Now that the people in the coastal areas of the country have enjoyed the fresh flowers and lantern shows of the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th of the first month of the Chinese lunar year -- February 5 this year, the people in Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan-populated areas in Southwest and Northwest China are getting set to admire their "butter flower and lantern" shows 15 days from now in the monasteries around the region.
With the Tibetan New Year, which falls on Saturday (February 21) in the offing, the lamas at all monasteries have been busy putting the final touches to their "butter flowers," which are sculptures made of colored butter. They are scheduled to be displayed 15 days from now on the 15th day of the first month of the Tibetan lunar year, following a religious ritual the previous night.
The lamas' tradition of creating butter sculptures to worship statues of Buddha dates back 1,300 years to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The Tibetans believe that presenting these exquisite butter sculptures to Buddha will bring them peace and happiness.
Chinese legend has it that in 641, when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty married the Tubo King Songtsan Gambo, she arrived in Tibet with a statue of Sakyamuni as tall as he was at the age of 12. It was enshrined in the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa.
Things used as sacrifices to the statue included fresh flowers, aromatic spices, holy water, incense, fruit and Buddhist lamps. Over the years, as no fresh flowers were available in winter, artificial ones sculpted from butter became a substitute.
However, followers of Tibetan Buddhism believe that it was Tsongkapa, founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who initiated the development of butter sculpture.
It was said that Tsongkapa, who was born in the Tar Monastery, near Xining, capital of Northwest China's Qinghai Province, once had a dream of grass turning into lamps shining brightly among flowers that had evolved from thorny plants.
When he woke up, he asked the lamas to reproduce what he had seen in his dream with butter and used the sculpted butter flowers to worship statues of Buddha on the 15th night of the first month of the Tibetan lunar year.
It was a tradition that before sunrise the next morning, all the butter sculptures would be burned, symbolizing that they were only an illusion that must end quickly.
Fortunately the tradition changed 50 years ago, and since that time the lamas have kept the butter sculptures until fresh ones are made for the following year's celebration.
Butter sculpture reached its highest level in the hands of lama artisans in the Tar Monastery in Qinghai Province after it was introduced there in 1594.
Butter sculptures are usually related to stories of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism, and other religious anecdotes of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as to historical legends, such as those concerning Princess Wencheng.
A large sculpture based on a story about Princess Wencheng, which was made in the 1980s in the Tar Monastery, is said to have been one of the most splendid examples of the art.
It was composed of 300 figures, with Chang'an (present Xi'an), Sun-Moon Mountain, the headwaters of rivers and Lhasa as the backdrop.
Usually executed in three-dimensions, butter sculptures depict images of Buddha and ancient ministers, as well as flowers, birds, fish, insects and pavilions.
Butter sculpture is truly a demanding art. The work usually starts in the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar and goes on for three months.
The lama artists first dip butter into ice water and work it to remove any impurities. Before making butter sculptures, they perform a ritual that includes thorough bathing and the recitation of an oath.
As soon as the ritual is over, the lama in charge of establishing the size of the various sculptures will join with other artisans to discuss the theme for that year.
After they decide on the theme, the lama artists, who are specialized in sculpting different things, such as human figures, animals, flowers or buildings, will be given their assignments and will take their apprentices to secluded rooms in which the temperature must be kept below zero degrees centigrade.
First, frameworks are made using soft leather, rope and bamboo chips. They mould the butter from the previous year's sculptures into different shapes. The butter is mixed with straw ash, which makes it stiff and suitable for moulding. The lama in charge of establishing the size of the various sculptures then checks the size of the rough work and establishes the sizes of the finished works.
White butter is mixed with mineral colors to "paint" the moulded figures. Finally, the sculptures are placed in the locations desired and fixed in position with steel wire.
In a group of butter sculptures, a pavilion, a Buddha or an arhat may be as high as several meters; and a flower, a bird, an insect or a fish may be as small as 3 to 5 centimeters in length.
All the sculptures are tilted forward 20 degrees to facilitate viewing. The sculptures will start to lose their shape at above 15 C and melt at 25 C. While working on the sculptures, the artists have to dip their hands in freezing water from time to time. That is why many of them suffer from arthritis.
The Tar Monastery has two groups, each consisting of 30 lama artists, in charge of making the butter sculptures. One is called the Upper Sculpture Group, the other, the Lower Sculpture Group. Each works in secluded rooms for three months. None of them will see the others' work nor leak their secrets to their opponents. They will wait for the public to choose which creation they like best on the 15th day of the first month of their lunar new year.
"For last year's show, we used more than 500 kilograms of butter," said Yingba Jiancuo, who is in charge of the work in the Tar Monastery, "including over 150 figures based on historical and religious stories." Most of the works are now kept in refrigerated cabinets in the monastery to keep them from melting.
Exactly 15 days from Saturday, visitors will be able to see this year's new wonders.
(China Daily February 21, 2004)
