The King Bodhisattva (Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva) is one of the four major Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism. It is famous for its "great wish" ("hell is not empty, vows not to become a Buddha"), and is mainly responsible for saving all living beings in hell.

The statue is located inside the Hiranya Varna Mahavihar Temple. The temple is also known as the Golden Temple because all the statues and structures are painted in gold. Unlike other Mahayana Buddhist temples (Mahavihar), this temple is larger and has a three-story golden pagoda dedicated to the "Sakyamuni Buddha". The stupa was built by King Bhaskar Varman in the 12th century.

The artifact is one of a pair of gilded bodhisattva statues from 18th century AD China. It is now housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art. Although the two statues are mirror images of each other, they do not represent the same bodhisattva; they are Maitreya and Guanyin, respectively. They stand in elegant poses, holding the stems of a lotus flower, probably part of a sculptural trinity that surrounds a larger Buddha.

Xuanzang (602-664) was a famous monk of the Tang Dynasty, one of the four great translators of Buddhist scriptures in Chinese Buddhism, and the founder of the Yogacara school of Chinese Buddhism.

The statue is named a half body statue of a Bodhisattva and was made during the Northern Wei Dynasty. The site in front of the Yungang Grottoes was unearthed in 992 and collected by the Yungang Research Institute.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a Buddhist bodhisattva name, is a transliteration of the Sanskrit K ṣ itigarbha, transliterated as "Qichadi Lianpo". In the Ten Wheel Sutra of Ksitigarbha, it is said that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is "as calm and composed as the earth, and as deep and secret as a secret treasure, hence its name. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is an important Bodhisattva in Buddhist tradition, revered as the savior and protector of sentient beings. His full name is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, also known as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva King or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva King. He is considered the ruler of hell, with the mission of protecting sentient beings and saving the souls. With infinite compassion and wisdom, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva promises not to retreat from the suffering of sentient beings until they are all liberated from the cycle of suffering.