How did Thangka come from?

A new batch of cultural creations have arrived in the store, including thangkas. I saw that the clerk was having a hard time reciting relevant information and unified vocabulary, so I put down the history book in my hand and came, let me use linear thinking to tell you about Thangka.

What is thangka, how did it come about, and what are the interesting stories? Following this line of thinking, we can clarify it, explain it in a fun way, and draw inferences from one example to other cases. This can be used to communicate with customers about the brushes and porcelain in the store.

Thangka is a transliteration of Tibetan, so it has no scientific relationship with the Tang Dynasty’s Ka. But the era when thangka was formed in Tibet was indeed the Tang Dynasty. At that time, a great cadre emerged from the snow-covered plateau, not a cadre to aid Tibet, but Songtsen Gampo. A beautiful princess of the Tang Dynasty, Princess Wencheng, brought with her the technology and culture of the most developed country in the world at that time, as well as the religion of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the center of Buddhism in the world.

The customer has a question, why is there such a big difference between Tibetan Buddhism and Central Plains Buddhism? This brings us to a very important issue. Songtsen Gampo also took a princess, a Nepalese princess. The Nepali princess also brought a large amount of Buddhist literature with her. This Nepal is not simple. Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, is the prince of Nepal.

One was the center of Buddhism at that time, and the other was the origin of Buddhism. One is a princess, the other is also a princess, one is a daughter-in-law, and the other is still a daughter-in-law. You cannot completely use one of them and ignore the other. In this way, a religious form with local characteristics that is different from the Central Plains will be formed.

Buddhism is inseparable from Buddhist scriptures, missionary monks, and Buddhist statues. Under the farming civilization, we rarely stray far from our homeland. Those who have settled down please respect the Buddha for protection and safety. But what about the nomadic people? It is unrealistic to call ants to move. They only have two animals to use for camel necessities, so they have become devout believers. They thought of a way to draw the Buddha.

When moving, roll it up for easy carrying. In order to show piety, expensive silk or cotton cloth is used, expensive mineral pigments are used (for details, please consult Wang Ximeng, the author of Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains), and the most complicated mounting technology is used. Buddha, we are not doing this to save trouble or save money, it is simply not allowed by production and life. Ant Moving's phone number couldn't be reached.

I will always remember the little story made up by the teacher in the first history class: primitive people were injured in the summer and relied on gruel to survive the Spring and Autumn Period.

That simple and humorous story made me understand the changes in the dynasties of Chinese civilization: Xia, Shang and Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States...

I can still remember Chen Lai, who described the complex Chinese philosophy , Chinese civilization is condensed into the classics of the Western Han Dynasty, the Xuan of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Buddhism of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the principles of the Song Dynasty. Confucianism, which is based on the Six Classics compiled by Confucius, integrates Taoism and Buddhism to build an inclusive and continuous law of family, state and world that belongs to China.

So, broaden the historical horizon, but narrow it down to the basic necessities of life of the people at that time. History is a very interesting thing. I will say this to my daughter, Xu Xiaohua, often from now on.

For example:

Jinan’s Jingwei Road is named after the longitude and latitude of textiles because Jinan has developed textiles.

For example: Among the nine gates of old Beijing, why is the Fucheng Gate facing west engraved with plum blossoms? It is because the coal produced in the west naturally enters Beijing from the Beijing-Tibet Highway and enters through the west gate. Homophony for Mei Mei.

Another example: Why is there a Liangma Bridge next to the Chaoyang Gate where grain is transported? It is because the urban management controls smog, and all cars entering the city must be cleaned from the Liangma River.

Following this idea, is it difficult to memorize the nine gates: Dongzhimen and Xizhimen respectively in the east and west; Fuchengmen for transporting coal and Chaoyangmen for transporting grain.

There are three gates in the south, Zhengyang Gate in the middle, one Wen and one Wu on the left and right: Xuanwu and Chongwen. In the north there are enemies of ethnic minorities, so the two gates are called Desheng and Anding.

So, classmate Xu Xiaohua, it is simply unreasonable for her to be a bad student of history.