Preserving an ancient Tibetan art
Print Edition
Lhamo, a professional Tibetan Thangka artist, has been promoting the art of painting as well as unity and harmony in a small Sichuan Province community for decades.
He comes from the county of Seda in Sichuan鈥檚 Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture.
Thangka, which dates back to the 10th century and typically depicts Buddhist deities, is a Tibetan-Buddhist scroll painting on cotton or silk with mineral and organic pigments derived from coral, agate, sapphire, pearl, gold and other elements enabling paintings to retain their color for centuries.
In 2006, China listed Thangka as a national cultural heritage, a status that has given the art form a strong boost. In 2009, UNESCO included Thangka paintings, murals, patchwork crafts and sculptures in its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Lhamo is a state-level inheritor of a Thangka paining school. During the coronavirus epidemic, he has been teaching students about Thangka online.
In 2004, the artist took several Tibetan students to Chengdu鈥檚 Jifu Community. The community has more than 30,000 residents, more than 1,000 of whom belong to 11 different ethnic minorities, including Tibetan, Qiang, Hui and Mongolian.
鈥淭he residents were cautious and distant at first,鈥 Lhamo said. 鈥淭hey did not quite understand what I wanted to do by taking a group of children there.鈥 They later learned he simply wanted to find a place to teach his students to paint Thangka.
He started learning Thangka from his father at the age of 7, and as his skills progressed, he tried in vain to find a professional teacher.
鈥淎t that time, I decided that in the future, I wanted to become a good teacher myself to pass along the art form to the younger generation,鈥 he said.
Decades of training turned Lhamo into a seasoned and renowned Thangka painter, attracting many admiring students. He rarely turned students away and never charged tuition.
Many of his early students were children of poor farmers and herdsmen, so he not only exempts them from tuition but also gives each 50 yuan (US$7) every week as pocket money, which he makes by selling his paintings. Lhamo teaches painting, as well as singing and dancing, to students of different ethnicities, which caught the attention of community authorities who helped them form a chorus.
For years, the chorus has performed free concerts for the community, and in 2013, local authorities loaned it a 300-square-meter facility to serve as a schoolhouse. With expanded space, more students enrolled, and the school now has more than 50 students.
鈥淟hamo and his students have done a lot to enrich our culture and instill a greater sense of community here,鈥 said community official Li Hanrong.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
