Nima

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Nima, Male, Tibetan, from Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Tibetan Thangka (Ⅶ-14). The tradition is documented in Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai. Within the regional tradition and school record of Tibetan Thangka in Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai: Zangniang thangka uses natural mineral pigments, whose colors remain unchanged for a long time; its themes and painting style are full of the flavor of life, vivid and charming. By format it can be divided into 'lice', 'dace', 'zhice', 'zhale', 'yilan', and 'gaigeqinmu', among others. Through the joint efforts of the government and artists, Zangniang thangka art has developed day by day, forming strong transmission groups, effectively easing local employment pressure, and contributing to regional development. As a traditional culture and skill of the Tongtian River basin, Zangniang thangka carries much information about local history, religion, economy, and folk customs, and is of great significance for the study of local social and cultural development. Locally, the development of thangka skills has been combined with rural revitalization, promoting the development and prosperity of the local economy and culture. Zangniang thangka is a kind of Tibetan thangka originating in the Tongtian River basin. It was created in the late 10th century AD by the Indian Buddhist master Banqin Midijiana and has a history of nearly a thousand years; it is mainly distributed in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province; Garzê County, Shiqu County, and Dêgê County, Sichuan Province; and the Tibet Autonomous Region.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Nima is anchored in the documented technical standards of Tibetan Thangka in Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai. Within the documented technical tradition of Tibetan Thangka in Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai: Because its distribution area is remote with inconvenient transportation and has rarely been influenced by the outside world, successive generations of Zangniang thangka painters have strictly followed the ancient proportions and style, and the works have always maintained their own unique style and characteristics. With its long history, strict proportional canon, full and rich colors, and expressive forms full of charm, Zangniang thangka brings a strong visual impact and stands alone among thangka arts. Through the continuous improvement and supplementation by painters of successive generations, a strict proportional canon and a unique painting style were formed. Its works feature bright colors, heavy and solid base tones, and robust, full-bodied images. Rendering techniques are employed, with rich and fine gradations; gray is used skillfully to depict skin; figures and hair show variations between substance and void, with rich rhythms in the outlines; and symbolism, as one of the artistic means of expression, is widely applied. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Panchen Smriti Jnana and the late tenth century": A scroll tradition of the Tongtian river basin, created at the end of the tenth century by the Indian master Smriti Jnana; it lasts nearly a millennium and spreads through Yushu, Ganzi, Sershul and Dêgê. "Six formal types of the Tsangnyi scroll": By form the scrolls divide into six types — shiche, dache, zhice, zhalé, yilan and gegenqinmu — lively in subject and manner, painted with natural mineral colours that do not change. "Strict iconometry and grey flesh tones": Its remote home left it little touched from outside, and painters have kept to the old measurements and manner: bright colour on a dense ground, sturdy full forms, rich gradation, grey flesh tones and light-and-dark play in hair and figures. "Twenty scroll-painting families and twelve generations": Transmitted chiefly within families and from master to pupil, the tradition counts over twenty painting households with a documented line of twelve generations, monks being another important body who keep rare formulas and scrolls.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Nima was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Tibetan Thangka, with Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Tibetan Thangka in Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai as its declared area, and Yushu Cultural Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Nima (Yushuzangzuzizhi, Qinghai) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Nima · China ICH Official Archive