A bonze, the abbot of a Buddhist temple, is depicted in profile, on his knees with a turn to the left. His head is shaved. He is wearing a long-sleeved shirt with its hem tied at the back, and short pants getting narrow to the knees. He is wearing woolen knee pads on his knees. A red board is tied to the man's back with straps. On the board there are four hieroglyphs written in black paint – the name of the monastery to which he belongs. In his left hand, the man is holding a pear-shaped wooden vessel with a lengthwise opening. He is striking the vessel with a wooden stick, attracting the attention of passers-by. The etching comes from the album "Chinese Customs and National Costumes", which includes 60 images of Chinese people engaged in various activities. Each image is accompanied by an explanation in German; some of them are written in French. In the eighteenth century, artists in Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China created such paintings for Europeans seeking to learn more about China and its people.