Tibet Thangka

Brief Introduction of Tibet Thangka

Thangka, the transliteration of Tibetan language, refers to the hanging religious scroll painting which decorated by colorful strips. Thangka is a kind of special painting art form in Tibetan culture, which content involve Tibetan history, political, culture and social life and so on. It can be regarded as the encyclopedia of Tibetan. The Thangka which handed down from ancient almost are the works of Buddhism and Bon Religion. The Thangka is similar with the scroll painting in Han nationality areas. The picture is almost painted on fabric or paper, and then decorated by silk fabric. There is thin string on the upper side of the scroll which is used to hang, and there are delicate pivot bracket at the two sides of the down side. The picture is covered by thin tiffany and double color stripe. The Thangka which related with Buddhism will invite Lama to chant sutras for it after it decorated, and the Lama will stamp the handprint on behind of it. It is very complex to draw Thangka, and the materials are very special. The pigments of Thangka are natural ore plant materials, which color are very bright and will not fade after a long time, and with rich snowy style. The content of Thangka most are Tibet religion, history, culture, art and science and so on, which embodies the belief and wisdom of Tibetan, records Tibetan's civilization, history and development, expresses Tibetans special emotion to Buddha and special love to their snow-covered hometown.

Painters of Tibet Thangka

The painters of Tibet Thangka are named "Lariba" by Tibetans, which means persons who draw Buddha or god. There is a model in every Thangka painter's hand, which must be followed. These models almost are hidden in secretly kept scriptures which recorded eight kinds of Buddha statues size at least. All the Buddha statues have certain proportion, which can not be changed.

The most important secret about why Thangka can still exist until now is for it follows the beaten track. This secret symbolizes the glory tradition of Thangka. Every painter of Tibet Thangka becomes the duplicator of cultural memory due to holding this tradition.

Pigment of Tibet Thangka

Another secret about producing and extending this special charm is the pigment. All pigments of Thangka are from nature, either precious mineral or rare plants. The process of making the pigments is by hand, very slow and complex and even related with the power of person. For example, the white and yellow can be made by young men, while blue and green need to be slowly made by weak persons. All pigments of Thangka will not fade after a long time. The gold is necessary color in Thangka, and the use of gold is a unique skill.