The 1,300-year-old Thangka art, religious painting on woven material, has been lauded as an illustrated encyclopedia of Tibetan culture. Its unique artistic and cultural value earned it a place on China’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

One institution tasked with preserving and developing this ancient art is the Tibet Academy of Thangka (TAT) in Lhasa. It focuses on the Mansar School of Thangka painting. Visitors can observe the whole process of creating a Mansar Thangka piece, from sketching to adding the final touch.

A craftsman is drawing a thangka.

Vitality from Creativity

“Traditionally, the subject matters expressed in Thangka masterpieces include religion, history, and Tibetan medicine. This rich diversity reflects the depth of Tibetan culture,” said Goinqogyai, vice president of TAT. The 37-year-old is the fifth generation of a Thangka artist family who live in Lazi County, Xigaze City, about 300 kilometers from the regional capital Lhasa. He began to learn the art from his uncle at the age of seven, and is now a certified master of the Mansar School Thangka art.

During the three decades of practicing the art, Goinqogyai has discovered intricate connections between different forms of art, and come to the understanding that he can find inspiration in all art forms for creating Thangka artwork. In 2016, he was chosen by TAT to study traditional Chinese painting at the Academy of Arts and Designs, Tsinghua University, in Beijing.

Soon after Goinqogyai attempted to apply the realistic techniques of traditional landscape and bird paintings to Thangka art, he was thrilled by an effect he had never seen before. “It is fabulous to present snow-covered mountains, lakes, and forests in a much different way,” he recalled, with excitement.

After his experience in Beijing, Goinqogyai began to establish an art style of his own, which integrates elements of traditional Chinese painting with techniques of the Mansar School from the 17th and 18th centuries. To observe nature up close, he often takes trips into the wild to photograph mountains, rivers, and lakes, and then later reproduces them with ink and brush.

Goinqogyai said that he is not the first Thangka artist to conduct such experiments. Manla Dondrub, a Thangka master of the 15th century, borrowed ideas from Chinese landscape painting for his creation. This testifies to the long communication between and integration of the many sub-cultures in China and the sense of community for the Chinese nation among ethnic groups. However, Goinqogyai emphasized the importance of not losing Thangka traditional features during such exchanges. Instead, different art forms should be improved during the discourse, he said.

Continuity and Change

In a studio on the second floor of TAT, a group of students sitting on the ground were occupied with creating their own pieces of Thangka art. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the scratching of pens.

The making of a Thangka piece of art is a long and complex process that normally requires six to seven years to master. “Sketching is one of the basic skills in Thangka painting. The key to success is keeping your hands steady. This may sound easy, but I spent four years practicing it,” said Goinqogyai.

Zhaxi Dongzhu, a sixth-year student in the room, is from Gannan, a Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Gansu Province. He is still working on line drawing, hoping to lay a solid foundation for the art. “The academy doesn’t charge tuition and provides free lunch every day. This is a great help to students who come from families of modest means like me,” he told China Today. He plans to return to his hometown after graduation and spread the seeds of art there.

In ancient times, Thangka art was passed down from fathers to sons in a family or from a master to his apprentice, but exclusive to men only. Women had few rights or opportunities in those days, and ordinary people had no access to education. All this changed after Xizang underwent a democratic reform in the 1950s. Today, there are many schools in the region that teach the art, and the percentage of female students is increasing.

Degyi is one of these students at the TAT. After cutting short her college education due to health reasons, she decided to resume her passion for painting, and was accepted in the program at TAT. Her plan is to become an art teacher after graduation.

Talent training is critical to the continuity and development of traditional arts. To encourage young people to enter this vocation, more Thangka schools and studios together with university programs have been established over the past several years, many of which offer appealing incentives. “Our academy offers tuition reduction or exemption and free pigments to our students. Anyone feeling a strong desire to learn (Thangka) can apply, regardless of their foundation in the art,” said Goinqogyai.

Policy Support

The public’s interest in Thangka has markedly increased over the past several years, especially after it was named an item of national intangible cultural heritage. To better protect and promote this ancient art form, Xizang has adopted a slew of policies and measures. Such support from the local government encouraged Mechong Norbuthe Shidar to found the TAT in 2012. There he shares the expertise that has been passed down within his family for generations with anyone who wants to learn it, creating a new generation of Thangka artists.

Presently, the TAT has 12 full-time and contracted teachers and 60-plus students. In addition to painting, its curriculum also covers art theory, history, Tibetan frescos, and the making of brush pens and canvas among other subjects. After a certain period of learning, it offers students with the opportunity to display their artwork at exhibitions or participate in the restoration of ancient murals. Over the past 10 years, more than 300 Thangka artists have graduated from TAT.

Through the enforcement of the law on intangible cultural heritage, the adoption of supportive measures, and cultivation of younger cultural inheritors, Xizang has achieved an innovative development of Thangka painting, injecting new vitality into this ancient art form.