Minneapolis Institute of Art

Child-Giving Guanyin (Songzi Guanyin)

Date

16th century

Medium

Gilt bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Guanyin, one of the most popular of all Buddhist deities, is shown here holding an infant boy in her lap; she is Songzi, the Child-Giving Guanyin. 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 Guanyin was prayed to by worshipers for healthy children and intelligent male heirs. China, Asia

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