I. The Main Artistic Forms of Tibetan Traditional Painting

Tibetan traditional painting has a long history, which can be, traced back as early as the Neolithic time. According to artistic form, briefly, it can be divided into four types the rock painting, wall painting, Thangka painting and woodcuts.

Among them, the rock painting has a longer history. Works are mainly located at western, northern, southern and eastern Tibetan areas. According to their methods of creation and contents, archeologists believe that they belong to three different periods. Of them, the early works can be dated to as early as 2000 BC. In the 7th Century, with the introduction of Buddhism into the ancient Tibet Tubo (sPu rgyal Dynasty) in large scale, Buddhist art was also introduced into the ancient Tibet. On the base of absorbing native art works such as rock painting of ancient Tibet, Buddhist art gradually formed into wall painting, Thangka painting and woodcuts one after another with Buddhism as their focus through several centuries' development.

As one of the main artistic forms of Tibetan painting, traditionally, wall painting is mainly created on the surface of walls inside of Tibetan temples, monasteries and palaces. Tibetan Buddhist wall painting gradually grew up on the base of inheriting native art and absorbing nourishments of Indian, hinterland of China and Nepalese Buddhist painting. From the wall paintings created in Tubo's period, one can see different artistic styles from circumjacent areas. Among them, arts of India, Nepal, hinterland and Khotanese area of China played an import- ant role. In the late of 10th century, Buddhism revived and was introduced into the center of Tibet again from mNga' ris area of TAR and Amdo area of Qinghai province of today, which brought prosperity for Buddhist practice and creation of wall paintings. The wall paintings of mTho lding monastery, cave of Dung dkar at mNga' ris, the early works of Zha lu monastery and north Saskya monastery, rGyang monastery, rTse gans gasr monastery and I wang monastery in gTsang, as well as that of Gra thang monastery are the best examples of this period. The main characteristic of Tibetan wall painting during this time is to continue to absorb all kinds of styles of circumjacent areas on the base of traditional art. Compared to the early works, the difference is that styles of circumjacent absorbed during this period were made through the way of selection according to Tibetan aesthetics instead of absorbing without any distinguishing. Then a new style with Tibetan traits gradually began to form on this absorption. The early existing wall paintings of Zha lu and Gra thang monasteries are such good examples. There, the composition of Indian Pala style and figures of monks and decorative patterns of hinterland of China were perfectly mingled together by Tibetan painters, then a brand-new style came into being, which was neither completely similar to Pala style of India and Nepal, nor to Dunhuang style. The wall paintings from 13th to 15th centuries played a very important role in the formation of Tibetan style with Tibetan unique characteristics. During this period, the creation of Tibetan wall paintings completely maturated. Works of mTho lding, Southern Saskya, Zha lu, Chab mdo Byams ba gling, Jo nang, sNar thang, Ri bo che, dGa' ldan, `Bras spungs, Se ra , rGyangtse sKubum and bKra shis lhun po monasteries etc. are the important works during this period, and works of Zha lu and rGyangtse sKubum are the excellent examples among them. The frequent, large-scale, mutual artistic communications between local Tibet and royal court of Central government started from the Yuan Dynasty not only gave birth to a new school, namely, the Tibetan Buddhist art school of royal court, but also provided lots of nourishments for the art creation of Tibet itself. Wall paintings created during the period of renovation and expansion of Zha lu monastery in 15th century are the direct result of the mutual communication. The remarkable characteristic of wall paintings at Zha lu monastery is that a unique style of its own was born after they assimilated and absorbed artistic factors of Yuan court and Nepalese arts which was popular in Dadu, the capital of Yuan Dynasty. As for the works of rGyangtse sKubum, they were completely painted by Tibetan painters from the northern, southern and Lhasa areas of Tibet, and all kinds of Tibetan local styles were perfectly merged together. All of these resulted in a brand-new style which was known as rGyantse style. From the 16th century on, the creation of wall paintings got flourish and prosperity step by step, and all kinds of art styles and schools came into the world one after another. Of them, the sMan thang school, mKhyen rtse school and rKar ma sga bris school played a leading role. Works of Potala palace renovated and expanded by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century were the best examples. During this period, the flower of Tibetan Buddhist arts not only decorated in the every corner of Tibetan areas, but also blossomed at the palaces of Mongolia, Shanxi, Beijing, Hepei and north-eastern areas of China.

Thangka is the unique art form in the traditional Tibetan paintings. Because its form looks like scroll-painting in traditional Chinese art, it is also known as scroll-painting. According to materials and the methods of making, it can be classified as three main types in general painted Thangka, printed Thangka and embroidery Thangka. Meanwhile, the embroidery Thangka includes three types Kesi Thangka, silk embroidery and tapestry. Among them, Kesi Thangka and silk embroidery have been very famous for their splendor and superb techniques. Both of them got popular from the Yuan Dynasty and were usually made in the important silk centers of China such as the cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou. The reason is that Tibetan area doesn't produce silk and has not any technique of waving. Up to now, the earliest works of them kept in China are the Gungthang Lama Zhang and Acala which are housed in Potala palace. The painted Thangka is the most popular one among the forms of Thangkas. According to colors painted on the background of Thangkas, it has many types such as the colorful Thangka, golden Thangka, red Thangka and black Thangka and so on. Of them, the golden Thangka and black Thangka are very interesting. Their main characteristic is that they are good at expressing the lines with background painted only by one color, which is sharply contrasted with the color of lines, and the figures they created show some effects of three-dimensions. Moreover, lines are extremely fluent and natural, representing the superb skills of artists.

Compared to wall painting and Thangka, the date of the formation of woodcuts is much later. Its formation mainly benefited from the vast use of printing techniques in Tibet. According to researches, the technique of engraving and printing was firstly introduced into Tibet at the beginning of Yuan Dynasty. The procedures to create the arts and crafts of woodcuts in Tibet are same as those of hinterland of China except for the topics and styles they represent. Illustrations of woodcuts of Tibetan bKa’ ‘gyur and bsTan ‘gyur as well as all kinds of iconographic works are main works of woodcuts created in Tibet. Particularly, woodcuts illustrated in different edition of Tripitakas in Tibetan such as Yongle, sNar thang, sDe dge, Li thang, Beijing and Lhasa are the important examples of Tibetan woodcuts created from Ming and Qing Dynasties.

II. The Remarkable Characteristics of Traditional Tibetan Paintings

On the subject, except rock painting, all artistic forms of Tibetan painting are focus on the representation of Buddhas and their disciples, bodhisattvas, yidams, protectors and high rank of lamas in Tibetan Buddhist pantheon with a strong religious atmosphere involves in the whole picture, and they seldom represent secular subject.

On the composition of pictures, wall paintings, Thangkas and woodcuts have the advantage of large or progressive space which is good at representing magnificent and narrative scenes in particular. Therefore, they focus on the subjects of biographies of Buddhas, jatakas, magnificent historic events and customs. Each picture has a composition so as to correspond to a particular subject. Basically there are three main compositions which have been prevailing in traditional Tibetan paintings. They are central composition, narrative composition and the combination of the first and the second ones.

The central composition is usually used in the subjects of Buddhas and bodhisattvas of Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, mandalas, biographies of Buddhas, jatakas as well as historic events. The main characteristic of the central composition is that the central figure or image is placed at the center of the picture, and the other minor figures are placed around the central figure. The centered figure is highlighted and the whole composition looks precise, symmetry and harmony. Compared to narrative composition, the central composition pays more attention to the erect of the continuity and narrative, and more suitable for the express- ion of jatakas, biographies of Buddhas and historic events. Grid composition and circled composition are the two main forms of compositions. The trait of the former is the picture is divided into numerous sections by lines according the story contexts, and each section becomes an independent story. Compared to grid composition, the trait of the circled composition is that the stiff lines in tradition are replaced by natural patterns of water, mountain, cloud, tree, grass and flower. The picture is developed into several sections with these patterns by the shape of W' or Z, which forms different independent stories as well as a coherent. Pictures are endowed with some sense of transition and decoration as well as integrity by using such composition. The trait of the third composition is to combine the advantages of the first and the second compositions mentioned above, and this composition is usually to be used to represent jatakas and biographies of Buddhas.

The use of colors and lines are the two basic techniques of wall paintings and Thangkas. Colors and lines are always perfectly combined together, which create lots of the colorful and excellent works of paintings. General speaking, the combination of colors and lines usually goes through several important procedures in technique, mainly including sketch, applying colors, shading, re-drawing lines by colors and sizing gold pigments etc.. As for to apply colors on the background of a picture, firstly, to dye the sky in blue color from lighter to darker, then to dye the earth usually in green color. Then blue and green colors become the main colors of the background of the wall paintings. Next, continue to dye the decorative patterns of clouds, fog, halos, water, trees, mountains and pavilions etc., and finally to dye human bodies. Colors applied to the human bodies usually are selected according to the body colors of different gods stipulated by relating rules recorded in Buddhist-texts. After applying colors, painters need to shade them according to the subject of paintings. The main function of shading is to strengthen a sense of perspective and change of body structures. Shading from lighter to darker generally depends on the distance, degree of brightness of landscape, change of skeleton and muscle of human bodies. Since applying, colors and shading will cover the ink outlines previous drawn, outlines will be done again with the ink. The next procedure is to size gold pigments on decorative patterns of drapery, halo, throne, religious instruments and golden roof and so on. The last step is to shade the face and eyes. The wall painting from sketch to completion always goes through several procedures of combination from lines to colors, there-fore, skills of outlining and applying colors directly influence the effect of the painting, the expression of painter's technique and art style. In traditional Tibetan painting, lines are rich and colors are warm.

From the point of art school, the sMan thang school, founded by sMan bla Don grub in 15th century, perfectly merged the landscape painting and other features of paintings of hinterland of China into the background. His works was painted with thick and heavy colors, and designed more like scroll painting in Chinese art. The posture, skeleton and skin of figures he created are perfect, with long neck, drooping shoulders and distinguished facial features. Besides, his paintings represented with superb shading, quietly elegant color, in which azurite and malachite are outstanding, and splendor effect. Meanwhile, the mKyen rtse school, founded by mKyen rtse Chen mo at the same time, also accepts a strong influence from Chinese paintings. Compared to sMan thang school, it is especially expert in portraying Buddhas and bodhisattvas of Tantrism, and colors are thicker. On the other hand, the rKarma sga bris school, founded by Nam mka' bKra shis in the 16th century, is skilled in the representation of flower, grass, tree, rock, mountain and water in elegant colors. Usually Landscape is their works' background, which is strongly influenced by Chinese traditional painting. In addition, they are fond of using hard line in contour and draperies out of their hands are dense and exquisite.

III. Inheritance and Development of Traditional Art in Contemporary Tibetan Paintings

As mentioned above, to inherit and develop Tibetan Traditional painting is the key point for keeping the life of Tibetan traditional art forever. From the ancient rock painting to the formation of Tibetan Buddhism art, Tibetan art always weeds through the old to bring forth the new with the development of times on the basis of inheriting traditional art. In the respect of art types, it developed into woodcuts, kesi Thangkas, black tangkas, golden tangkas, printed tangkas, etc.. In art school, there came out lots of art schools such as sMan thang school, mKyen rtse school and rKarma sga bris school which enriched the form of expression and content. Today, this characteristic is not only fully inherited but also continuously developed into a new life.

On the base of fully absorbing traditional art, the creation of contemporary Tibetan art has a creatively development on the forms and contents.

In subjects, contemporary Tibetan art has melted various aspects of modern social life at the foundation of focusing on Buddha, bodhisattvas and protectors as religion topic.  In traditional Tibetan art, the subject of religion holds the main place of the picture, and common customs seldom appears or even there is, it is in the second place. However, in contemporary Tibetan art, the common customs is carrying forward in an unprecedented way. For example, Tibet's famous painter Amdo Byamspa expresses the traditional topic Three Great Kings of Old Tibet Tubo, Eight Great Buddhist Masters and Green Tara, and meanwhile exhibits contemporary life in his works, such as the portraits of the ninth Panchen Lama and the seventeenth rKarma pa, etc.. The younger painters also merge the traditional and modern subject together, for example, sBenpa combines traditional background of wall painting and stupas with modern subject such as folk custom in the farm and countryside; ‘Jigsmed ‘Phrinlas is expert in expressing modern Tibetan woman with the topic of dancing and singing in an elegant style. All these subjects are richer than that of single and similar traditional art.

In the aspect of techniques, contemporary Tibetan painters also boldly merge many techniques from western oil painting and Chinese traditional painting into their creations so that the technique of traditional Tibetan painting are enriched, and then the traditional Tibetan painting with the characteristics of single lines, lacking of shading and rich colors takes on a new look and gets a strong power of expression. Starting from 1940s, Amdo Byamspa began to absorb techniques of photography and western oil painting into his creations boldly. In his works, techniques of modern perspective and chiaroscuro are vastly used, so the subjects he created such as human being and animals are completely in three-dimensions. Younger painter Padma bKrashis has developed a new way in terms of the use of materials. For example, he didn't glue his canvas before creating, which is the typical traditional method. In this way, all pigments he painted then freely permeates into every corner of the canvas, creating a unique effect of painting which looks like ink and wash painting in Chinese traditional painting at some degree. Meanwhile, dGa'bde has created his own style by developing the method of traditional meticulous brushwork on the base of absorbing and inheriting traditional techniques. In addition, some painters have also tried to make use of oil painting as the texture of canvas. In this way, Canvas is made by taking advantages of ink that painters added freely permeating into canvas without glue. Moreover, some painters have boldly made use of modern material of propylene when they created Thangka paintings. Obviously, the use of these different techniques and materials greatly enlarges the expressive space of traditional Tibetan painting.

In the aspect of style, contemporary Tibetan artists also get inspiration and edification from traditional Tibetan painting. On the base of absorbing rich nourishment of the tradition, they create one and another new style which comes from, but is different from the tradition. Taking the work Green Tara by Amdo Byamspa as an example, from both of subject and form of the work, it comes from tradition. In another word, Green Tara is one of the most typical subjects in traditional religious art, and her posture also is typical traditional one, but it is remarkably different from the Green Tara created by traditional artists. The reason is that a new meaning is endowed with it by the artist. Based on traditional subject and posture, a new development then is made. In one word, one can see many traditional factors in contemporary Tibetan works, but they are noticeably different from the traditional ones. The big difference between them is that contemporary artists merge their strong personalities and loves into their works.

To stress the expression of the personalities is the most important inheritance and development that contemporary Tibetan artists have contributed to traditional painting. In traditional artistic creation, religion held the first place. Namely, most subjects in traditional creation were religion. Moreover, all the works created and creation itself must serve to religion. Therefore, traditional religion stipulated a series of rules in terms of traditional creation, in which personality of artists was strongly limited. But in contemporary creation, artists have broken the rules, and finished a great leap from the god as center in tradition to humanism in concept and practice of art creation. In contemporary works, whether the subject is contemporary or traditional or not, the personality of artists are fully expressed and stressed. Even in the representation of traditional subject such as Buddhas, bodhisattvas or Tara, they are expressed in the light of feeling, understanding and aesthetic of different artists instead of the rules stipulated by the tradition. It is the completed and free expression of personality of different artists that endows the traditional Tibetan painting, the dreariness, boring and lacing of changes, with a completely new life and vast space of development.

In general, traditional Tibetan painting is perfectly inherited and developed through continuous efforts made by contemporary Tibetan artists.

Xiong Wenbin, Senior Researcher of China Tibetology Research Center

Oct. 11, 2006