Cangwenshufa
01 · Historical Records
According to historical records, in the mid-7th century, during the reign of Tubo Tsenpo Songtsen Gampo, in order to standardize the script and introduce Buddhism, the court sent a group of aspirants led by the minister Thonmi Sambhota to India for advanced study.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Nichi calligraphy is written with a bamboo pen, and is therefore also called the “hard pen.” Bamboo pens are divided into round-bamboo pens and triangular pens; the round-bamboo pen is used for writing large characters and the triangular pen for small characters; there are also iron pens. Pen tips come in three types: left-slanted, right-slanted, and flat. The left-slanted tip is used to write the Ujin (Uchen) style: on a practice board the characters run from left to right, with a ruler used to fix the columns, the lines of writing parallel as if strung along a single straight line — neat and rigorous. The structure of the script centers on the base letter; writing proceeds in the order of the base letter's prefixes, suffixes, and then the further suffixes. The writing posture is generally to sit cross-legged and upright: the left hand holds the paper with the index and little fingers, the palm turned up and resting on the knee, directly facing the heart; the right hand holds the pen, with the thumb and index finger gripping about one cun from the tip, the palm hollow so the writing moves with ease. The paper used is mostly Tibetan paper made from the root of the langdu (Stellera chamaejasme) plant.
Round and three-edged bamboo pens
Nichi is written with bamboo, also called the hard pen: round pens for large letters, three-edged pens for small, with iron pens also in use.
Three pen-tip cuts
Tips are cut left, right or flat; the left cut writes the uchen script, ruled column by column from left to right so the text falls into a straight line.
The writing posture
The writer sits cross-legged, steadying the paper with the left hand and holding the pen an inch from the tip, the palm hollowed for freedom.
The Achi and Nichi schools
The Qiongchi school split into the Achi school centred on Qusong in southern Tibet and the Nichi school centred on Nyemo, both transmitted to this day.
The official hand of the Tibetan canons
Nichi is the prescribed hand for woodcut editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur; in 2004 the inheritor took part in the re-engraved edition at the Potala.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Tibetan calligraphy (Nichi) is one of the important schools of the Uchen (Ujin) style of Tibetan calligraphy, distributed in the Tibet Autonomous Region — with Nyemo County as its representative center — and in Tibetan-inhabited areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces. Thonmi Sambhota, based on the ancient Zhangzhung script and absorbing the strengths of ancient Indian and ancient Persian scripts, among others, created the Tibetan script in use today in accordance with Tibetan cultural conditions; by script form it divides into the two great calligraphic styles Uchen and Ume. Later the Uchen style developed into a system of eight major calligraphic schools. The Qiongchi school later split into two schools: the Aichi school, which developed and flourished centered on the Qusong Ai area of Shannan, and the Nichi school, which flourished centered on the Nyemo area; both have been passed down from generation to generation to the present day.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Cangwenshufa · Cangwenshufa.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The calligrapher Qiongbu Yuchi devoted himself to the study of Uchen calligraphy and standardized it using the measurements of the Buddhist mandala, making it a model of the Tibetan Uchen style; historically it is called “Qiongchi” (the calligraphy of Qiongbu Yuchi). Tibetan calligraphy (Nichi) has a transmission history of several hundred years, mainly through the master-apprentice system: one must practice calligraphy under a teacher from childhood and pass rigorous examinations in order to become an inheritor of the Nichi school. Today Nichi calligraphy is also taught and studied within the community of Tibetan studies scholars. Nichi is an important branch of the system of Uchen-style Tibetan calligraphy schools and the designated script for the Tibetan woodblock editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur, demonstrating the maturity of Tibetan calligraphy's development and possessing social, cultural, and artistic-appreciation value. Tashi Dondrup (record from the official inheritor archive): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in February 1975, from Nyemo County, Tibet Autonomous Region. At the age of 18 he began copying scriptures for the restoration of the Narthang Tengyur printing blocks, and served as chief Nichi calligraphy master. In 2004 he participated in the Potala Palace project to reproduce fine editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur. His principal work is “A Feast for the Wise: The Art of the Ancestors.” He is a representative inheritor of Tibetan calligraphy (Nichi), a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. At the age of thirteen, with outstanding results, he was selected as one of the inheritors of the Nichi school, and together with Tashi Dorje he participated in the restoration of the Tengyur, one of the Eight Treasures of the Maitreya Hall of the Potala Palace; at that time the Nichi style was established as the standard official script.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chabazhi 03-1283
- Sanggedajie 04-1807
- Zhaxidunzhu 05-2676
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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