Tibetan Liugujiyi
01 · Historical Records
The history of the Tibetan gold-and-cobalt gilding craft can be traced back to the bronze casting of ancient Tibetans. The Buddha statues and ritual implements in temples across Tibetan regions are mostly cast in bronze, and with the passage of time, rust and damage are inevitable. Besides recasting and re-casting, there is another method that leaves the original body untouched and only treats the surface with a medicinal bath; over time this evolved into this set of procedures. The medicines used in liugao are all taken from herbs and minerals; gathering the herbs mostly takes place in the mountains and fields according to the seasons, while soaking and activating the medicine is done within the temples or workshops, and welding and polishing are undertaken by coppersmiths. It has long been attached to the collecting and maintenance needs of temples and Tibetan collectors.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Tibetan gold-and-cobalt gilding craft is a component of traditional metal decorative craft, a distinctive ethnic metal ornamentation technique that can achieve the restoration of metal relics and the artificial aging of metal images. The making procedure of the Tibetan gold-and-cobalt craft is complex and lengthy. Its production steps are: gathering herbs, soaking, activating the medicine, welding, polishing, gold-cobalt infusion, removing from the pot, and decoration. The medicines used in gold-cobalt infusion are compounded from 15 kinds of herbal medicines as the main ingredients and 3 kinds of native mineral substances as supplementary ingredients; the proportion of each medicine is strictly prescribed, otherwise undesirable chemical reactions may occur and damage the object being made. After all the medicines are properly prepared, the artifact is placed in a copper pot, water is poured to a specific level, and finally the prepared medicines are added, and the fire is lit. The medicines are added to the pot in batches. The heat must be adjusted according to the medicines added, now high now low, until the pot comes to a boil. The duration of the gold-cobalt infusion is also determined by the volume of the artifact—as long as half a year or more, even a year, or as short as a month or a few days. Finally, various gemstones are inlaid onto the artifact. The Tibetan gold-cobalt gilding craft is an ethnic metal ornamentation technique with strong regional character. Its uniqueness lies in relying solely on primitive and unadorned methods, without using any modern chemical raw materials, displaying the subtlety of traditional craft and reflecting the wisdom and superb skill of Tibetan craftsmen. The Tibetan gold-and-cobalt gilding craft is an ancient artifact-restoration technique whose history can be traced to the ancient Tibetan bronze-casting craft; its development is closely linked to the religious culture, artistic traditions, and artifact-protection needs of Tibetan regions, and historically it was mainly used to restore religious artifacts such as bronze Buddha statues and ritual implements. These artifacts hold an important place in Tibetan religious culture; the gold-cobalt gilding craft can restore damaged artifacts to their original appearance and texture while preserving their historical traces.
Documented Process Records
Its production steps are: gathering herbs, soaking, activating the medicine, welding, polishing, gold-cobalt infusion, removing from the pot, and decoration.
Fifteen herbal drugs with three native minerals
Fifteen herbal drugs are combined with three native minerals; any error in the dosage can set off unwanted chemical reactions in the pot and damage the object, so the proportions are fixed exactly.
Adding drugs in batches and adjusting the fire
The vessel is set in a copper pot, water is filled to a marked level, the drugs go in batch by batch, and the fire is raised and lowered as each is added until the pot boils; no modern chemical agents are used and the judgement is entirely by eye, nose and touch.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This craft is disseminated in Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and other places; today it is most concentrated in Qinghai Province, with the Qinghai Tibetan Medicine Culture Museum as its protecting unit. Hualong Hui Autonomous County is where Qinghai-native craftsmen congregate, and workshops are mostly opened along the streets and lanes of towns and cities, with Tibetan medicine practitioners and temples alike using its products. Zhang Xianzhong was born in 1962 in Hualong Hui Autonomous County, and studied the craft for over thirty years under the master Danzhengjia; the Buddha statues, ritual implements, and animal figurines he has personally restored number more than ten thousand. Locally, master-apprentice transmission and family transmission still proceed in parallel.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Historically this craft was disseminated in Qinghai, Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other places, and was also transmitted abroad; at present it mainly spreads in Qinghai Province. Master-apprentice transmission and family transmission are the traditional modes of passing on this craft. As a part of Tibetan traditional craft, the gold-cobalt gilding craft carries the Tibetan people's respect for history and culture, reflects the wisdom and exquisite skill of Tibetan craftsmen, and holds high historical, cultural, and artistic-aesthetic value. It can be said that the Tibetan gold-and-cobalt gilding craft is not only a technique for restoring artifacts but also a cultural inheritance and a spiritual symbol. Zhang Xianzhong (from the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in November 1962, from Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Qinghai Province. Representative inheritor of the Tibetan gold-and-cobalt gilding craft, a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. Studied under the master Danzhengjia and has practiced the Tibetan gold-and-cobalt craft for over thirty years. Through the gold-cobalt gilding craft he has restored more than ten thousand Buddha statues, ritual implements, and animal figurines, making the old look old. Thanks to the unremitting perseverance of three people, this ancient craft has been better transmitted and protected.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Zhangxianzhong 05-2898
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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