The iconography of the willow-bearing Avalokite?vara or Guanyin 楊柳觀音 images derived from the caur? bearers in ancient India. The willow was adopted as an attribute of Guanyin, since a caur? and willow looked almost alike. Besides their similarity in appearance, it is important to note the similarity in materials According to the Shishi vaolan 釋氏要覽, caur?s were made of various raw materials like the bark of trees, animal hair, some kinds of yarn, and woolen fabrics cut lengthwise. One suspects that the bark of willows was used for making a caur? in the 6th century. Since willow-bearing Guanyin images were not found in the Chinese Central Asia, it is quite possible that the iconography of a willow-bearing Guanyin was a Chinese creation.*br* Although its iconography originated in the 6th century. the making of willow-bearing Guanyin images remarkably increased during the Sui Dynasty. The rituals using a branch of willow and a water bottle seem to have been widely performed for curing disease during the Sui dynasty. This type of ritual is described in identical form in many s?tras such as Qing guanyin jing 請觀音經 and Tuoluoni zijing 陀羅尼集經 translated during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Inscriptions on the pedestals of willow bearing Guanyin images also support that such ritual was performed in connection with tho images.*br* The willow-bearing Guanyin is significant in the development of iconography of Chinese Guanyin images. because this type was exclusively used for Cuanyin unlike other characteristics frequently attributed to this deity.