Tibetan Gesaercaihuishike
01 · Historical Records
Since 2002, the Gesar painted stone carvings of Sertar (Seda), Shiqu, and Danba in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have been brought to public attention one after another, attracting great interest from academic circles. Gesar painted stone carvings have long been placed in the open air, and the severe cold of the plateau together with intense ultraviolet radiation has caused considerable natural damage; in the 1960s they again suffered near-destructive man-made damage, and the related carving and painting techniques were almost entirely lost. Since the 1980s, under the initiation and organization of Lama Aya, the techniques of Gesar painted stone carving have been rekindled and passed on.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Sertar County lies in northwestern Sichuan. Legend has it that the area was once inhabited by the elder-branch (Changxi) tribes of the Ling kingdom and was the birthplace of the famous Ling generals Nibeng Darya and Abun·Buyi Panda, so the accumulation of Gesar culture there is very deep, and it enjoys the reputation of a 'hometown of Gesar art'. More than two centuries ago, Gesar painted stone carvings began to take shape on these grasslands. Taking the core content of the heroic epic Gesar as its subject, Gesar painted stone carving fuses exquisite stone-carving skill with traditional painting, reproducing in a unique artistic style the historic scenes of King Ling·Gesar and the generals and soldiers of the Ling kingdom bringing benefit to the people, fearing no evil, and fighting bravely. The carvings use natural slate produced in Sertar County as their material; in making them the natural shape of the stone is largely retained, a composition is first drawn in line, and the carving is then executed by chiseling, scraping, and other means, with the flowing lines like moving clouds and running water and the images natural and vivid. After the carving is finished, a coat of white pigment is brushed over the carved surface as a ground; once dry, colors are applied. The palette mainly employs six colors — red, yellow, blue, white, black, and green — and intermediate tones are generally not used. The Gesar painted stone carvings of Sertar County are mainly kept in Nido (Miduo) Township, Seke Town, Nianlong Township, and Wonda (Ongda) Town. Among them, the carvings at the Yage retreat in Wonda Village, Wonda Town, are the oldest, while the Gesar painted stone carving complex at Puwu Village, Nido Township, is the best transmitted and the largest in number and scale; its craft is not only representative within Sertar County and Garze Prefecture, but is also highly typical when viewed across all the regions of China where Gesar culture circulates. Nido Township is located on the bank of the Niqu River in northwestern Sertar County, at an elevation of 4,180 meters. The Gesar painted stone carvings here are kept on a large stone platform within the stone scripture walls surrounding the white stupa of Puwu Temple in Puwu Village. The stone platform is divided into five levels and holds more than a thousand pieces of Gesar painted stone carvings, forming a genealogical system. The recent portion of the carvings at this site was organized and carved under the initiative of the famous senior monk Lama Aya of Puwu Village; it is grand in scale and imposing in momentum, with fine knife work and carefully chosen materials, and depicts the previous lives of King Ling·Gesar and the thirty generals and eighty soldiers of the Ling kingdom; the carvings also include the images of the eighty mahasiddhas of India and a hundred civil and martial honored deities. The Gesar painted stone carvings of Nido Township are numerous and have developed into a fairly complete system of carving and painting techniques.
The Puwu village stone group
At 4,180 metres beside the Niqu river, over a thousand painted carvings rest on a five-tier platform within a sutra wall.
The lama's revival
Since the 1980s the monk Arya has organised carving at Puwu, reviving a technique nearly lost.
Line drawing, direct and scraped cutting
Natural slate keeps its shape; the design is drawn in outline, cut directly and by scraping, then primed white and painted.
The six colours
Six colours without intermediate tones are used, each carrying a meaning matched to figures in the Gesar epic.
The Yage retreat
The carvings survive in four townships, of which the oldest stand at the Yage retreat in Wengda village.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Tibetan Gesar painted stone carving is a surviving legacy of Gesar culture, mainly distributed in the three counties of Sertar, Shiqu, and Danba in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, with the Gesar painted stone carvings of Sertar County being the most representative. These colors all carry specific meanings, corresponding to the various generals and soldiers in the Gesar epic; local people can understand them at a glance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The techniques of Gesar painted stone carving are transmitted mainly through master-apprentice or family inheritance, and the makers generally do not sign their names on the carvings. There are currently 17 inheritors, mainly including Niqiu, Juer, Zhalo, and Qieqiong. Whether judged by the completeness of the genealogies of figures or by the continuity of the artisans' techniques, this stone carving is representative. Experts unanimously hold that it not only provides a new mode of transmission for Gesar culture but also fills a gap in the presence of Gesar culture within Tibetan stone carving. However, because Gesar painting imposes special demands on the qualities of the artisan, while the present carving artisans are mostly farmers, herders, or temple monks who pursue painted stone carving in their spare time — 'having the skill but not mastering it', 'learning without succeeding' — and some artisans have even given up this craft for other trades, the techniques of Gesar painted stone carving face a situation in which successors are lacking, and urgently need support and protection.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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