A recent interview with Nyima Tsering, the painter of the late tenth Panchen Lama, provides background information about the life of a contemporary artist who integrated Tibetan, Chinese and Western traditions. It also provides interesting insights into the late Panchen Lama’s views on the need for Tibetans to develop a secular perspective on their history. The following is a translation of brief extracts from this interview.
“I have just turned 60 this year. You can say that I have had quite an extraordinary life. I was born in Pathang county in Kartse prefecture [Chin. Ganzi] in Sichuan province. (…) I grew up in Dege in a very strong Tibetan environment. When I was a teenager, I was very fortunate to have entered Sichuan Art Institute where I received formal training. Of course, I was trained in the Han tradition which had a profound influence on my later creative life as I gained knowledge of world art, of Chinese culture and indeed of painting.”
“[Later], I went back to the Tibetan area. At the time, the Cultural Revolution was just beginning and I was transferred to Kartse county. There I had extensive contacts with local nomads, farmers, monks, monasteries and so on. This experience had given me a solid foundation in Tibetan culture. In the process, I got to know the spiritual state of the Tibetan people, its culture and history. When the Cultural Revolution ended, the whole of China underwent a major opening up. Thus, I began to think on the matter of how to introduce Tibetan culture to the whole nation and the world, and let other nations gain an understanding of our culture. The fact is, being cut off from the rest of the world by the great snowy mountains for the last thousand years had actually given the Tibetan people a sublime state of spirituality. This is not understood well enough by the outside world. We have a profound knowledge of Buddhism, theology, philosophical thinking and so on. But due to language and geographical barriers there had been hardly any exchanges with others. As a painter, and having been to many countries, I have noticed that our traditional thangka painting has been researched by Westerners. They have learned that thangka is a unique Tibetan art but they seem to know very little of the ideas and thinking expressed by the thangkas. Personally, I feel that Tibetan culture is the same as any other of mankind’s cultures; it also faces the problem of expanding beyond its traditional scope. Before the Renaissance in Europe, art and culture were merely confined within the scope of religion. Only after the Renaissance did the art in Europe break free from religion and truly develop.”
“Due to geographical isolation and little contact with the outside world, our unique Tibetan wisdom and philosophy have not been able to be promoted in the international arena. Painting is a kind of international language, and as an artist, if I only focus on thangka painting I will simply be one of thousands of thangka painters. I feel that this is not where my responsibility lies. This is to say that having gained an understanding of world art and Chinese culture, I must stand on the basis of Tibetan culture to develop Tibetan culture. And, by going beyond religion and through international art, let more people know about Tibetan people. In the past 40 years I have, on one hand, researched Tibetan history and, on the other, looked for new ways of expression that would lead to international understanding.”
“For this, I must thank the Great Master the late Panchen Lama for his guidance. [In 1986] in Beijing we were awarded a gold medal for our painting ‘Gesar’ [the hero of the Tibetan national epic]. Master Panchen was very please that a Tibetan work of art had won a gold medal in a major competition involving 56 nationalities. He received us and told us how he wanted to promote Tibetan culture. He said that Songtsen Gampo was a national hero and an historical personality. However, we Tibetans have locked him in the temples and worshipped him like a divine figure. Now we must bring him out of the temples and introduce his historic accomplishments to the world. Master Panchen also talked about the three major achievements of Songtsen Gampo: Unifying Tibet, establishing Tibetan script and introducing Buddhism to Tibet. The effects of these contributions to the wisdom and culture of Tibet were boundless. He said that therefore Songtsen Gampo should be glorified like Peter the Great, and his heroic bearing should be well portrayed. I was deeply impressed by his ideas and I accepted it whole-heartedly. He expressed a very strong wish that I should paint a perfect picture of Songtsen Gampo and he even invited me to Beijing to explore the idea further. While in Beijing, he took me to the National Cavalry Unit where he sat on the back of a huge Arab horse posing as a model and asked me to make sketches and take photographs. What a revelation! As a painter, it was indeed a great honour for me to have one’s own spiritual leader as one’s model and I was deeply moved.”
(…)
“Master Panchen was very pleased when the painting was finished. I remember that once, while I was in his office, he said to me: “In the newspapers they talk about respect and equality among the nationalities but in reality, these things have hardly been achieved. To reach true equality, the nationalities themselves must be developed. For a nationality to be without its own culture is more frightening than lagging behind [in material development]”
(…)
“Master Panchen told me that due to my knowledge of both Western arts and Chinese culture, in addition to my grip on Tibetan culture, I could take Tibetan painting further. His advice had a huge influence on my life and due to his support I have had little problems in my creative life.”
