Thangka's Secret

Thangka's Secret – Origin of the Thangka

"Thangka" is a Tibetan word. "Thang" is related to the space and the idea, to express the meaning "boundless". Artist Dan Lang Jie said on a piece of blank cloth, you can draw hundreds or thousands Buddhas, also you can draw only one Buddha. "Ka" means magic, refers to the blank to be filled. In common words, Thangka, actually is the Tibet's scroll painting.

It is said that the first Thangka painting - Guardian Goddess Brahm, was painted by the famous Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo with his nosebleed. Each trained Tibetan artist can tell this legend. But there is another saying that Thangka derived from the hanging cloth painting which was used by the monk for the proclamation and expound the texts of Buddhism. It's about 1400 years old. Others believe that it appeared in an earlier Ancient Zhangzhung Kingdom.

After the research, the origin of Thangka has a lot of relations with the nomadic tribes living experiences. The Tibetan people live on the vast and desolate grassland, and by the riverside. A Thangka becomes a moving temple for them. After all, the Thangka is much lighter than the statue, no matter where you go, as long as the thangka is hung in the tent, even a branch of a tree, it can be the symbol that lets the Tibetans to pray, worship, visualize, or bless the dead. The smallest Thangka is only slap size, they are often painted on paper, cloth or leather ; the large Thangka is about hundreds of square meters. It will show to the pulic annually on a lucky day, when it slowly unfold, it could cover a hill!

Thangka's Secret – Mysteries of Thangka

The Tibetans call the Thangka artist "Lariba" means the people who drawing the Buddha or God. They all have a template in their hands, they must follow it. This template is often hidden in the classics, recorded at least eight complete sets of statues. No matter the solemn static deities, or wrathful deities, all the statues have corresponding proportion which can not be modified.

The existing secret of the Thangka is "conformism". And this word symbolize the glorious tradition of Thangka. The artists become the memory replicator. This is not a rejection to the artist 's talent, although they never leave their names on Thangka, but they give each Thangka a great appeal.

The another secret of why Thangka remains is the pigment. All the pigment are taken from the nature. Such as the precious mineral or rare plants. The preparation is completely operated by hand, the process is slow and complex even concerned with the strength of man. For instance, the white and yellow color can be produced by young men, but blue and green color need frail people's slow grinding. The Thangka which uses this pigmet can be experienced without discoloration. The golden color is the indispensable Thangka stunt.

Thangka's Secret – New Thangka

Thangka is well-known today, some are called "New Thangka" which introduces many new informations , such as tractors, automobiles, aircraft and other symbols of the material progress. "New Tangka" also drew lessons from western art practices, act as independent works of art. But " Old Tangka" artist does not approve it.

Dan Lang Jie, the artiest who adheres to the traditional Thangka said when he was young he was learning painting every night, he had to recite sutras and proportion of the Buddha. In the past, completing a Thangka painting needs at least a year, some details need a magnifying glass to see clearly. But now the young artists are not so patient, they think the sooner the better. Of course, if an artist complete a Thangka taking a year, he probably can't earn any money.