Tibetan Gesar painted stone carvings

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Tibetan Gesar painted stone carvings

Applicant: Seda County, Sichuan Province

Project No.: 338

Project No.: Ⅶ - 39

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Seda County, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: Seda County Cultural Center

Brief introduction of Tibetan Gesar painted Stone Carvings:

Applicant: Seda County, Sichuan Province

Tibetan Gesar painted stone carvings belong to the remains of Gesar culture, which are mainly distributed in Seda, Shiqu and Danba counties of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The Gesar painted stone carvings in Seda county are the most representative. Seda county is located in the northwest of Sichuan Province. It is said that it was once the residence of the tribe of the head of the Ling Kingdom, and also the hometown of the famous generals of the Ling Kingdom, nivardarya and aben buyipanda. Therefore, the Gesar culture has a profound accumulation and is known as the "hometown of Gesar art". More than two centuries ago, Gesar painted stone carvings were bred in this grassland.

Gesar's painted stone carving takes the core content of the heroic epic Gesar as the object of expression, integrates the exquisite stone carving skills and traditional painting, and reproduces the historical scene of Ling Gesar king and all the soldiers of Ling Kingdom fighting bravely for the benefit of the people with unique artistic style. Stone carvings are made of natural slate produced in Seda county. When they are made, they usually keep the natural shape of the stone. First, they are composed by line drawing, and then they are carved immediately and by scraping. The lines are like flowing clouds and flowing water, which is natural and vivid. After the painting and engraving is completed, a white pigment is applied on the stone carving screen, and the color is applied after drying. The color uses red, yellow, blue, white, black, green six colors, generally does not use the middle color. These colors have specific meanings, corresponding to the soldiers in epic Gesar, which can be understood by the local people at a glance. The inheritance of Gesar's stone carving technique is mainly based on apprenticeship or family inheritance, and the author usually does not sign on the stone carving. At present, there are 17 inheritors, mainly including Niqiu, juere, zhalo, qieqiao and others.

Gesar painted stone carvings in Seda county are mainly stored in niduo Township, Seke Town, nianlong Township and wengda town. Among them, the Gesar painted stone carvings in wengda village of wengda town have the longest history, and the Gesar painted stone carvings in puwu village of niduo township have the best inheritance, the largest number and the largest scale. Their crafts are not only representative in Seda county and Ganzi Prefecture, but also in Fangzi Prefecture It is also very typical in the areas where the Gesar culture spreads throughout the country.

Niduo township is located on the Bank of Niqu River in the northwest of Seda County, with an altitude of 4180 meters. The Gesar painted stone carvings here are stored on a large stone platform in the stone carving wall around the White Pagoda of puwu temple in puwu village. The stone platform is divided into five layers, with more than 1000 Gesar painted stone carvings, forming a pedigree. The recent part of the stone carving here is organized by the famous monk Aya Lama of puwu village. It is large-scale, majestic, exquisite and well selected. It shows the past lives of King Gesar, 30 generals and 80 soldiers of the kingdom of Ling. In the stone carving, there are also 80 great Achievers of Tianzhu and 100 civil and military gods. Whether from the perspective of the integrity of the character pedigree or the inheritance of artists' skills, this stone carving is representative. There are a large number of Gesar colored stone carvings in niduo Township, which has formed a relatively complete system of carving technology.

Since 2002, the colored stone carvings of Seda, Shiqu and danbagesar in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have been published one after another, which has aroused great attention in the academic circles. Relevant experts agree that it not only provides a new way to inherit Gesar culture, but also fills the gap of Gesar culture in Tibetan stone carvings.

Gesar painted stone carvings were placed in the open air for a long time, which caused serious natural damage due to the invasion of the cold plateau and the strong ultraviolet radiation. In the 1960s, they were almost destroyed by man-made destruction, and the relevant carving skills were basically lost. Since the 1980s, with the initiation and organization of Aya Lama, Gesar's art of colored stone carving has been revived. But because Gesar painting has special requirements for the quality of artists, and the current stone carving artists are mostly farmers and herdsmen or temple monks, amateur engaged in painted stone carving, "art is not good", "learning is not successful", and some of them give up this craft to change from other industries, so Gesar painted stone carving technology is facing the situation of inheritors, in urgent need of support and protection .