Kuan-yin, one of the most popular of all Buddhist deities, is shown here holding an infant boy in her lap identifying her as Sung-tzu, the Child Giving Kuan-yin. Male children were extremely important to Confucian family structure. They ensured not only the continuity of family and clan, but that there would be uninterrupted generations to carry on the rituals of ancestral worship. The Child Giving Kuan-yin was prayed to by worshipers for healthy children and intelligent male heirs.

It is likely that Jesuit influence in China during the late Ming and Ch'ing dynasties played a role in shaping the iconography of this small statue. Among the European images circulated in China during the time of Father Ricci were pictures of the Madonna and Child like the one shown here. Ricci recognized that Chinese culture was strongly intertwined with Confucian values and he successfully used existing Chinese concepts to explain Christianity, including the veneration of ancestors.