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Tibetan Painting
Painting is another main artistic form in Tibet and it is in a preferential position in Tibetan Buddhism. Like in Christianity or any other religions, Tibetan painting is one of the forms which help Tibetan people strengthen their belief in Buddhism and their emotion of life. Tibetan painting mainly includes cliff painting, frescoes, Thangka and wood prints.
Cliff painting is an art style for the period from pre-historic time to TuBo Regime. It is one of the oldest arts in Tibet. The cliff paintings existing today are mainly on cliffs and large rocks. In terms of skills, themes and styles, Tibetan cliff painting has a close relationship with North China cliff painting and Mid-Asia cliff painting, found in Xinjiang, Ganshu, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
Fresco in AliTuoLin Monstery
Frescoes, painted on the walls of the monsteries and palaces in Tibet, are also a main style of Tibetan painting art. The frescoes of Tibetan Buddhism absorbed some elements of the paintings in India, Nepal and other parts of China and and gradually formed their unique style. We can see the shadow of Indian style from the frescoes of Jokhang Monastery and JingGang Monastery.

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Tibetan Opera

The opera, called “ache lhamo” in Tibetan, plays an important part in the social life of Tibetan people. It is a unique form in China’s various theatrical arts. “ache” means elder sister or a female, and “lhamo” means a fairy. Tibetan opera is an all-round performing art that tells the story by the form of fol dances and songs. Folk troupes of Tibetan opera are easily encountered any time and anywhere, with the audience from miles away to crowd the performer. This art style is influenced by Tibetan Buddhism from the view of skills and contents.
It’s widely believed that Tibetan opera comes from the following three aspects: folk songs and dance, folk rap, religious riruals and religious arts. Besides, there is a legend that the origin of Tibetan opera began from a dance to worhsip deity and the dance was created by Tibetan Buddhist, LianHuaShen, in 8th century. Later, LianHuaShen set up a theatrical troupe .It was composed of seven beautiful sisters who were good at dancing. They wrote and composed dramas of Buddhism stories and were on tour shows in Tibet. The shows not only cultivated ordinary people, but also collected some money.That is the beginning of Tibetan opera. Tibetan opera has many schools. It’s full of Tibetan chracteristics. Prince Nor-bzang, Princess WenChen, Prince Dri-med-kun-iden, Maiden Vgro-ba-bzang-mo, Brothers Don-yod and Don-grub, Gzugs-kyi-nyi-ma, Pad-ma-vod-vba, Maiden Shang-ma are eight classical operas, which have wonderful music, beautiful and colorful masks and finery.
Bands, musicians and musical instruments
Bands
Before the democratic reform in 1959, LangDa ,one of the forms of Tibetan opera, was usually sung without accompaniments. Even in some important occasions people sing and dance, only drums and cymbals were used as accompaniments.Today, such accompaniments are still used in some local bands.The bands in Chamdo and Dege use flute and Jialin(Tibetan Suona)　
Since Tibetan Opera Trouple was set up in 1960, it has grew into a large one. More national musical instruments and some western ones have gradually appeared in performances. Langda, one of Tibetan operas, had stringed instruments as accompaniments. The Tibetan Opera Trouple has its unique band performing system in which Tibetan musical instruments, like Jing hu, Te qin, dulcimer, Six-stringed fiddle, Qu flute and Tibetan Suona play the main part with two-stringed fiddle, violin, cello, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, oboe, etc. are also used. The small-scale band of national musical instruments falls into five groups: Stringed instruments group(including Tibetan Jing Hu, Te Qin, two-stringed fiddle, violin.), Plucking stringed instruments group(including dulcimer, alto and high-pitch six-stringed fiddle), Wind instrument group(including Qu flute, Bang flute, Tibetan Suona, trombone, trumpet, clarinet, oboe.), Base instrument group( including high-pitched violin, low-pitched violin),Percussion instrument group (including Tibetan drum, Tibetan cymbal, Cuan bell, Da Ma drum). But this musical instrument system is still in the stage of experiment.
Musicians
One drum and one cymbal were used as accompaniments in traditional Tibetan opera performance, which determines the crucial role of their players and the beats of drum and cymbal. Like other local dramas, Tibetan drama contains a large quantity of patterned dancing acts and performers must be in harmony with the beats of drums and cymbals, otherwise they feel lost in dance and are unable to continue the dances. Jiang Cunm, a famous drum and cymbal player in Jue Mu Long Tibetan opera troupe, viewed the art of playing drum and cymbal as “the shining eyes in the face, the beating heart in the chest, the heaven I adore all the life.”
When he was young, Jiang Cun spent some time in Xue Chi Lin Ka, where Ge Er Ba, the Palace musical band of Dalai’s, practiced drums and cymbals, and where Zi Qia Men Zhe Bu taught the traditional beats of drums and cymbals. Jiang Cun went there every day. He also learned from his teacher La Wang Ou Zhu the art of drum and cymbal and the rigidly craving for art. With the small hammer, less than 13 inches long, Jiang Cun can play dozens of moods and rhythms, making the beating and rhythms properly go with the delicate expressions of various characters. Weak beatring is for sorrow; strong beating for anger. Both beatings are slow drumbeat, called Duan Tong in Tibet. Fast beating is for tension and excitement. Allegro drumbeat is used in intermezzo for line reading; integrated drumbeat in riding, advancing, and climbing in the performance; Beng Zi has its own drumbeat. Jiang Cun’s drumming evoked, intensified, and strengthened the artistic charm in Jue Mu Long school of Tibetan opera. Jiang Cun mastered the drum system for traditional Tibetan opera：the drum system used the syllable of the Tibetan language to reflect the beat and rhythm of drums and cymbals.
The old drum system cannot fully meet the need of the development of Tibetan opera. When it comes to the greeting action in the show, the old drum system fails to express it. Then, Jiang Cun cooperated closely with the dramatist and the performers. Given the performers’ conditions and the situation that Tibetan drama art has developed into a new level, they reformed the old drum system by extending some beats, changing some beats and even creating some new beats.
Musical instruments
Zhanianqin (A plucking stringed instrument)Zhanianqin, also called six-stringed fiddle, is one of the ancient plucking stringed instruments in Tibet and one of the main musical instruments in today’s professional Tibetan Opera Trouple. Old-fashioned zhanianqin has three groups of sounds, each group having two strings. Alto and high-pitched zhanianqin used in Tibetan opera today derived from it, which was transformed from double strings to a single string. High-pitched zhanianqin has four strings, Alto zhanianqin having five strings.
Picture 1: Teqin
Teqin comes from the Han nationality, similar to the Han nationality’s erhu (two-stringed fiddle) in shape, but the sound being louder, more high-pitched. It usually has a bamboo sound box, Mongolian goat’s skin, and a hard bow. Teqin is used as a musical accompaniment in folk dances like Nang Ma and Dui Xie. Now, the accompaniment with teqin has developed into a new set of skills with Tibetan characteristics, and it’s deeply loved by Tibetan people.
The name teqin is the transliteration of Chinese low-pitched fiddle.
Tibetan jinghu　　
It derives from the Han people’s jinghu, but its bowings and fingerings are greatly different. Tibetan jinghu is the main musical instrument in the folk dances like Nang Ma and Dui Xie. Its shape is similar to Jinghu, but it has a larger sounding box and a high-pitched tone with a little thickness.Tibetan people love it very much.
Picture 2: Tibetan drum
Different Tibetan operas use the same round wooden drum with two sides and a long handle. The size of the drum varies in different operas. The accompaniment drum in Tibetan opera has its special tone, whose sound is deep, loud, and strong.
Tibetan cymbal
Tibetan cymbal, made of copper, has two bubble shape plates and the two plates strike each other to produce sound. Different striking produces different tones. This instrument is widely used in Tibetan operas, folk dances and religion dances.
Jialin　(Tibetan Suona)　
Jialin, made of wood, is embroidered delicately with gold and silver and jewels.It used to be an important religious musical instrument in monasteries, and later entered in Tibetan operas. It is the main accompaniment in De Ge Tibetan opera.

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Tibetan Literature


Legend of King Gesar An introduction
King Gesar is a heroic epic created collectively by the Tibetans during the 11th to 13th century. As the beloved king of the ancient Tibetan kingdom of Ling, Gesar was believed to be the son of God of Heaven. Gesar and his followers bravely and resourcefully struggled against evil forces and conquered the kingdom of demons with great wisdoms and super natural power, bringing peace and happiness to his people. The great hero and his brave army are kept alive in the imaginative retelling of the epic. The epic contains a lot of great poetry and vivid description of the characters. It sings high praise for Gesar’s efforts to aid the weak and poor, to defeat the demons and to benefit the common people. It reflects the wishes of the ordinary Tibetans to fight against the evil and struggle for peace and freedom. Theme of the epic, King Gesar
The epic, King Gesar, was adapted according to legends of this real hero. His lifetime serves as the source of the great work. The theme of the epic centers on the life, deeds, and merits of the divine hero, Gesar, whose mission from heaven to this world was to rescue his loved ones from earthly calamities, unify disparate tribes, defeat ravaging monsters, and aid the weak and the poor. Artistic Achievements in King Gesar
The epic of King Gesar is a great work of both realism and romanticism. All the characters in the epic, no matter positive or negative, male or female, young or old, are described in such a vivid way that they are kept alive in the telling and singing of the epic.
Gesar is a great ballad - epic about an ancient Tibetan hero; it also tells us much about ancient Tibetan society, including war, production, living styles, nationality, religion and morality. Thus it is a virtual encyclopedia about the lives of ancient Tibetans, and enjoys high aesthetic and academic value. Story of the King Gesar
The story is set in the far distant past, when the people of the Tibetan plateau were being plagued by natural disasters and calamities, and demons and spirits were running wild. The Goddess of Mercy took pity on the people and asked the Amitabha Buddha if he would send the son of the God of Heaven to the world to defeat the evil demons.
Toiba Gawa, later known as Gesar, descended to earth and later became the king of the Tibetan people. Gesar is usually portrayed as a combination of god, dragon and a fierce spirit in early Tibetan religion. He possessed invincible powers, marvelous abilities and the protection of the god of Heaven, which helped him to defeat the demons, aid the poor and bring help to the common people.Becoming the King
The legend goes that Gesar was persecuted soon after his birth, then his mother and him were forced to move to the Yellow River area when he was only five years old. A few years later the Ling tribe also migrated to this area. Gesar grew up to win a great horse race, defeating his uncle and other tribal chiefs, for which the prize was the crown, and marriage with Qomo, the most beautiful girl in the tribe. He was then named the Lion King of the World, or Gesar Lhobo Zhadui.Subduing the Demons
When he ascended the throne, King Gesar was confronted with the invasion launched by four vicious enemies. The major part of the epic lies in battles between between Ling and different ancient states, such as Mo, Hor, Jiang and Moin.Battle between Mo and Ling
To the north of the State of Ling was the State of Mo ruled by King Lutsang who ate children. One day, he kidnapped Maisa, the second concubine of Gesar. To wipe out the demon and rescue his concubine, Gesar left for the north. He managed to get in touch with Maisa and the two worked to wipe out King Lutsang. Maisa hated to be Gesar’s concubine in the State of Ling. She wished to be his wife. She managed to make Gesar take her magic portion. As a result, Gesar stayed in the State of Mo for 12 years. During the period, the State of Ling was invaded by the State of Hor, and Gesar’s wife, Zhubmo, was kidnapped by the invaders, too. Battle between Hor and Ling
The State of Hor lay to the northeast of the State of Ling. It was ruled by three kings who were brothers. Named after tents in which they lived, they were called Yellow Tent King, White Tent King, and Black Tent King. White Tent King was the most powerful. He sent magic Parrot, Magpie and Crow to look for beauties for him, and the Crow flew to the State of Ling and was astonished by zhubmo’s beauty. When White Tent King was informed of the news, he launched a war against Ling. With the help of the traitors of Ling, White Tent King seized the power and took away zhubmo.
When Gesar woke up from the magic portion he took, he rushed back to Ling. In a battle, he killed White Tent King and brought back zhubmo. Battle between Jiang and Ling
To the southeast of the State of Ling there was the State of Jiang ruled by King Sadain, a sorcerer who was very greedy. Sadain tried to seize the salt fields belonging to the State of Ling. Gesar sent Sinba, a general formerly of the State of Hor, to win over Yulha Toju, son of Sadain, and he himself led his troops to guard the saltern. With help from Yulha Toju, Gesar knew everything about Sadain. When Sadain drank water one day, Gesar incarnated into a tiny gold fish and was swallowed by Sadain without awareness. Once in the stomach, Gesar incarnated into a large wheel which turned endlessly until Sadain surrendered. Battle between Moin and Ling
The State of Moin was enemy of Ling. It harassed and looted Ling when Ling was weak. When Ling became stronger and had subdued three demons, Sinchi, king of the State of Moin, was the only demon left un-subdued. Gesar decided to bring down Sinchi and marry his daughter Meido Zholma who was very pretty. Through fierce fight, both suffered. Gesar went over to fight Sinchi in person, and shot Sinchi to death in the end. Other minor battles
With the four demons killed, the State of Ling enjoyed peace and happiness. Then, the epic goes on with continuous minor battles waged by Gesar to defend the invaded neighboring states.
For example, as Gesar’s uncle stole some horses from the State of Dashi, both states saw red. This forced Gesar to fight the State of Dashi. Gesar won again, and distributed Dashi' s wealth among the people before returning to the State of Ling.
Chidain, king of the State of Kachi, had conquered Nepal, Korgas and some other small states, and sent troops to invade Ling. Gesar retaliated and killed Chidain.
In successive campaigns, Gesar defeated scores of small tribes and minor kingdoms known as zongs in ancient Tibet. Then, he defended the Salt Sea, launched battles to conquer 54 zongs. He won all these battles. The State of Ling grew in strength, and became very powerful.Returning to the Heaven
When Gesar had completed his mission on the earth, he returned to the heaven together with his mother and wife. Here lies the end of the epic, King Gesar. Features of King Gesar An early epic
Created during the 11th to 13th century, King Gesar is acclaimed as the oriental Iliad, after the Greek epic by Homer in the eighth century BC. Boast the longest epic in the world
So far, Gesar has been collected as a work composed of more than 120 volumes, with more than 1 million verses, altogether over 20 million words. The entire work is longer and has a greater number of verses than the world's other five great epics combined. (The other five epics are the ancient Babylonian Gilgamesh, the Greek Iliad and Odyssey, and the Indian Ramayana and Mahabharata.) Along with the Babylonian, Greek and Indian epics, Life of King Gesar is of significant value as part of the world's cultural treasure-house, making great contributions to human civilization.Enjoy popularity both in Tibet and abroad
Gesar is a popular epic in the Tibetan area. For generations, stories about Gesar had actually been passed down in ballads by folk artists in a combination of song and narration. There are a lot of folk artists known as bards in the Tibetan area, who keep the great hero and his brave army alive in the richly imaginative retelling of the epic. They are very popular and beloved by the common Tibetans.
The epic of King Gesar is also popular abroad. As early as 200 year ago, the Russian edition of King Gesar was published, and in 1839, appeared the German edition. In 1905, Life of King Gesar was published in both Tibetans and English. Noted as the world's only surviving epic, King Gesar has been translated into many languages, including English, French, German, Russian and Indian and has spread to more than 40 countries and regions worldwide. An epic awaits further sorting
Being a folklore passed down through generations in singing and retelling, Gasar still awaits sorting. In 1958, a special research institute was set up by the Qinghai Government to work on the gathering, collecting, sorting out, translating and publishing of the great work.

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Tibetan Architecture

Anecdote: colorful toilets in Tibet
All the people who had been to Tibet, with no exception, would have been impressed deeply by Tibetan’s bold love and preference to colors. From monasteries to residential buildings, from the monk’s overall to the laymen’s garments, even to furniture and knitting, all the colors are rich and vigorous. However, there’s no a better place to show such a magnificence of colors than the toilets on the Tibet Plateau.

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Tibetan Handicrafts

Tibetan Knives are traditional and well-known handicrafts with a peculiar style. they are indispensable in the life of herdsmen. Tibetans use them as the tools to defend, to slaughter livestock and to eat meat. Tibetans have a sense of security with knives because Tibetan look might and valiant with knives.Tibetan knives are produced in many regions in Tibet. People may focus on knives’practicality, sharpness, decoration, shape, etc. There are two categories: one for man and another for woman. Men’s knives tend to be more curly and sharper while women’s are delicate. The most famous Tibetan knives are Lhatse knife and XieTongMen knife in Shigates Region, whose delicate decorations are unique from those in other regions. Shigates knives are usually made of fine steel, with othe materials like bronze, silver, iron, sharkskin, ox horn, agate and wood for decration. Moveover, some of them are studded with gems. Thus, they are more expensive than the normal knives. The produing process is very complicated.