Qimibadan

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Qimibadan, Male, Tibetan, from Danba, Sichuan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-186). The tradition is documented in Danba, Sichuan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship in Danba, Sichuan: Danba sits at the core of the Jiarong Tibetan area, its ancient watchtowers dense enough to be counted by the county: according to 2004 statistics, the county as a whole has 562 surviving ancient watchtowers, leading the nation and the world in number, concentration, and completeness of type. In form they divide into quadrangular, pentagonal, octagonal, and tridecagonal types, the quadrangular being the most common; builders use the stone-stacking craft of natural stone, so the tower edges are straight as if cut, the walls smooth, and the bodies thick and heavy, standing aloft despite great age. In distribution, the watchtowers here have a history traceable to the Qin and Han, became greatly prevalent after the Sui and Tang in western Danba and the entire eastern-Tibet region and have been handed down without break, linking up with other eastern-Tibet watchtower clusters. Danba is a multi-ethnic area predominantly of Jiarong Tibetans; here the watchtower serves both as village fortification and as family dwelling, so the stone-laying handcraft has remained attached to daily life and has never been interrupted. According to 2004 statistics, there remain 562 ancient watchtower buildings in Danba County as a whole.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Qimibadan is anchored in the documented technical standards of Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship in Danba, Sichuan. Within the documented technical tradition of Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship in Danba, Sichuan: Danba County lies in the west of Sichuan Province, a multi-ethnic area predominantly inhabited by the Jiarong Tibetans. The ancient watchtower cluster of Danba County has a long history and is a masterpiece of architectural art by the Jiarong Tibetan ancestors. Danba County has the greatest number, densest concentration, and most complete range of ancient watchtower types in China and indeed the world; the history of its ancient watchtowers can be traced back as far as the Qin and Han periods. After the Sui and Tang, ancient watchtowers became greatly prevalent in western Danba and the entire eastern-Tibet region, and have been handed down without break. The ancient watchtowers of Danba come in many forms—quadrangular, pentagonal, octagonal, tridecagonal, and so on—with the quadrangular tower the most common. The whole building has edges like knife blades, upright and straight, with smooth walls and thick, solid masonry; though aged, it still stands aloft. The Tibetan stone-masonry traditional craft represented by the Danba ancient watchtowers is called the "stone-stacking craft"; it naturally applies the principles of architectural mechanics, using natural stone to build watchtowers of beautiful form and solid structure, displaying a strong regional character. Within this building craft, the backhand masonry technique is highly developed and striking. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Square, pentagonal, octagonal and tridecagonal towers": Towers come in square, five-, eight- and thirteen-sided forms, the square being by far the most common; more sides mean harder junctions. "Reverse-handed coursing": Stones are laid reversed so each course bears on the one below, locking the wall without mortar. "Quarrying, dressing and coursing": The tradition of stacking dressed stone applies structural principles to build tall, well-shaped towers with every stone shaped to its place. "Setting the base and truing the faces": Knife-like corners and straight faces depend on truing each course as the tower rises, since error accumulates to the top.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Qimibadan was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship, with Danba, Sichuan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Tibetan Watchtower Building Craftsmanship in Danba, Sichuan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Danba, Sichuan as its declared area, and Danba County 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. Qimibadan (Danba, Sichuan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Qimibadan · China ICH Official Archive