As a quintessential art form of traditional Tibetan art, Thangka paintings originated from the Songtsen Gampo Age, when King Songtsen Gampo founded the Tubo Kingdom in the 7th century. It gained full-wing in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, while got to its heyday in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. With the spreading of Buddhism in Tibet, Thangka became a special art form in Tibetan culture. We can explore Tibet through Thangka paintings.
Made of mineral substance, the Thangka paint is very bright and adhesive to the painting texture, and can last long. Hence, the Thangka works in the Yonghe Lamasery are still shining bright as newly-painted ones.
The Thangka works in Beijing's Yonghe Palace (i.e. Yonghe Lamasery, one of the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temples in the Han people's region), are from the middle age of the Qing Dynasty, the most glamorous age of Thangka art.
Thangka has three meanings: firstly, it means peace; secondly it refers to the imperial edict; thirdly, it refers to the scroll painting mounted with colorful satins for enshrinement. The third meaning is inherited till now, and so today's "Thangka" belongs exclusively to the third type.
The themes of these Thangka art works are mainly about Tibetan Buddhism, along with some about Tibetan medicine. They are paintings on canvas and silk scroll, or rubbings with black ink. Some are made by kesi and dui xiu. The former refers to weaving done with fine silks and gold thread by the tapestry method, while the later refers to appliqué embroidery, i.e. flowers and figures of padded satin sewn onto a piece of silk or cloth.
Thangka is easy to hang and is a token for Buddhist doctrines and wisdom. Therefore, Thangka was widely used as recompense among the central Qing government and the eminent monks and saints from Tibet and Mongolia. Sometimes the Qing royal court would arrange painters to draw Thangkas exclusively for the royal monasteries. The Thangka art works in Yonghe Lamasery just came from these.
To make a relatively complicated Thangka work, it will take several months or even years. It is often the masters that draw the sketch and gild the lines, and the pupils that put the color on. It is seldom completed by one single person.
Among the many schools, the Thangka painted on canvas stands out as a special Tibetan Thangka style that has absorbed Indian, Nepalese and Han traditional painting art.
If you want to watch the process of making thangkas, it is best to make a
Tibet tour including visiting a thangka workshop in Lhasa.
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