China has the east-west cultural belt of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. In the high gorge valley corridors of the Jinsha River and Yalong River in the Hengduan Mountains in the west of the mainland, many ethnic groups move north and south along the valleys due to geographical transportation and other factors. Migration, reproduction and integration have deepened over time, forming China's only long and narrow cultural belt running from north to south. It has attracted more and more attention from the world. The Tibetan people in the Kham region live in this culturally colorful river valley plateau.
This is my first time to interview in Ganzi, the traditional cultural and economic center of Kham. The first thing that caught my attention along the way was the magnificent and majestic Tibetan Buddhist temples of this generation. The large monastery complex has a rigorous layout and distinct layers; the balconies overlap, and the ridges, windows, and beams are all beautifully carved and painted, showing the high architectural level and unique architectural art style of the Kham Tibetan people.
When you come to Kham, you will naturally want to stay in the homes of ordinary Kham Tibetan people. The houses of the Kangba people are generally 2 to 3-story buildings with a square plan. Many people build their houses against the mountains and use stone walls. There is no need to drive wooden piles in the walls, but they can be built smoothly and neatly. There are often dozens of households in a row of buildings, which look like ancient castles and are very spectacular. The size and structural layout of the rooms in a building are very reasonable, much like the multi-unit buildings built in inland cities; however, the houses here all have a large courtyard, and the courtyard gates are also tall and strong.
In the past, various ethnic groups and tribes in the Kham area often fought and fought with each other, and ladders made of single logs cut into rectangles were used to go up and down in the houses. This kind of wooden ladder can be quickly removed to cut off the access to the living room, thereby protecting yourself from theft. However, most modern people have converted single-wooden ladders into stepped stairs with handrails, making it much easier to move around.
The first floor of the residential house has windows that open to the outside of the courtyard and is used as a livestock pen, thatched house or garage. The middle floor is occupied by people. In addition to bedrooms, living rooms, guest rooms, kitchens, warehouses and toilets, this floor also has a sutra hall dedicated to gods and Buddhas. The sutra hall is spacious and gorgeous, and a huge Buddhist niche with exquisite paintings and carvings takes up one wall. The sutra hall also enshrines thangkas, magical instruments handed down from ancestors, and auspicious tokens left by eminent monks after their stay. The Zen bed specially made for lamas is covered with thick and gorgeous blankets. The sutra hall is the center of a Tibetan home. When distinguished guests come, they must first come here to pay homage and burn a few pillars of incense. Even the master cannot sit or lie down in the sutra hall. As for women, even guests from far away are absolutely not allowed to rest in the sutra hall. Although this habit is incomprehensible, Kham women still stick to it without any complaints.
The living rooms and living rooms of Kangba houses are colorfully decorated, and even the beams and ceilings are covered with painted carvings. The colorful Tibetan cabinets, tables, doors, and windows with gold and silver hooks... copper pots, ritual objects, jade bottles, and golden Buddhas inlaid with beads and emeralds... are even more dazzling. Nowadays, there are more and more wealthy households in the Kham area, and color TV sets, cassette players and electronic game consoles are added to the antique Tibetan cabinets. Some people go all the way to buy a refrigerator. However, in the hottest summer in the Kham region, you have to wear a thin sweater when you stay in the room. Naturally, the refrigerator has no use and can only be used as a storage cabinet.
The third floor of a residential building is usually used to store food and sundries without using colored paintings. The top is built strong and flat, and is used for drying grain. It is a good large balcony. Standing on it, one can look around at the green countryside and the distant Xueling River. There is an incense burner in the shape of an ox head on the large balcony, which is used to burn herbs, cypress branches and leaves to worship gods and Buddhas. People in this area also have the custom of placing white stones on the walls of their yards and on the four corners of their roofs, showing traces of ancient white stone worship. Most of the houses, temples, watchtowers and pagodas in the Kham area were built directly by skilled craftsmen without drawing or hanging wires. It is a miracle that it has survived wind, rain, earthquakes for hundreds of years!
As the Romans do, I live in Kham and eat Kham rice every day. The food here is similar to that in other Tibetan areas, except that you have to eat four or five meals a day. Zanba is a flour made from fried highland barley and peas. It is the main meal of the Tibetan people and is indispensable for the first few meals. When eating, mix it with butter tea or clear tea, knead it into dough with your hands and eat it.
I am a guest, and every time I catch tsampa, the host always adds a few extra spoons of sugar. In pastoral areas, meat is the main food. Air-dried meat made from fresh raw meat from good parts is a delicacy in Tibetan areas. Dinner is "Tuba" cooked with radish, rape leaves and tsampa to replace the main and non-staple food. There is also a small meal before going to bed, usually blood sausage and noodle soup. Tibetans have a particularly high demand for tea. It is estimated that each person drinks about twenty or thirty bowls of tea a day. When entertaining guests, butter tea is served first, and at least three bowls of butter tea are required. It would be rude for guests to refuse. "Tuba" plus tea, I didn't notice anything when I drank it, but it caused a lot of trouble at night.
Looking back on the days in Kham, the sun has gone and the nights are cold. After packing up the camera after a day's work, I sit around with the landlord and his family under the light, sipping butter tea and tearing into the air-dried meat. The meat is indeed full of Tibetan style.
It is very troublesome to establish new areas in Kham Tibetan area and must be done step by step. First, ask the lama to choose the address and the orientation of the residence. Generally, it is chosen on a sunny slope or near a water source. It was very lively when a new house was being built. Every household came to help carry earth and stones to celebrate. After a new house is built, you cannot paint it with pastel paint. You have to ask a lama to recite Buddhist scriptures and scatter colored grains in each room. It can be decorated with new colors after a new year. Failure to do so is considered unlucky. If the newly built sutra hall can invite eminent monks and living Buddhas to stop and consecrate it, it will be even more auspicious.
I also heard that Tibetan residential buildings are very similar to those of the American Indians who are thousands of miles away from each other. Even the wooden ladders used are exactly the same. This phenomenon has always been a puzzle to many scholars. mystery.