The film is set in the ninth century in China during the reign of
Emperor Wuzong of the
Tang dynasty.
Prince Guang, a relative of the emperor, has been sickly since childhood. His mother
Lady Zheng commissions Yu Xiufeng, a craftsman from
Mount Meicen, to create a porcelain figurine of
Guanyin so that she can pray to the
bodhisattva to bless her son with good health. On the day the figurine is completed, Yu Xiufeng and his grandson Haisheng discover a baby girl in a lotus pond. Yu Xiufeng adopts the baby girl as his granddaughter and names her "Lianmei" ("lotus girl"). The figurine is taken to
Mount Wutai and enshrined in a Buddhist temple there. Years later, Emperor Wuzong orders the
Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution because he thinks that Buddhism is corrupting the masses. He also senses that Prince Guang will become a threat to him, so he sends General Yuchi to assassinate the prince. At the same time, Reverend Wuchen, the abbot of the Buddhist temple on Mount Wutai, has requested Yu Xiufeng to come to the temple to collect the Guanyin figurine and hide it at Mount Meicen. During the journey, Yu Xiufeng and his grandchildren meet
Egaku, a Japanese Buddhist monk sent by
Empress Tachibana to find and bring the figurine to Japan. As Lady Zheng had secretly tasked General Yuchi's deputy General Sima with protecting her son, Sima saves Prince Guang when Yuchi is about to kill him. Sima defeats Yuchi in a duel and wants to finish him off, but Lianmei stops him and asks him to spare Yuchi. Prince Guang and Sima accompany Yu Xiufeng, Lianmei and Haisheng as they bring the figurine back to Mount Meicen. Egaku also makes his way to Mount Meicen after learning that the figurine is on its way there. Yuchi tracks down Prince Guang with the help of Governor Song of
Mingzhou. Lianmei and Haisheng disguise themselves as Prince Guang and Sima to lure Yuchi to chase them, while Prince Guang and Sima seize the opportunity to escape. Yu Xiufeng stays behind to distract Governor Song, who kills him when refuses to reveal the prince's whereabouts. Yuchi realises that he has been tricked, so he stops chasing Lianmei and Haisheng. In the meantime, Egaku finds the figurine and tries to sneak away with it. When Haisheng and Lianmei return home, they are horrified to see their grandfather dead. Haisheng sees Egaku fleeing and jumps to the conclusion that Egaku killed his grandfather and stole the figurine. Haisheng chases Egaku, catches up with him, and starts beating him. Lianmei stops Haisheng, telling her brother that she believes Egaku, who claims that he did not kill their grandfather. However, she refuses to let Egaku take the figurine with him. Egaku feels so ashamed of himself that he gives up and returns to Japan. Lianmei and Haisheng are captured later at a roadblock in Mingzhou by Governor Song, who seizes the figurine from them. The governor then tries to bribe Yuchi to help him cover up for his failure to hunt down Prince Guang, but Yuchi refuses and accuses him of corruption. Meanwhile, Haisheng escapes from the prison and drags Lianmei along with him. Yuchi is furious when he learns of their escape and orders the other prisoners to be executed. However, Lianmei succeeds in convincing Haisheng to go back to the prison with her because she knows what would happen if they escaped. Yuchi is so impressed by Lianmei's act of self-sacrifice that he spares the prisoners. Yuchi sets a trap to lure Prince Guang out of hiding. He announces that Lianmei and Haisheng will be executed for helping a fugitive escape, and predicts that Prince Guang will come to save them. As expected, the prince appears and turns himself in on the condition that Lianmei and Haisheng are released. However, Sima also shows up and fights with Yuchi and his soldiers to save Prince Guang. Just then, a messenger arrives with an imperial edict announcing that Emperor Wuzong is dead and that Prince Guang will succeed him. Yuchi commits suicide in shame for failing to complete his mission. Prince Guang returns to the palace for his coronation, while Lianmei and Haisheng bring the figurine back to Mount Wutai. Egaku travels to China again later to ask for the Guanyin figurine from Mount Wutai. Reverend Wuchen initially rejects his request. However, Egaku eventually manages to convince everyone of his sincerity by kneeling outside the temple for several days, so Wuchen allows him to bring the figurine to Japan. When Egaku's ship sails past Mount Meicen, Lianmei rows towards the ship on a raft because she cannot bear to see the figurine leave. A fierce storm suddenly breaks out and causes the figurine to be cast overboard. When the storm has subsided, Egaku is deeply saddened to learn that Lianmei and the figurine are lost at sea. Just then, lotuses appear all over the water surface. Egaku sees a vision of Lianmei as Guanyin on Mount Meicen, and realises that he is not destined to bring the figurine back to Japan. However, he can bring back the virtues embodied by the bodhisattva – compassion and mercy – and impart them to his people. ==Cast==