《格萨尔》唐卡的当代传承及其文化意义

The Contemporary Inheritance of Thangka Paintings of King Gesar and the Cultural Significance

仲唐——《格萨尔》唐卡最初从说唱艺人的简略人物画,到“拉日哇”的专门创作,再到19、20世纪宁玛派、萨迦派僧人专门绘制,逐渐成为一种史诗图像传承方式。这些仲唐或保存和供奉于寺庙,在某些特定节日展出;或被说唱艺人在说唱时展示,以对说唱进行祝福和加持;或被请到家中,作为财神或战神供奉;或被个人收藏和博物馆收藏。到了当代,除了专门的唐卡画师继续绘制仲唐外,一批接受过中西方现代绘画教育的画家进入仲唐领域,或独创,或集体创作;在题材方面,除了格萨尔王骑征等传统内容外,当代最杰出的说唱艺人扎巴(1906—1986)成为仲唐主角;在规模和形制上,拓展了从单幅到组图的范畴,形成从简略到细致的“格萨尔画传”。这些既反映出仲唐在传承和流变中不断丰富和发展,呈现出开放形态,并不断反哺《格萨尔》口传史诗传统;同时,也反映出《格萨尔》日益成为藏族各种艺术形式扩延和流变的源头,推动其不断创新。

Grungthang,Thangka Paintings of oral epic King Gesar,used to be simple sketches of figures by the epic performer in the beginning,later Lhariba-Grungthang painter arose and started specialized creation of such paintings,and then in 19th or 20th century,monks sent from Nyima or Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism were painting Grungthang.All this has made Grungthang a kind of pictorial inheritance of the oral epic,King Gesar.These Grungthangs are preserved,enshrined and worshiped in some Tibetan monasteries,to be on exhibition on some particular festivals.For example,King Gesar of the Ling at the Gengqing Monastery of Dege County of Sichuan Province are either displayed at the end of the Yangle Festival on each July 1st or 2nd of Tibetan lunar calendar,or showed by the performers while performing the oral epic King Gesar so as to get King Gesar's blessing,or worshiped in the family because people believe in King Gesar as the God of Wealth or War;or collected in museums.So Grungthang has become a unique kind of Tibetan painting art.Since 1949,besides the Grungthang painters,some modern painters have been painting Grungthang,some collective creations of whom are a great success.As for the theme of the Grungthang,Zhaba(1906-1986),the most famous performer,has become the main character aside from King Gesar fighting on horseback and so on.In terms of scale and shape,Grungthang has extended its category from single pictures to picture in series,which have constituted"a painting biography of King Gesar",ranging from sketchy figures to detailed paintings of characters,All these reflect the fact that Grungthang has been enriching and developing itself in its inheritance and evolution,thus taking on an open-ended form,and has started its constant regurgitation-feeding to the oral epic tradition of King Gesar.At the same time,this also reflects that the oral epic tradition of King Gesar has been the original source of various forms of Tibetan arts,which keeps pushing these arts into continuous innovation.