扎西尖措与唐卡的故事

晏如

唐卡是来源于中国藏族文化的绘画艺术，“唐卡”一词是藏语的音译，意思为“填补空白”。唐卡作品通常以藏传佛教题材为主，通过细致的线条、鲜艳的色彩以及生动的人物，描绘出藏族的宗教、社会、文化习俗。

Thangka is a form of painting art originatingfrom China’s Tibetan culture. The term “thangka”is a transliteration from the Tibetan language，meaning “to fill the gap.” The themes of thangkasare usually Tibetan Buddhism. Through theirdetailed lines， vibrant colors， and vivid characters，the paintings depict the religious， social， andcultural customs of the Tibetan people.

青海省的黄南藏族自治州被誉为“唐卡的传承之乡”，是“热贡唐卡”的发祥地。“热贡唐卡”属于“热贡艺术”的一种，“热贡艺术”作为青海民间艺术的代表，先后被列入中国国家级非物质文化遗产和联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录。在青海黄南地区，有很多擅长绘制唐卡的民间艺人，扎西尖措就是在这块土地上成长起来的一位优秀画师。

Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecturein Qinghai Province is renowned as the birthplaceof thangkas. The best example of the art form is“Rebkong Thangka，” which is celebrated as one ofthe “Rebkong Arts” and as the representative offolk art in Qinghai. It has been listed as a nationallevelintangible cultural heritage in Chinaand included in the UNESCO RepresentativeList of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ofHumanity. The land of Huangnan has givenbirth to many brilliant artists， and Zhaxi Jiancuois one of them.

扎西尖措有青海省省級“工艺美术大师”的称号，担任中国工艺美术协会唐卡专业委员会副主任等职务。幼时的扎西尖措从村中老一辈唐卡艺人那里开始了他的绘画启蒙课。家境不富裕，买不起好的画材，他便以木棍、树枝、石头和粉笔等为绘画工具，以黄土地为“画布”学习绘画唐卡。高考后，他选择就读青海民族大学工艺美术设计专业，在学习素描、油画的同时，尝试将它们融入唐卡的绘画。毕业时，扎西尖措举办了该校首次学生个人唐卡作品展。

Zhaxi Jiancuo was accredited as a provincial-level“Grand Master of Arts and Crafts” and serves as deputydirector of the Thangka Art Committee of the China Artsand Crafts Association. In his early years， Zhaxi Jiancuowas enlightened by the older generation of thangka artistsin his village. Born to a financially disadvantaged family， hecould only use wooden sticks， branches， stones， and chalksas tools and the yellow earth as his “canvas” to practicewith. After taking the college entrance examination， hechose to study in the Department of Arts and Crafts Designat Qinghai Nationalities University， where he learned theskills of sketching and oil painting and later integrated theminto thangka painting. Upon graduation， he became thefirst student at his university to hold a personal thangkaexhibition.

扎西尖措的作品注重各地区的文化交融。一次在参观山西太原的云冈石窟时，他注意到，石窟中佛像底座上的彩绘与他家乡藏式建筑上的绘画图案，不论是样式还是颜色都十分相似。在他看来，今天在藏传佛教中盛行的很多艺术形式，都是从中国其他地区“引进”的。为了更好地了解这些艺术传播的脉络，他利用到各地参展的机会，开始研究藏式建筑图案与其文化背景，以期了解青海地区文化与中国其他地区文化交流的历史。在2018 年，扎西尖措根据自己整理的藏式建筑图案资料创作了百幅系列作品“吉祥彩绘”，让许多唐卡画师从中了解到藏式建筑图案的历史渊源，并开始将其作为唐卡作品的主题进行创作，而不局限于佛像唐卡的绘画。

Zhaxi Jiancuo’s works seek to highlight the meeting andfusion of regional cultures. During a visit to the YungangGrottoes in Taiyuan， Shanxi Province， he noticed thesimilarities between the painted patterns on the pedestalsof Buddhist statues and the patterns on Tibetan-stylearchitecture in his hometown， both in style and color. Inhis view， many art forms prevalent in Tibetan Buddhismtoday were “introduced” from other regions of China. Inorder to better understand the dissemination of these artforms， he started researching Tibetan architectural patterns and their cultural backgrounds when exhibiting hisworks in different regions， hoping to understandthe history of cultural exchanges between Qinghaiand other regions of China. In 2018， based on theTibetan architectural patterns he compiled overthe years， he created a hundred paintings underthe title “Auspicious Color Paintings.” The serieshave provided many thangka painters with insightsinto the historical origins of Tibetan architecturalpatterns， and motivated them to create thangkaworks under these themes and to explore beyond thepainting of Buddha statues only.

扎西尖措又尝试对传统唐卡绘画的内容进行革新。他发现，传统的唐卡画面结构基本是以主位的释迦牟尼、两旁的十六尊者和下方的四大天王为定式，众多人物都集中于一幅画面中。扎西尖措尝试将十六尊者从这样的群像中单独拆分出来，又融入青海、西藏和四川三地的藏式绘画风格，创作出“十六尊者”系列作品，这也使他成为第一位获得中国国家青年艺术创作人才资助项目的唐卡画师。

Zhaxi Jiancuo has also attempted to innovatethe content of thangka painting. He noticedthat traditionally， a thangka painting consists ofmultiple figures， with Shakyamuni at the center，sixteen arhats on the sides， and the Four HeavenlyKings below. However， in his series of works“Sixteen Arhats，” Zhaxi Jiancuo ground-breakinglyseparates the sixteen arhats from the traditionalcomposition and incorporates the Tibetan paintingstyles of Qinghai， Xizang， and Sichuan. Withthis work， he became the first thangka painter toreceive funding from the Talent Support Programfor Chinese National Youth Artists.

在追求創新的同时，扎西尖措依旧保留了唐卡绘画传承多年的“本味”。他从黄南地区老一辈的唐卡绘画艺人那里了解到，现代技术生产出的画布通常使用石膏粉来打磨，而传统画布则因为早年间的条件限制，通常都是就地取材—将当地的黄土烧制、过筛、打磨后再抹到画布上。扎西尖措按此传统技法来准备画布，使画布呈现出土黄的底色，与矿物颜料融合后创作出的唐卡画有一种复古的味道，颇具古代宫廷唐卡画的风格。

While pursuing innovation， Zhaxi Jiancuo stillretained the essence of thangka painting that has beenpassed down for generations. He learned from the oldergeneration of Huangnan thangka artists that while thecanvases are now commonly smoothened with gypsumpowder， they used to be primed with the yellow clay rightfrom the ground， which was fired， sifted， and polished before being applied to the canvases， due to limitedresources in the early years. This is also how ZhaxiJiancuo prepared his canvases. The yellowishbackground created as a result， combined withmineral pigments， gives a retro feel to his paintingsas if they were found in ancient courts.

近年来，唐卡的需求量在不断增长，扎西尖措心中也浮现一个念想，就是培养更多的唐卡绘画人才。毕业后，他在省会西宁市设立了自己的唐卡工作室，到目前为止招收了30 多名学生。在当地人看来，学习唐卡绘画是很隆重的一件事。曾经有一名来自贫困地区的学生到扎西尖措的工作室来求学，“他们一家子七口人都来送这个孩子学画唐卡。”扎西尖措回忆道。

In recent years， the demand for thangka hasbeen continuously increasing. This gives ZhaxiJiancuo the idea of nurturing more thangkapainters. After graduation， he established his ownthangka painting studio in Xining， the capital cityof Qinghai Province， and has so far recruited morethan 30 students. In fact， learning thangka paintingis considered a respectable endeavor by the localcommunity. Recalling the arrival of a student froman impoverished region， Zhaxi Jiancuo said， “Hisentire family of seven came to see him off to studythangka painting.”

除此，唐卡推介会和艺术基金资助项目等帮助唐卡民间艺人打通了个人创作与对外交流之间的通道。通过中国文联的平台，扎西尖措与同期校友一起在青海当地设立了唐卡写生基地，并挂牌“湖南师范大学现当代艺术研究中心”。他们邀请来自湖南的画家朋友体验唐卡绘画，这些画家回到湖南后举办了唐卡展览，相关新闻的浏览量在短短几天内就突破了30 万次。“要达到这样的宣传力度，靠我自己是办不到的。”扎西尖措说。有了这样的经历，他目前正在考虑打造“唐卡绘画体验”的新模式，不仅可以让具有专业技能的画家参与其中，还可以让普通人感受到唐卡的别样魅力。

Additionally， thangka promotion events and artfunds have helped bridge the gap between individualartists and their peers and potential audiences. Throughthe platform provided by the China Federation ofLiterary and Art Circles， Zhaxi Jiancuo and his fellowalumni established a thangka sketching base in Qinghaiunder the name of “Research Center for Modern andContemporary Art at Hunan Normal University.” Theyinvited painters from Hunan Province to experience thangka painting， who later held thangka exhibitionsupon returning to their homeland. The news coverageof their exhibitions received over 300，000 views in justa few days. “I alone could not achieve such publicity，”Zhaxi Jiancuo said. Feeling all inspired， he is currentlyconsidering creating a new model of “thangka paintingexperience” that not only involves professionalpainters， but also allows amateurs to experience theunique charm of thangka first-hand.

抱著对唐卡的热爱，扎西尖措除了积极创作大量优秀的唐卡作品，还为唐卡发展作出贡献—深入探寻唐卡奥秘，将唐卡技艺创新融合，推动唐卡走出青海、走遍全国，未来走向世界。从中，我们看到了青海当地艺人对于唐卡艺术的代代传承与不断创新，也看到了中国对非遗技艺的保护与推广。

With a deep love for thangka， Zhaxi Jiancuo hasnot only created numerous magnificent thangka worksbut also contributed to the development of thangkaart. He has explored its mysteries， blended innovativetechniques into the art form， and brought it beyondQinghai to reach the rest part of China， and eventuallythe world. Through his journey， we witness thecontinuous inheritance and innovation of the thangkaart by local artists in Qinghai and China’s efforts toprotect and promote intangible cultural heritage.