Cihang Daoren

Cihang Daoren (Chinese: 慈航真人; pinyin: Cíháng Dàorén; Wade–Giles: Tz'u-hang Chen-jen; lit. 'Compassion Travel/Navigate True-Person/Perfected-Person') is a Daoist deity and character in the classic Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods (more commonly known as Fengshen Yanyi). He is a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun and one of the Three Great Immortals, holding the ninth position among the Twelve Golden Immortals. The character is believed to be derived from the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin. Chinese scholars generally believe that Cihang Daoren is the origin of Guanyin's male form and that the transition of Guanyin from male to female occurred during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. The figure appears in works such as the Lingbao Sutra, the Romance of the Immortals of the Past Dynasties and Fengshen Yanyi. Scholars after the Tang dynasty advocated for the concept of 'Three Religions in One', which led to the gradual merging of the Taoist deity Cihang Daoren with Guanyin Bodhisattva. Folk depictions often portray this god riding a dragon, tortoise, serpent, giant turtle, or even a single log canoe due to the term 'Cihang'.