Tibetan Thangka
01 · Historical Records
It was founded by Quyang Gyatso in 17th-century Ü-Tsang and has a history of more than 400 years; it is mainly transmitted in Banma County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka, also called 'integrated thangka', means 'a scroll painting mounted with colored satin fabrics'. It is made by combining multiple handicrafts such as embroidery, pile embroidery, and painting; it has distinct ethnic characteristics, a rich religious character, and a unique artistic style — a rare treasure of Tibetan painting art. Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka combines painting and embroidery in a brocade thangka, paying close attention to the selection and arrangement of colored silks and satins. It reveals delicacy within boldness and wonders in every detail, with exquisite skill, fine workmanship, bright colors that do not fade easily, and the characteristics of a traditional thangka. Its main materials include pure silk, pearls, silk thread, horsehair, and brocade satin. The combined use of horsehair and silk thread helps to express its exquisite beauty. Its production process is complex, including steps such as processing the painting cloth, drawing on white paper, piercing needle holes, sketching, positioning, and polishing, tracing in ink, twisting horsehair into thread, preparing the horsehair and applying the embroidery, cutting the edges, embossing and finishing the edges, opening the eyes, painting the attendant elements, embroidering after the attendant elements, hand-writing the mantra inscriptions, and finishing the border decorations. Among these, opening the eyes is the crowning touch of the entire thangka and the key to gauging the level of a painter's attainment. Local people regard the production process of Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka as a meritorious deed that accumulates good karma, reflecting reverence for the Buddhist teachings. Its works cover a wide range of subjects, involving Tibetan history, politics, culture, society, and daily life. Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka has been passed down from generation to generation through the master-apprentice method. It is a survival of the handmade skills of the Tibetan people, a distinctive art formed through summarizing and accumulating practical experience in long-term production activities. Its choice and use of materials are highly scientific, providing an important reference for research on traditional fine-arts techniques.
Jicheng tsangka, the assembled scroll
Also called the assembled scroll, meaning a scroll mounted with coloured satin textiles, it combines embroidery, appliqué and painting and has a strongly national, religious and individual character.
Fourteen stages from canvas to border
The process runs through canvas preparation, drawing on paper, pricking, sketch positioning and smoothing, inking, wrapping horsehair, stitching the prepared hair, trimming and branding the border, opening the eyes, arranging and embroidering the composition, writing the mantra and finishing the border.
Silk, pearl, horsehair and brocade
Materials are silk, pearl, thread, horsehair and brocade: silk is costly and keeps its brilliance, pearl replaces every jewelled ornament, and horsehair is supple enough for the outlining of complex scenes.
Chöyang Gyatso's founding and master-to-pupil transmission
Founded by Chöyang Gyatso in seventeenth-century Tsang and now over four hundred years old, it survives chiefly in Baima county of Golog, where the work itself is regarded as accumulating merit.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka was created by Quyang Gyatso in 17th-century Ü-Tsang; it was later transmitted by monasteries and folk painters in the Golog-Banma area, and is mainly distributed in Banma County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, and the surrounding pastoral regions. Banma lies in the Make River basin at the junction of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces; the pastoral economy and the monastery economy provided sources of materials such as silk, brocade satin, and horsehair for horsetail nail-thread embroidery. In nail-thread embroidery, thick thread twisted from horsehair is tack-stitched along the edges of the pattern, forming raised contour lines that create a layered contrast with the flat embroidered surface.
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
Among these, pure silk cloth is of high value, does not fade easily, and has brilliant colors; pearls are used in place of all the jewelry in the thangka; and horsehair is highly flexible, meeting the outlining needs of complex pictures. The birth and development of Banma horsetail nail-thread embroidered thangka are a historical imprint of the plural integration of ethnic cultures and an epitome of the historical development of the early Banma region, and it has important value for historical research.
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)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。