Thangka’s Protectors

by Li Jian

The Gyangze Plain in southwestern Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region has a rich history. It is a granary for the autonomous region and a birthplace of ancient Tibetan culture and art. Not far away from the famous Zhongzi Monastery （built in 1406） in Drongtse Town， Gyangze County， the Kango Xarm family of painters has lived for generations. Today， Jampel Dorje is the familys senior inheritor of the Cheu Kamba School （originating in the 13th to 14th century）， the first indigenous painting school through which Tibetan painters combined exotic painting and Chinese folk painting. Years ago， Jampel Dorje opened an art center for the Cheu Kamba School of thangka and began tutoring apprentices.

According to Jampel Dorje， famous Tibetan painting masters Paljor Rinchen and Paljor Sangpo in the 15th century took on an apprentice named Shengo Wanchug who passed the painting skills to his relative Lhundrup Dorje of the Kango Xarma family. Since then， the skills have been passed down from generation to generation in the Kango Xarma family to this day. The family surname Dorje in Tibetan refers to something indestructible and represents the“eternity” of family inheritance.

Tashi Dorje， Jampel Dorjes father， is 78 years old. At the age of nine， he began to learn painting， sculpture， and calendar calculations from his father. After 1978 when the reform and opening-up policy was introduced， the local government supported Tashi Dorje in organizing a team including his son and more than a dozen artisans， carpenters， stonemasons， masons and other craftsmen with skills passed down from older generations to renovate the Palcho Monastery and the thangka paintings enshrined there. The mission took 27 years. They devoted great efforts to restoring Bodhi Dagoba of the Palcho Monastery， regarded as the “essence of Tibetan culture.”

Jampel Dorje recalled that the Palcho Monastery preserved three giant thangka paintings used for Buddha exhibition ceremonies. After more than 600 years of weathering， the paintings had deteriorated. In 2011， Tashi Dorje accepted a commission from the Palcho Monastery to produce a new Buddha thangka in the ancient Cheu Kamba painting style. In 2014， renowned thangka master Adonhla occasionally saw a photo of the thangka and reached out to Tashi Dorje. The master told Tashi Dorje that although many thangka painting schools are developing well， the Cheu Kamba School has almost disappeared. From a historical perspective， this painting school is very important and must be preserved. Now， Jampel Dorje and his colleagues are commissioned to start the repainting of Cheu Kamba-style murals in the 650-year-old Tsechen Monastery.

To preserve the classic art of Cheu Kamba School for future generations， Jampel Dorje became determined to build an exhibition hall for it in his art center. Major progress has been made on the construction of the hall. Cheu Kamba-style sculptures have been completed， and work on the murals is ongoing. A complete art palace for Cheu Kamba thangka will rise in Gyangze soon.