582), the Chen Xuan Emperor Chen Huan died. On the thirteenth day of the first month, crown prince Chen Shubao ascended the throne, and was known as The Lord of Chen Hou in history. On the 25th day of the first month, Chen Shubao established Shen Wu as empress.
Shen Wuhua has a quiet temperament, is quite knowledgeable, intelligent and clever, knowledgeable and strong, has read some classics and history books, and is good at writing. At first, Chen Shubao lived in the East Palace, but Shen Wuhua's father Shen Junli died, and Shen Wuhua served the funeral and lived in the other hall, because of excessive sadness and haggard, and the mourning period also exceeded the norm. Chen Shubao treated Shen Wuhua thinner, and the noble concubine Zhang Lihua was the most favored in the harem, and all the affairs of the harem were managed by her, Shen Wuhua did not care about this, and there was no jealousy and resentment.
Shen Wuhua was frugal in drinking and living, there was no splendid decoration on his clothes, and the close attendants around him were reduced by more than a hundred people, and every day he just flipped through books and history books and recited Buddhist scriptures. At that time, Shen Wuhua had no sons and adopted Chen Yin, the son of Sun Ji, the concubine of Uncle Chen, as his own son.
Later, Shen Wuhua wrote several times to bluntly advise Chen Shubao, who had planned to depose her as empress and install the noble concubine Zhang Lihua as empress.
In the third year of Zhenming (589), the Sui Dynasty attacked the Chen Dynasty, and Shen Wuhua and Chen Shubao were escorted to Chang'an. At that time, Chen Shubao learned that the Sui army had arrived, and was frightened to hide in the well with his favorite concubines Zhang Lihua and Kong Guifei, only Shen Wuhua was still as usual, without panic.
Empress Shen has always had a profound research and mission in Buddhism, and she hopes to forever bless the people of Li people all over the world with peace, happiness and auspiciousness.
One year there was a drought in the south, and the people's crops saw no harvest. Grievances boiled over. Empress Shen ascended to Taicheng in the palace wearing a snow-white fairy long veil, holding a clean bottle, and sprinkling water with willow branches to pray for the blessings of the people. Personally reciting buddhist scriptures to ask for rain, four hours later heavy rain came, relieving the suffering of the people. The people of Jiangnan are called Guanyin Bodhisattvas.
In the fourth year of the Sui Dynasty (604), Chen Shubao died, and Shen Wuhua personally wrote a lament for him, and the words were very painful. The Sui Dynasty Emperor Yang Guang ordered her to accompany him every time he traveled everywhere. In the second year of Yining (618), the Sui Emperor was killed by Yu Wenhua in Jiangdu, and Shen Wuhua crossed the Yangtze River from Guangling to return to his hometown. Later, he became a nun at the Tianjing Monastery in Biling (present-day Wujin, Jiangsu), with the dharma name Guanyin. Tang Zhenguan (627-649) died in the early years.
Putuo Mountain South China Sea Guanyin Statue
When Shen Wuhua became a monk, it was at a time when the soldiers were in chaos and the world was divided, and people were hungry and displaced. Shen Wuhua saw that innocent beings had been tragically destroyed, and she could not bear it, so she disguised herself as Guanyin Master, appeared and surrendered many officers and soldiers, rescued many old people, children and thousands of people, and distributed military food to the people.
Later, in order to avoid military disasters and banditry, Shen Wuhua retreated to the Baiyun Nunnery in Laishan, Shandong, accompanied by the morning bell and twilight drum, green lantern ancient Buddha, and hard practice. The elderly and children who were rescued by her fled to all parts of the country. Word of mouth spread about the appearance and deeds of Guanyin Bodhisattva, which made Shen Wuhua's reputation grow bigger and bigger, and the people drew images of Guanyin and enshrined them in their homes.
In the hundreds of years since Buddhism was introduced to China in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guanyin Bodhisattva has always been a man's image, and after Shen Wuhua became a monk, Guanyin used her as a prototype and became a dignified and kind woman.