Bonpo Mural Painting and Decoration in Chinese Tibet; Gods and Goddesses in Art; Bonpo Iconography; Monasteries and Convents in Chinese Tibet; Baumer, Christoph
摘要
Part of a special section on Buddhist iconography, the writer discusses murals at the Bonpo Monastery of Pa-Lha-Phug in Kyirong, Tibet. Tibet in the 11th century witnessed not only the revival of Buddhism but also of the lesser-known religion of Bon, which was characterized in more archaic times as an animistic belief in countless benevolent or malign deities with a distinctive shamanistic touch.
A reform school of Bon emerged in the 11th century, adopting the forms of Buddhistic monastic life and organization. One of the monasteries the school established was Pa-Lha-Phug, where, inside the Tsuglag-khang, fine murals are still extant on three sides of the walls.
The fact that some iconographic details in the murals appear to bear striking similarities to early 15th-century paintings in Gyantse leads to the conclusion that they date from the first quarter of the 15th century; they are thus the oldest Bonpo murals extant in Tibet. The writer examines the murals in detail.
