Chinese bronze figure of Songzi Guanyin with child, holding a ruyi sceptre in her right hand and pouring water from a bottle in her left, her hair neatly coiffed and covered with a long cowl sheltering the Amitabha crown, wearing a fine robe, a small infant beside her, a dragon at her feet, four-character seal mark of Qianlong, (1736-1795), late Qing Dynasty, 22.5cm high

Songzi Guanyin, or the 'Bringer of Sons,' demonstrates the importance of male children within 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.