The Soldier Protecting Sleeping Child meme, often called The Silent Protector, originated from a digital painting by the Chinese artist Wang Ling, better known as wlop. The artwork features a knight holding a shield over a sleeping child, absorbing a storm of arrows and daggers. It first gained popularity as a relatable image macro on platforms like Reddit and Twitter around 2018. Users typically label the soldier and child to represent the hidden sacrifices made by parents, older siblings, or even software developers protecting users from complex bugs. It has become a universal symbol for unsung heroes and the silent burdens they carry.