Ta'er Monastery (Kumbum)

Known in Tibetan as Gonben Xianbalin, meaning “the image of the hundred thousand lion roars,” Kumbum Monastery (Ta’er Monastery) has a history of more than 600 years.

From afar, a row of white stupas stands quietly before the temple beneath the blue sky. But as you draw near, the riot of colour is astonishing: set against the bluestone walls, it gleams with a dazzling sheen. This is one of China’s famous monasteries. It is the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school, and the centre of Buddhist activity in the Northwest.

Built into the slope of the mountain, Kumbum Monastery covers more than 400,000 square metres and contains over 10,000 rooms of halls, scripture colleges, stupas, residences of living Buddhas, monks’ quarters and other buildings. It is an ancient architectural complex that blends Han and Tibetan artistic styles.

The butter sculptures, murals and duixiu (appliqué embroidery) are known as the “Three Artistic Marvels” of Kumbum Monastery. Butter sculpture is an art form in which sculptures are modelled from butter mixed with coloured pigments. According to legend, the art originated in Tibet. When Princess Wencheng married Songtsen Gampo, she brought a Buddha statue from Chang’an, which was enshrined in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. In the harsh winter, when no fresh flowers were available to offer to the Buddha, believers made flowers from butter to express their devotion. Every year on the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month), monk artists display their carefully crafted butter sculptures inside the monastery, making it an annual highlight of the temple’s calendar. Murals adorn the walls of the halls; most are painted on cloth hangings, while some are painted directly onto walls and beams. The pigments are mineral-based, bright in colour and long-lasting. The murals belong to the Tibetan Buddhist religious painting tradition and have a strong Indo-Tibetan flavour. Duixiu is one of the Tibetan art forms unique to Kumbum Monastery. Coloured silk is cut into shapes such as Buddhas, flowers, birds and animals, stuffed with wool or cotton, and then sewn onto cloth hangings. Its subjects are mostly drawn from Buddhist tales and religious life, and it is a traditional art unique to this monastery.