Qiangmu
01 · Historical Records
In 763, the thirty-eighth generation king of Tibet of the Tubo dynasty, Trisong Detsen, selected the site, and Jishu and the master Padmasambhava presided over the design and the building of Samye Monastery. Samye Monastery is of great scale; in 1961 it was determined to be an autonomous-region-level cultural relic protection unit, and in 1996 it was raised to a national-level cultural relic protection unit. The local cultural departments collected and collated material on the Samye Monastery cham in the 1980s of the twentieth century, and afterwards carried out a general survey of the Samye Monastery cham.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Cham is a religious ritual dance performed at a fixed time every year, possessing both the meaning of consecration and aesthetic value. The Samye Monastery cham is mainly transmitted at Samye Monastery in Zhanang County, Tibet Autonomous Region, and is performed during the "Ciju Festival" on the tenth day of the first Tibetan month of the Tibetan calendar each year and during the "Samye Duodi" festival from the fifteenth to the eighteenth day of the fifth Tibetan month. Samye Monastery lies in the territory of Samye Town, Zhanang County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet (on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River), 50 kilometres from Zedang Town, the political, cultural and economic centre of Shannan Prefecture, and is conveniently served by transport. Here rainfall is abundant, there is "no severe cold in winter and no scorching heat in summer", and the climate is relatively mild. It is the first monastery in the history of Tibetan Buddhism to have all three of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha complete, and is called "a masterpiece in the history of architecture". The Samye Monastery cham is performed by lamas who have received some dance training, who wear masks to play different roles and, to the accompaniment of wind and percussion instruments, hold props and perform with a rich variety of dance movements; it is a distinctive dance form combining religious content with the art of dance. The structure, body language, dance form and modes of artistic expression of the Samye Monastery cham have their own characteristics, and express the awe-inspiring power of the deities and the prayer for peace. Owing to the constraints of its particular purpose and religious content, the Samye Monastery cham has always possessed strict movements, decoration, musical accompaniment and performance content. The content of the Samye Monastery cham is closely bound up with sacrifice, the driving away of evil spirits and the protection of dharmapalas, while at the same time inserting some biographical narratives of religious and historical figures. It generally begins with the "Monks' Chamber Music and Dance" played on instruments such as the drilbu, the conch (dungchen) and the drum, followed by more than thirty kinds of "vajra dance", including "Rain of Flowers", "Tashi Tsomu", "Bairu" and "Dege Xuedong". Each cham has its own music, and its movements, costumes, props and form of performance must follow the cham performance procedure and may not be altered at will.
Tsikchu and Sangye Dodi
The cham is performed at the Tsikchu festival on the tenth day of the first Tibetan month and at Sangye Dodi from the fifteenth to the eighteenth of the fifth.
The opening suite and thirty-plus vajra dances
It opens with the monastery suite on shawm, long trumpet and drum, then proceeds through some thirty vajra dances including Flower Rain and Tashi Tsomo.
Padmasambhava and the founding
In 763 King Trisong Detsen chose the site and Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava designed Samye, the first Tibetan monastery with Buddha, Dharma and Sangha complete, where the cham took root.
Masks, props and wind-percussion accompaniment
Masked monks dance with props to wind and percussion; each item has its own music and its movements, costumes, props and sequence may not be altered.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Samye Monastery cham belongs to the cham system of Ningma school monasteries, performed by lamas of the monastery who have received dance training and who wear masks; in sectarian lineage, repertoire structure and mask forms it forms a line of its own. Because Samye Monastery stands in Samye Town, Zhanang County, on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the influence of its cham chiefly covers the north-bank river valley of the Yarlung Zangbo around Shannan, and together with the A Cham of Gongga Qude Monastery of the Sakya school and the Gar Cham of Drikung Tethil Monastery of the Kagyu school it forms one of the distinct representatives of Tibetan monastery chams.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shigatse Zhashenlunbusiqiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Samye Monastery cham has been carried down to the present through master-apprentice transmission. The Samye Monastery cham is a product of the combination of folk culture and religious culture; it not only embodies the religious connotations of Tibetan Buddhist esotericism, but also expresses the spiritual aspirations of the Tibetan people, and is at the same time a vivid testimony to the exchange and integration of the cultures of the many ethnic groups. It has high historical, artistic, religious, social and cultural value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Lama Ciren 02-0377
- Lama Mima 02-0378
- Baimaqunjiu 04-1565
- Tudanqunpei 04-1566
- Zhaxi 05-2232
- Ciyang 05-2233
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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