Tibetan Thangka
01 · Historical Records
The history of Gannan Tibetan thangkas can be traced back to the early period of the Tubo (Tibetan) kingdom. In the 7th century CE, the Tubo kingdom built large palaces such as the Potala Palace, which promoted the development of Tibetan painting; it was under these circumstances that Tibetan thangkas came into being.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, one of the ten Tibetan autonomous prefectures in China, is located in the southwest of Gansu Province. Tibetan thangkas are mostly painted on pure cotton cloth, though some are painted on sheepskin; there are colored thangkas of silk embroidery and of satin applique sewn with silk thread, as well as single-color block-printed thangkas. Their painted centers and their mounting cannot do without cotton, hemp, silk and silk fabrics. Gannan Tibetan thangkas vary greatly in size, the largest covering several dozen square meters and the smallest less than 0.1 square meters; the painting pigments are mostly mineral, together with gold and silver. Gannan Tibetan thangkas have distinctive compositions: the images are not bound by real space or time, and even in a very small format the realm depicted is vast—heaven above, the human world in the middle, and the underworld below. Gannan Tibetan thangkas also skillfully use transformed rocks, auspicious clouds, flowers and other motifs to divide complex narrative content naturally, forming legendary story scenes that are at once independent and continuous—novel, distinctive, vivid and engaging.
Amdo Jampa and Xirebu
Xirebu studied systematically from 1986 under the Tibetan master Amdo Jampa, mastered the three great schools, absorbed inland print techniques and western perspective, and produced the Tenth Panchen Lama, Shantideva and Yamantaka.
Scrolls on cotton and sheepskin
Gannan scrolls are usually painted on pure cotton, sometimes on sheepskin, and range from silk-embroidered and appliquéd colour scrolls to monochrome printed ones, the centre and mounting always depending on cotton, hemp, silk or cloth.
Dividing the picture with stylised rocks and clouds
Gannan painters use stylised rocks, auspicious clouds and flowers to divide a complex narrative into scenes at once separate and continuous, an ingenious and lively device.
Jiümai's painting journeys
Jiümai began at six under the painter Dorje in Tongren, Qinghai, and afterwards travelled Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan painting many works there while training successors.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Gannan Tibetan thangkas are centered on the area around Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, and painters are active in counties such as Xiahe, Hezuo, Maqu and Luqu. Labrang Monastery has a dedicated painting institution; its monk painters both paint thangkas and undertake murals and colored decoration for the monastery, creating a pattern in which monastic transmission and folk painters develop side by side. Gannan thangkas descend from the three great schools of central Tibet (U-Tsang)—Mentang, Khyenri and Karma Gadri—and are also influenced by the Regong painting tradition of Qinghai and by mainland New Year prints, forming an Amdo style that combines religious solemnity with folk color.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
With their distinct ethnic character and strong religious coloring, Gannan Tibetan thangkas are of extremely high reference value in the study of Tibetan folk customs and religious art. Xirebu (official archive record of the associated inheritor): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in August 1961, from Jiuzhi County, Qinghai Province. In 1986 he began to study thangka painting systematically under the Tibetan thangka master Anduo Qiangba. He has mastered the techniques of the three great schools of Tibetan thangka painting—Mentang, Khyenri and Karma Gadri—and continually absorbs the techniques of mainland New Year print painting and Western perspective, striving to innovate; he has created a series of outstanding works, including The Tenth Panchen Lama, Bodhisattva Shantideva and Yamantaka. Representative inheritor of Tibetan thangka (Gannan Tibetan thangka), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item from the fourth batch. Jiumai (official archive record of the associated inheritor): From the age of six he studied the whole production craft of thangkas comprehensively and systematically under the thangka painter Duojie in Tongren County, Qinghai Province. Through long, diligent practice and devoted study, his thangka painting technique became superb, earning the recognition and praise of experts at home and abroad. His footsteps have covered Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places, where he painted a large number of works. Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in September 1936, died in January 2015, from Xiahe County, Gansu Province. Representative inheritor of Tibetan thangka (Gannan Tibetan thangka), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item from the fourth batch. At the same time, he emphasized the transmission of thangka technique and the training of newcomers, successively training a number of apprentices.
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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