Yinba
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yinba, Male, Tibetan, from Tibet, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Tibetan Tianwenlisuan (Ⅹ-121). The tradition is documented in Tibet.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yinba is anchored in the documented technical standards of Tibetan Tianwenlisuan in Tibet. Within the documented technical tradition of Tibetan Tianwenlisuan in Tibet: Tibetan astronomy and calendrical calculation is an important component of the "Ten Sciences" culture of the Tibetan people; it is widely practiced in Tibetan areas and has a history of more than two thousand years to date. Tibetan astronomy and calendrical calculation is a distinctive discipline composed of many branches, including primitive astronomy and calendrical calculation, five-element divination, Kalachakra calendrical calculation, the Han calendar as embodied in the Shixian calendar, divination by sound, and geomancy. Its related knowledge and practice include not only the calculation of the motions of the five major planets, the setting of intercalary months and duplicated or deficient days, and the prediction of solar and lunar eclipses, but also short-, medium-, and long-range weather forecasting, and—on the principles of astronomy and calendrical calculation—the calculation of the appropriate timing for farming and herding in different places, as well as phenological signs, solar terms, and the cycles of change in the human pulse. Tibetan astronomy and calendrical calculation is a precious treasure created by the Tibetan people through long practice; for thousands of years it has played a guiding role in the production and daily life of the Tibetan people. The Tibetan calendar has distinctive characteristics; it stands apart among all the calendars of the world and occupies a very important position. Tibetan weather and calendar almanacs compiled on the principles of Tibetan astronomy and calendrical calculation still play an important role today in guiding agricultural and pastoral production and forecasting the weather; they circulate in the Tibetan areas of Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces and in neighboring countries such as Bhutan, India, and Nepal, and are warmly welcomed by the broad masses of farmers and herders. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Computing the new moons and intercalary months": The most laborious foundation: the new moons are back-computed from planetary and solar-lunar motions to settle leap months and duplicated or missing days, fixing the length of the year. "Forecasting eclipses of sun and moon": Conjunctions and oppositions are computed so that the presence, timing and magnitude of eclipses can be forecast, the most valued service of the almanac. "Choosing auspicious days for farming and herding": Phenological and pulse cycles decide which days suit ploughing, herding, building or travel, with matching taboos, making the almanac a year-round working guide. "Five-phase divination and the Kalachakra system": Primeval calendar reckoning, five-phase divination, the Kalachakra system, the Chinese calendrical rules, omen interpretation and geomancy coexist as distinct branches of one discipline.
Computing the new moons and intercalary months
The most laborious foundation: the new moons are back-computed from planetary and solar-lunar motions to settle leap months and duplicated or missing days, fixing the length of the year.
Forecasting eclipses of sun and moon
Conjunctions and oppositions are computed so that the presence, timing and magnitude of eclipses can be forecast, the most valued service of the almanac.
Choosing auspicious days for farming and herding
Phenological and pulse cycles decide which days suit ploughing, herding, building or travel, with matching taboos, making the almanac a year-round working guide.
Five-phase divination and the Kalachakra system
Primeval calendar reckoning, five-phase divination, the Kalachakra system, the Chinese calendrical rules, omen interpretation and geomancy coexist as distinct branches of one discipline.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yinba was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Tibetan Tianwenlisuan, with Tibet as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Tibetan Tianwenlisuan in Tibet: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Tibet as its declared area, and Tibet Cang Hospital 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
Historical origin
In the traditional Tibetan disciplines, this branch of learning falls under calculation, one of the "Ten Sciences," standing alongside medicine and the arts among others, and its origins can be traced back more than two thousand years. The key to bringing scattered records of celestial observations into a systematic body of knowledge was the Mentsekhang, the specialized academy of the former Tibetan local government. Gongga Renzeng entered the Mentsekhang in 1952 to study calendrical calculation, and over the following decades became a mainstay of the compilation of the Tibetan calendar; when the Astronomy and Calendrical Calculation Society was founded in Lhasa in 1981, he served as deputy secretary-general and, as one of the chief compilers, took part in compiling the Comprehensive Collection of Tibetan Astronomy and Calendrical Calculation. During that period he wrote the essay "A Preliminary Discussion of the Relationship Between Tibetan Medicine and Astronomy-Calendrical Calculation, Its Development, and the Scientific Nature of Astronomy-Calendrical Calculation," which brought the relationship between the paths of medicine and calendrical science plainly into view.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonggarenzeng | Tibet | 03-1488 | Same declared area |
| Yinba | Tibet | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。