When it comes to Tibetan intangible cultural heritage, we always subconsciously think of a specific craft: either the brightly colored and meaning-rich Thangka, the curling and refreshing Tibetan incense, the crystal clear and pure butter sculpture flowers, or the exquisitely stitched and auspicious Tibetan embroidery. However, few people realize that these four crafts, which are listed in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, have never been isolated individuals——they are like coexisting creatures on the snow-capped plateau, with Thangka as the core and Tibetan incense, butter sculpture flowers, and Tibetan embroidery as the wings. They echo and complement each other, jointly building a complete and profound spiritual system of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage, carrying the thousand-year-old beliefs and wisdom of the Tibetan ancestors. This is the most touching integral beauty of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage.
Among these four intangible cultural heritage crafts, Thangka is undoubtedly the core and soul, and the "visual center" and "spiritual anchor" of the entire Tibetan intangible cultural heritage scene. The history of Thangka can be traced back to the period of Songtsen Gampo in the Tubo Dynasty. According to the Tibetan ancient book "Ba Xie", when Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal entered Tibet, she brought many Buddhist statues and painting craftsmen, who painted the first Thangka in Tubo, "Amitayus Buddha", thus laying down the ritual norms and artistic tone for Thangka painting. Another widely circulated allusion is even more touching: in order to promote Buddhism, Songtsen Gampo practiced diligently day and night, and even mixed his own nosebleed with mineral pigments to paint a Thangka in the shape of a white khata. This Thangka also became the earliest "blood-painted Thangka" in Tibet, carrying the purest power of faith.
The painting of Thangka is extremely rigorous. Every step, from the collection of pigments to the outline of lines and the rendering of colors, embodies the awe of the Tibetan ancestors. The pigments are all taken from natural minerals and plants on the plateau, such as cinnabar, realgar, turquoise, saffron, etc. After multiple grinding and processing procedures, the colors can remain unfaded and warm and bright for thousands of years; before painting, one needs to recite scriptures and pray for blessings. During the painting process, one must strictly follow Buddhist rituals. The proportion, expression and clothing of the characters have clear norms and cannot be deviated in the slightest. A scroll of Thangka, whether enshrined in a Buddhist temple or hung in a residence, is like a "mobile Buddhist shrine" and a "portable faith", condensing the history, myths and Buddhist stories of the snow-capped plateau on a small canvas, and becoming the most intuitive and concrete carrier of Tibetan culture. The existence of Thangka also provides a scene support and spiritual core for Tibetan incense, butter sculpture flowers and Tibetan embroidery——they are born around Thangka, adding charm, setting the atmosphere and adorning the solemnity for Thangka, and none of them can be missing.
If Thangka is the "form" of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage, then Tibetan incense is its "charm", an invisible link connecting the mortal world with purity, and the body with the soul. Tibetan incense also has a long history, more than 1,300 years ago, and its creation is closely related to Thonmi Sambhota, a minister during the period of Songtsen Gampo. According to legend, after creating Tibetan script, Thonmi Sambhota was deeply inspired by Tibetan medicine culture. Combining the unique climate and vegetation conditions of the plateau, he collected dozens of natural spices and medicinal materials such as cypress wood, sandalwood, saffron, agarwood and borneol, and created the first wisp of Tibetan incense through multiple manual procedures such as drying, grinding, mixing, kneading, shaping and air-drying. Initially, Tibetan incense was mainly used for enshrining Buddha statues, reciting scriptures and praying for blessings, as well as dispelling plagues and purifying the air on the plateau. Later, it gradually integrated into the daily life of Tibetan people and became an indispensable part.
The matching of Tibetan incense and Thangka is a perfect integration of smell and vision, and a dual presentation of faith and ritual sense. In a Buddhist temple where Thangka is enshrined, lighting a wisp of Tibetan incense, the curling smoke rises and lingers gently around the Thangka. It neither blocks the colors and patterns of the Thangka nor adds a quiet and solemn atmosphere to the entire space. The fragrance of Tibetan incense is warm and mellow, not pungent or strong, with the freshness of plateau plants and the warmth of medicinal materials. Inhaled into the nasal cavity, it can calm people down and feel the power of faith conveyed by Thangka in the fragrance, realizing the artistic conception of "a scene in the vision and charm in the smell". This matching is not a simple superposition, but a concretization of the concept of "offering" in Tibetan culture——Thangka is a visible offering, and Tibetan incense is an invisible offering. The two complement each other, jointly expressing the Tibetan people's piety and awe for faith. In addition, the production technology of Tibetan incense also contains the wisdom of Tibetan medicine. The matching of spices emphasizes "balance", which is in line with the aesthetic concept of "symmetry and harmony" in Thangka painting, highlighting the internal unity of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage.
Butter sculpture flowers are the "spirit" of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage, flowers of faith blooming on the freezing point, adding a sense of purity and prayer to the scene composed of Thangka and Tibetan incense. The origin of butter sculpture flowers is closely related to Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet. In 641 AD, Princess Wencheng entered Tibet with the life-size statue of Sakyamuni. To express their welcome to the princess and their reverence for the Buddha statue, the Tibetan people wanted to offer fresh flowers, but it was the cold winter on the plateau at that time, all things withered, and there were no fresh flowers available. In an emergency, the people thought of using pure butter to imitate the shape of fresh flowers and shape them into various forms of flowers, birds, beasts and characters to enshrine in front of the Buddha statue. This is the embryonic form of butter sculpture flowers. Later, Master Tsongkhapa founded the Gelug Sect. To commemorate the master, the production technology of butter sculpture flowers was further improved and became an indispensable important offering at the "Prayer Festival" on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Tibet, which has continued to this day.
The production of butter sculpture flowers is extremely arduous, which can be called a craft of "racing against time and fighting against low temperature". The melting point of butter is very low, only about 20℃. Therefore, butter sculpture flowers must be made in the cold winter months in a tent with extremely low temperature. Craftsmen need to soak their hands in ice water to lower the temperature of their hands to avoid the butter melting. During the production process, relying on their exquisite skills and rich imagination, craftsmen knead, pinch, rub and carve the butter into various lifelike shapes, including characters and scenes in Buddhist stories, flowers and birds, beasts on the plateau, as well as auspicious patterns. The colors of butter sculpture flowers are all taken from natural mineral pigments, which are the same as those of Thangka. The bright and pure colors set off the whiteness of butter, making it more pure and holy. In the scene where Thangka is enshrined, butter sculpture flowers are usually placed on both sides or in front of the Thangka, matching with Thangka and Tibetan incense——Thangka in the center, Tibetan incense lingering, and butter sculpture flowers blooming. The three together form a "pure, solemn and full of prayer" picture. The existence of butter sculpture flowers makes the scene of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage more complete: Thangka conveys faith, Tibetan incense sets the atmosphere, and butter sculpture flowers express prayers. The combination of the three integrates the emotions and beliefs of the Tibetan people into every detail, highlighting the core concept of "all things have spirits" in Tibetan intangible cultural heritage.
Tibetan embroidery is the "clothing" of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage, a heritage on the fingertips. It adds a delicate and auspicious charm to the scene composed of Thangka, Tibetan incense and butter sculpture flowers, and also becomes an important link connecting the four intangible cultural heritage crafts. The history of Tibetan embroidery also began in the Tubo Dynasty. Initially, the embroidery technology was relatively simple, mainly used to decorate daily necessities such as clothes and tents. After Princess Wencheng entered Tibet, she brought advanced silk embroidery technology from the Central Plains, which integrated with the local Tibetan embroidery technology, and gradually formed a unique Tibetan embroidery, including various stitching methods such as flat embroidery, appliqué embroidery, braid embroidery and seed embroidery. Among them, appliqué embroidery is a fine product of Tibetan embroidery, which is often used for the mounting of Thangka and the decoration of Buddhist temples.
Tibetan embroidery has the closest connection with Thangka. The edges and mounting of many Thangkas adopt Tibetan embroidery technology, which is called "embroidery Thangka mounting". Most of the embroidered patterns are auspicious patterns in Tibetan culture, such as lotus, treasure vase, dharma wheel, auspicious knot and eight Tibetan treasures, which echo the patterns on Thangka. They not only adorn Thangka, make it more delicate and solemn, but also strengthen the auspicious meaning conveyed by Thangka. In addition, Tibetan embroidery is also often used to make curtains for Buddhist shrines, khata for enshrining Thangka, clothes worn by monks, etc. These embroidered works, together with Thangka, Tibetan incense and butter sculpture flowers, make the entire Buddhist temple scene more complete and delicate. For example, in front of the Buddhist shrine where Thangka is enshrined, hang an embroidered curtain with auspicious patterns. The Thangka is hung in the center of the curtain, butter sculpture flowers are placed in front, and Tibetan incense is lit beside it. The delicacy of embroidery, the solemnity of Thangka, the charm of Tibetan incense and the purity of butter sculpture flowers set off each other and complement each other, forming a complete Tibetan intangible cultural heritage picture.
What is more worth mentioning is that the production technology of Tibetan embroidery, like that of Thangka, Tibetan incense and butter sculpture flowers, has a common cultural core——"inheritance" and "piety". Before making, embroidery craftsmen also need to recite scriptures and pray for blessings. Every stitch is full of pious feelings. Just like Thangka craftsmen painting Thangka, Tibetan incense craftsmen making Tibetan incense, and butter sculpture flower craftsmen shaping butter sculpture flowers, they all integrate their own emotions and beliefs into the craft. This way of inheritance of "passing on from heart to heart and conveying feelings through skills" is a common feature of the four intangible cultural heritage crafts, and also the core driving force for the thousand-year inheritance and vitality of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage.
Thangka, Tibetan incense, butter sculpture flowers and Tibetan embroidery, these four Tibetan intangible cultural heritage crafts, seem independent, but in fact they share the same origin and coexist as a whole. They are all born in the unique environment of the snow-capped plateau, carrying the beliefs, wisdom and emotions of the Tibetan people, and having a common cultural core and aesthetic concept; their matching is not a simple superposition of crafts, but a concretization of the Tibetan cultural concept of "harmony, balance and coexistence", realizing a comprehensive experience of vision, smell, touch and soul.
Today, when we appreciate a Thangka, without the lingering of Tibetan incense, we lose a touch of charm; without the ornament of butter sculpture flowers, we lose a touch of purity; without the decoration of Tibetan embroidery, we lose a touch of delicacy. Only by combining these four crafts can we truly feel the integral beauty of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage and truly understand the thousand-year-old beliefs and wisdom inherited from the snow-capped plateau.
The charm of Tibetan intangible cultural heritage has never been the unique beauty of a single craft, but the integral beauty of the four crafts coexisting and complementing each other. With Thangka as the core, Tibetan incense as the charm, butter sculpture flowers as the spirit and Tibetan embroidery as the clothing, they are like four bright pearls, connecting the context of the thousand-year inheritance of Tibetan culture, illuminating the cultural river of the snow-capped plateau, and showing the profound heritage and unique charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage to the world. May this integral beauty inherited for thousands of years be seen, understood and inherited by more people, so that Tibetan intangible cultural heritage can bloom more brilliant light in the new era.