The documentary "Potala Palace" released this summer has "planted" Tibet's colorful intangible cultural heritage skills in the hearts of many audiences, and also let more people know the open-minded and cheerful Tibetan Thangka (Qamdo Karma Gachi School) national intangible cultural heritage inheritor Karma Del. Behind his reflections on the finite nature of life and the immortality of art is the inheritance and innovation of the Thangka School.
When this reporter met 92-year-old Karma Deler in Karma Township, Karuo District, Changdu City, Tibet, in September, he sat in the warm pavilion of his home and painted, with the help of his grandson Ding Zeng Pingcuo.
Karma Deler rests between painting thangkas. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wei Guanyu
Karma Dele is the 10th generation, and Ting Zeng Phuntsok is the 11th generation, missing a woman in the middle - Ting Zeng Phuntsok's mother.
"In the past, thangkas were passed on to men but not to women, so my mother didn't learn; But now, my grandfather and I have a more modern concept: inheriting thangkas, both men and women. "Post-85" Ding Zeng Pingcuo said, "My wife and I have two daughters and two sons, and I hope they can all become the inheritors of the school of painting." ”
Karma Dele was born from the main inheritance family of the Karma Gachi painting school, and was born with the Karma Temple. For a long time, the elderly have taught all the students free of charge.
Today, almost all of the thangka painters in Karma Township are disciples or re-disciples of Karma Delek. His more than 500 apprentices have spread throughout Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces to inherit and carry forward the school of painting.
Influenced by Karma Delek, Ding Zeng Pingcuo established the Karma Ga Chi Thangka Painting Institute in 2015 to provide free teaching, food and accommodation for farmers and herdsmen students, and has trained hundreds of students. "My grandfather and I both hope to pass on the school of painting and let more people have a skill." Ding Zeng Pingcuo said.
Today, Karmadela paints for hours a day and teaches at his grandson's academy once a week, much to the excitement of the students.
Born in 1999, Rinchen Langga is a great-grandchild of Karmadala relatives and has been studying thangkas since he was 7 years old.
In 2018, Renqing Langjia (right) learned lacquer painting techniques from his teacher. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
"My first thangka lacquer painting, Venerable Pointing the Path, showed me a big way." With the support of the Fujian Tibet Aid Task Force, Renqing Langjia came into contact with lacquer painting in Xiamen in 2018, and his exquisite works made his eyes shine, "This is a mature technology that has been inherited for thousands of years in the mainland, and it is not afraid of moisture, and it can be cleaned with a cloth." I think this is a new direction for the development of thangkas. ”
Drawing on the color and smudging techniques of the green landscapes since the Song Dynasty, the Thangka of the Karma Gachi School of Painting shines brightly when it is seen in the light; The angle is offset, and the luster changes. Thangka pigments made by grinding gold, agate, azur ore, malachite, chalk and other minerals avoid insect infestations and prolong life.
Thangka lacquer painting does not use mineral raw materials, but uses plant lacquer and eggshell inlay, and the innovation is unprecedented. When Rinchen Langga showed the work to Karma Dalek, the old man rubbed it for a while and said, "Very good! You keep doing it. ”
At present, there are more than 200 thangka lacquer painters in Qamdo, and studios are set up in 4 districts and counties, with a transaction amount of more than 1.6 million yuan last year. They plan to set up an art association this year to jointly tour exhibitions and find collectors in the future.
"At the moment I am researching the Southeast Asian market, and our thangka lacquer paintings are very popular there." After participating in international exhibitions such as the Shanghai International Import Expo for many times, Renqinglangjia realized more and more that the combination of thangka and lacquer painting is the choice of the market and the necessity of the times.
From scrolls to plaques, Thangka works have been seen in cultural and creative shops across Tibet.
"A tree has a thousand branches, and the roots are the foundation." When teaching his students, Karma Deler said that no matter how big or small, the painter should clean his hands when drawing thangkas, so as to maintain inner peace and piety.
The Karma Gachi School of Painting has its own painting norms and has devoted his life's work to Karma Delek. It systematically summarizes the technical details of the school, and the figures and movements are quite distinctive. Every year, the old man goes to the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa to observe the murals and thangkas, and stay for a week. The staff of the two World Heritage sites also gave courtesy to the elderly.
This year's 16-year-old Cairen Sangzhu is the younger brother of Renqing Langjia, with a love, after graduating from junior high school, he entered the Maji Grandma Thangka Painting Academy opened by Qu Yingjiang Village, a disciple of Karma Delek. "We will also use thangka lacquer to recreate the patterns of old thangkas, which is easier for collectors to preserve." He said.
Cairen Sangzhu drafted a line drawing for a masterpiece of thangka lacquer painting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wei Guanyu
"Thangka is an art form of painting. The Karma Gachi school of painting can paint landscapes, animals, and hometown scenery and customs. Ding Zeng Phuntsok imagined that perhaps one day, the broader world in the eyes of the Thangka Gya Ma Gachi School could also be systematically summarized. (Source: Xinhua News Agency Reporter: Wei Guanyu, Shen Xiaohao, Hou Shaojing)