Tibetannet

What can you do during 15 years? Tong Yongquan Spent 15 years to create one Ming Dynasty sacred work replica.

During this time at the 12th China Culture Industry Exhibition and trade forum that was held in Shenzhen, his work of 8 Petals Lotus of the Great Vajrapani, a replication,  was displayed for the first time.

16 years before, after when he visited the Potala Palace in Tibet, seeing the unique and lonely original never left his mind. The mandala which is less than one meter high has a total of 19 Buddha figures, several relief sculpture animals and characters, as well as flowers and plants wrapping around the creation. The main statue has 9 heads, 34 arms, 16 legs and each of the instruments in the hands are different, at the feet are animals, and there are 16 people, and 8 gods beneath everything.

The mandala was created during the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty Yongle Emperor years, and is a sacred work representing the nation’s might,  and in the Dana Tibetan Buddhist world, itassists to protect all living things and represents the highest level of Consciousness in the Yongle Emperor court.

Tong Yongquan who has always like overcoming difficulties and challenging himself there and then decided to duplicate the mandala. 

Since the year 2000, Tong Yongquan as well as the Yongquan Art Workshop that he created utilized only a few image materials and the Buddhist Scripture Classics to conjecture and create the art works. But due to the lack of the materials, during 9 years, he just could complete work for producing the middle axle, the cover, the lotus flower patterns and part of the lotus flower petals. 

Not until 2009, under the support of the Tibet Culture Relic Management Department did he finally received a complete set of tens pictures of this great aforementioned work he would replicate, with which he was able to fully start the replication work of the mandala.

The production model foundation was to be made with wax, then cast with metal after which the wax would be ridded and through a molding process it will be cleared-up and then injected with metal followed by shaping, polishing, carving of the face, engraving, as well as ancient Buddhist  gold plate attachments…  each and every of these steps can also be divided into several smaller procedures.

In the summer of 2014, after spending nearly 15years on it, the replication product was finally finished.

As a mountaineer of Tibetan Buddhism’s art landscape and its mountain peaks, Tong Yongquan isby no means engrossed in delight. He often says: “ As soon as I grab a carving knife the world becomes very quiet.”  Delicate and exquisite beauty in art products will be his eternal pursuit.

Tong Yongquan, a Chengdu man, Was born into the artist world and from a very young age started to study gold and bronze casting of Buddha statues alongside his father in thereby he researched Buddhist art.

In the last entry at the end of the 1980s, he opened a gold and bronze Buddha statue casting Research Institute in Chengdu, SW China's Sichuan Province. Because he had excellent skills and Buddha statue production sales were very optimistic. 

“Artwork makes you very tired and it requires hard work and here at we do not have the so-called accomplishments of well-educated people,  we don't have time to boil pots of tea, or to work leisurely. Tong Yongquan said that “however this kind of suffering is a kind of virtue,  and the development of moral standing as well as arts skills are like a religious practice, if you want to enjoy this process of self-discipline once you have conquered all of the difficulties and achieved a crossing of the river to the other shore the suffering will become happiness.” 

During one casting a very heavy Buddhist statue with a temperature of 400 degrees Celsius can be sitting in an unstable manner and in the process of sliding the Buddha statue Tong Yongquan almost virtually with instinct in a single instant can pick up the Buddhist statue and elevate accordingly.

He recalled a time when he was immersed in the creation process enjoying himself to the point that he had completely been able to forget the surface temperature of the Buddhist statue. This kind of suffering situation that becomes happiness cannot be emphasized enough by him. “ In the process of the creating Buddha statue, it is a kind of religious practice more or less.” He said. 

After the year 2000 Tong Yongquan got into the meticulous study of wood carving of thangkas, Jade carving of thangkas as well as bronze carvings of Thangkas. 

In the past times, Thangkas were affected by transport conditions and it was only possible to do two dimensional flat artwork for it was convenient to roll up, carry and suspend for worship. Nowadays, livelihoods are grounded, so it is more feasible to tell the story of Thankas in a complete way by making three-dimensional representations.

Tong Yongquan understands that in order to make innovations for the jewel masterpiece cultural work of thangkas,  it is necessary to make academic and artistic achievements, and more so requires hard work along with an attitude that is calm and composed.

A single complete wood relief sculpture thangka requires an extensive process to produce, and it alone requires the use of more than 100 knifes. One will take several months even if done quickly, and up to 2 years if slowly manufactured. When speaking about the creation process up until now, Tong Yongquan said an interesting sentence to express himself: “By means of the wood carving space can be opened the world of the Lotus flower.”

From the year 2000 until the year 2010, the gushing spring relief sculpture thangkas had yet to be announced to the public.  Only close friends and circles came to the workshop to see and make suggestions to make purchases of certain ones, yet he often tactfully refused such requests.

By the year of 2011, his workshop had accumulated 108 wood relief sculpture thangkas, And the Gushing Spring Wood Relief Sculpture Book was released, for which 35 of the works are currently being displayed in Norbulingka (the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas), and has attracted people from all walks of life.

Currently, Tong Yongquan has already created about 300 wood sculptures. He hopes these products will be displayed at museums, “and finally that a new school of art will be established with them.”