Thang-ga (唐卡) is a special kind of painting. It was found only in Tibet, China. It started from the Tang dynasty. Its content touches every aspect (方面) of Tibetan history, politics, culture, social life and so on. Thang-ga paintings show Tibetan culture and people's lives. In recent years, Thang-ga paintings have caught the public's attention. At the same time, the Chinese government has also tried hard to protect the art.
Most of the Thang-ga paintings handed down from ancient times were created by Tibetan Buddhism (佛教). They are bung in the hall for worship (崇拜). The colour of Thang-ga paintings looks wonderful and special. Because of the special environment of Tibet and the excellent skills of artists, the paints used in Thang-ga are different from other paints. Thang-ga painters traditionally divide paints into ninecategories: soil, stone, water, fire, wood, grass, flower, bone and gemstone (宝石). These natural paints can also be categorized into seven colours as white, yellow, red, blue, green, black and purple.
In the past, Thang-ga was made from minerals like gold and silver, as well as some plants. The paints were made by hand. It usually took a long period to finish a Thang-ga painting, from half a year to more than a decade, that is, 10 years. Though the work was hard and needed patience, the beautiful colours could last for hundreds of years.
However, with the development of technology, people now use cheaper and more easily-made chemicals to make Thang-ga paints. The traditional paints used in Thang-ga paintings took a lot of work and they were made in many secret ways. Later people stopped making the paints and forgot about them. So the skills needed to make them were almost lost. The traditional Thang-ga paintings are difficult to find now.
