Pointing to a thangka -- a kind of Tibetan scroll-banner
painting -- hanging in an exhibition hall, Geleg Dainzin explained
to a group of visitors how rewarding it is to paint all the tiny,
intricate details on a Buddha.
The Tibetan painter uses an interpreter to convey his message
because he can only speak a few simple words in Mandarin.
But for Dainzin and other thangka painters in the Tibetan county
of Luhuo in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the language
obstacle at the local thangka exhibition is only a minor
frustration compared with the enormous task of revitalizing their
unique type of art.
Thangkas are a form of Tibetan painting art that date back more
than 1,000 years. Intended to serve as a guide for religious
contemplation, they mainly depict images from Tibetan Buddhism.
Thangka art reached its apogee in the works of the 17th century
thangka master Namka Gyai.
Known as the birthplace of Namka Gyai and "the home of thangka
art", Luhuo is fighting to save its honor and its history, as
thangka art tries to adjust to the modern world and most local
artists struggle to make a living.
Ancient Glory?and Modern Crisis
Nestled among mountains at an altitude of more than 3,000
meters, Luhuo saw its thangka art boom in the 17th century, when
Namka Gyai taught his skills to pupils there after gaining fame as
one of the best thangka painters of the time.
Combining Tibetan painting with Han nationality painting and
western art, the works of Namka Gyai have puzzled and amazed
experts, as the painter understood no foreign languages and was
unlikely to have had access to knowledge about western art, said
Yongda Lhamo, vice county head of Luhuo in charge of culture and
publicity.
"Thangka art reached a high level of sophistication in ancient
times, but painters rarely received much payment, because most of
their works went to temples and artists wouldn't complain because
of their religious piety," said Geleg Dainzin.
"Sometimes the painter was only paid three meals a day," he
said.
Graced by delicate renderings of religious images, recounting
legendary stories and featuring the use of precious mineral paint
such as gold, silver and carnelian, thangka demands painstaking and
time-consuming efforts in procedures like outlining and
coloring.
"It took me nearly 20 years of study, from the age of 5, to
completely master the basic knowledge and skills," said 31-year-old
Geleg Dainzin, who is a sixth-generation pupil of Namka Gyai. "A
good thangka may take me a whole year to finish."
There were once more than 100 thangka painters in Luhuo, but now
only 20 remain, said Yongda Lhamo.
"Others have gone to cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where
they are hired by private businesses to make commercial thangkas
for a booming market," said Liu Lifu, a Luhuo government publicity
official.
Most of the painters in Luhuo live in tough conditions, as their
only customers are local residents and temples in Luhuo, which have
a small population of 40,000, said Liu.
Many of those who have left are making cheap, low-quality
thangkas, using synthetic paints instead of natural minerals. Back
in Luhuo, the overall quality of thangkas produced by local
painters has dropped because they simply do not earn enough money,
said Liu.
The low cost of digital reproduction of thangkas has also eroded
the market for hand-painted ones and threatens the survival of the
ancient skills, said Liu.
Market Exploration and
Industrial?Trial
A distant descendant of Namka Gyai, Geleg Dainzin is one of the
few lucky thangka painters in Luhuo. He refused to reveal the price
of his works, but said he is usually paid 150 yuan per workday and
that the income can support his seven-member family.
However, most individual painters are unlikely to get enough
work to support themselves, let alone money to carry out research,
said Liu.
"If we can develop a market, there'll be no need to worry about
earnings," said Yongda Lhamo.
The local government set up a thangka association this May in
the hope of creating a market and turning the art form into a small
cottage industry.
"We did market research, which shows demand mainly comes from
believers in Tibetan Buddhism and collectors," said Yongda Lhamo.
"Now we can look for customers and negotiate on behalf of the
painters, most of whom cannot speak Mandarin."
The overseas market is a future focus for the association, and
the county hopes to combine the appeal of thangka with the
development of tourism, said Liu, citing the warm welcome thangka
works received at an exhibition on Chinese intangible cultural
heritage held in Paris, France this April.
Another purpose of the association is to organize local artists
and pave the way for better transmission of the art form, said
Yongda Lhamo.Thangka masters have been invited to give lessons at
local primary and middle schools and are encouraged to take as many
pupils as possible, she said.
Geleg Dainzin told the reporter that he has taken on three
pupils, who are three, four and five years old respectively.
"Learning thangka art is an arduous job. You have to start early
by learning the Tibetan language," said Geleg Dainzin, "I would
like my own son to become a thangka painter."
China listed thangka art as a national intangible cultural
heritage last year so that the art form can be better protected,
but for thangka artists and the government in the remote county of
Luhuo, more needs to be done.
"We are experimenting with combining the traditional art form
with modern content featuring the real lives of Tibetans, like a
thangka depicting a lama playing basketball," he said, calling such
works "the new thangkas."
Last October, a collection of such "new thangkas" from Luhuo
were exhibited in Beijing and found more favor with collectors than
traditional works, with many of them being auctioned off for
5,000-10,000 yuan, according to Liu.
"The only way to expand our market is to make more people, not
only religious believers, understand and appreciate thangkas," he
said. "That's how the art form can gain a new lease of life."
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2007)
