Tibetan Thangka
01 · Historical Records
In the 16th century, the Karma Gadri school of painting began to flourish in the Kham region, and a succession of thangka art masters emerged.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Thangka, also called tangga or tangka in Tibetan transliteration, is a kind of colored scroll painting embroidered or painted on cloth, silk or paper. It carries a strong Tibetan ethnic character and has long flourished among the people of Tibet. The Chamdo region lies in eastern Tibet, in the southeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Karma Gadri school transmitted in Chamdo is said to have been founded by the living Buddha Langka Zaxi, who together with the 8th Karmapa living Buddha Mijiu Duoji established the theoretical basis for the modeling style of the Karma Gadri school. In the course of its development, the Karma Gadri school built on tradition while boldly innovating, absorbing the essence of the fine-brushwork, heavy-color technique of Han painters, emphasizing lyrical expression, and attending to color contrast, thus developing the characteristics of rigorous structure and exquisite, fine brushwork. The Karma Gadri school employs a combination of color painting, fabric applique and other artistic techniques to depict subjects such as myths and legends, historical stories, ethnic customs and natural landscapes on materials including cloth, silk, satin and paper; most of its content relates to religious themes. Because Karma Gadri thangkas are painted in fine brushwork with colored mineral pigments, their colors remain extraordinarily fresh and bright even after several hundred years. Karma Gadri thangkas are finely painted, with exaggerated forms and strongly contrasting colors, mostly using flat washes of pure color and gold-line outlining; they are edged with colored silk satin, covered with a gauze veil and ribbons on the surface, and fitted at top and bottom with wooden rollers decorated with silver or copper, so that they can be rolled up for easy carrying. Karma Gadri thangkas are collected mostly by private households and monasteries, and are treasures of the monasteries. At every religious festival, the monasteries display their Karma Gadri thangkas to the faithful, a spectacular sight. The monasteries of Chamdo take pride in collecting Karma Gadri thangkas; those held by monasteries such as Jampaling Monastery and Riwoqe Monastery are mostly old works from the Ming and Qing dynasties and are still regarded as monastic treasures. Chamdo Karma Gadri painters lay out their drafts according to the Gadri system of proportional measurement, first fixing the outlines of the figures with ink lines, then completing the work with flat washes of pure color and gold-line outlining.
Namkha Tashi and the eighth Karmapa
The school as practised in Chamdo is traced to the lama Namkha Tashi, who with the eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje established its theory of form; from the sixteenth century it flourished in Kham.
Silk brocade borders and silver or bronze rods
Karma Gardri scrolls are finely drawn and boldly formed in strong contrasts, laid in with flat pure colour and gold outline, bordered in silks, veiled and ribboned, and sewn to silver- or bronze-trimmed wooden rods for easy rolling.
Displaying the scrolls at festivals
Most Karma Gardri scrolls belong to families or monasteries and count as monastic treasures; on religious festivals the monasteries unroll them before the faithful in spectacular displays.
Applied cloth and fine-line heavy colour
Rooted in tradition yet inventive, the school took the essence of Han fine-line heavy-colour painting, stressing lyrical expression and strong contrast to give rigorous structure and delicate workmanship, and combined painting with applied cloth.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Chamdo Karma Gadri school is centered on Karuo District, Chamdo City, in eastern Tibet, and is also current in counties such as Riwoqe, Jomda and Chagyab; it shares a common origin with the Karma Gadri schools of the Garze area in Sichuan and the Yushu area in Qinghai.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka · Tibetan Thangka.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Chamdo Karma Gadri school created the world-famous Karma Gadri thangkas, providing an effective means for the transmission of Tibetan culture, and occupies an extremely important position in the religious, cultural and art history of Tibet. At present, the older artists of the Chamdo Karma Gadri school of high attainment are all past the age of seventy; moreover, the traditional techniques and iconographic patterns of Karma Gadri thangkas have not been collated or studied in the past, which is extremely unfavorable to the transmission of the school. Related conservation work is therefore all the more necessary and urgent.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Danbaraodan 01-0063
- Gesangcidan 01-0064
- Yandengzeren 04-1748
- Luobusida 04-1749
- Xirebu 04-1750
- Jiumai 04-1751
- Lameng 05-2581
- Cirenluobu 05-2582
- Zhaxi 05-2583
- Gade 05-2584
- Mimaciren 05-2585
- Jiaobajiabu 05-2586
- Qujiu
- Gesang
- Nima
- Tudengweise
- Gamadanzeng
- Luozhubasong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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