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Sing-par tab-ni: Woodblock Printing
  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00002089
    Country Bhutan
    ICH Domain Traditional craft skills
    Address
    At present National Library & Archives of Bhutan (NLAB) is located at Kawajangsa under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs is only surviving institution with Xylography unit that prints and sells xylographed print texts in the country. Though there were many Dzongs (fortress), monasteries and temples that owns quite huge numbers of xylography woodblocks and printing press across the country but gradually discontinued due to the several inevitable circumstances and there are only few numbers of institutions besides NLAB such as; Simtokha Rigney or Rigzhung School, Simtokha Zherim Shedra (Primary monastic school) and Thubten Loselling Dratshang (Monastic centre) in Norbugang, Samtse until 2007 yet, one after another, these printing center couldn’t sustain due to the emerging advanced printing technologies.
    Year of Designation 2019
Description The Bhutanese tradition of xylography and printing was begun in the 15th century by Terton (Hidden treasure discoverer) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521) and his sons, creating the root of virtues for the wellbeing of both living and dead in the country. Thereafter, the biography of the Terton and his collected works were printed on woodblocks and distributed to his residential monasteries and his patrons both in Bhutan and Tibet. Following the arrival of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) in Bhutan, the hitherto divided country was united under the main influence of the dual system of governance. Thereafter, the successive abbots of the monastic system and heads of the temporal system and then the successive far-sighted kings of the Wangchuck Dynasty, together with the heads of various other schools of Buddhism have continued to uphold the tradition. Skills training in woodblock making, engraving and printing were facilitated to provide sufficient copies of works on science and crafts, and the biographies and excellent teachings to be distributed to the communities of ordained monks and practitioners, dzongs and temples throughout the country. Therefore, Trashigang in the east, Trongsa in the centre, and Punakha and Paro in the west of the country became popular centres for such activities, until the reign of 3rd King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928-1972). Starting 1970s, however, distribution has entered into a commercial phase, with increasing numbers of scriptural works being offset printed in India and then returned to Bhutan for distribution. At the same time, the interest in and practice of the traditional method of printing on woodblocks have been gradually losing their value among the users. Nowadays, printing machines have been set up in ever increasing numbers countrywide and these can produce, in larger quantities and within a very short time, scriptural volumes and other books that have a clear typeface, and are colourful and pleasing in appearance. On the one hand, this is a clear indication of progress in economic development, but on the other, this has become one of the main reasons for losing the precious heritage of woodblock print, among others.
Social and cultural significance The significances of this craftsmanship are primarily to uphold the sacred Buddhist teachings by engraving the scriptures on the woodblocks and circulating the texts after printing from these engraved woodblocks. Printing prayer flags and relevant spiritual figures for remedial rituals and rites.
Transmission method In Bhutan, transmission of the knowledge and skills related to Xylography printing is usually undertaken by teaching or engaging the interested candidates in the printing process. The process normally requires two persons for better results, but one person alone can also do the job in cases of urgency when there is no one else available to help. The woodblock is first placed flat on a printing bench. The following steps are followed for printing. 1. The Daphne paper is dampened overnight and made ready, neither too wet nor too dry. 2. According to preference and available resources, the right kind of ink, red or black, should be made ready by adding any pure ingredients. 3. The woodblock for the scriptures that is being printed should be taken out and placed flat on the bench and bound firmly so that it does not move while printing. It must be ensured that the head of the woodblock in alphabetical order is kept towards the person who will use the roller. 4. At the right side of the roller man, there is placed a flat stone, because his job also includes applying ink onto the woodblock. He pours the ink on the flat stone and from there he takes the required amount of ink on the soft brush then gently and evenly smears the ink over the woodblock. He sweeps the brush first up and down and then left to right, until the entire surface has been covered by ink. The printed paper shows the result of his expertise when every single letter and also the side margins appear printed evenly and neatly on the paper. 5. Once the ink has been applied to the woodblock satisfactorily, the paper is placed carefully and evenly on the board. After the paper is taken off the board, the printer should assess the quality. If some parts are empty of prints or if the printed matters are overlapping it is a sign that the paper is too dry, if the inks have bled into the paper it is a sign that the paper has more moisture than required. If the letters are wedged with one another. In case there no defect at all, then all the pages set aside should be completed without stopping. 6. Once the front page is completed, the woodblock is placed upside down to print the back of the leaf. At that time if the letters on the woodblock are facing right, the letters on the printed letters on the front leaf should face left, or vice-versa. This is to make the reading easier when flipping over the page from front to back to continue reading the scripture. The front leaf should also be well aligned with the four corner margins and the pure field so that no part of the printed area gets cut away while trimming the pages later. 7. The printed pages are spread on dry and clean surfaces of planks and left to air dry, arranged in proper sequential order. 8. Once the printed pages have dried, the pages should be arranged in proper order like a scripture volume and placed on a plank and compressed under a heavy plank, adding more weight. This helps to straighten any creased pages. Make sure that the pages are properly dried, otherwise they will stick to each other, or the ink from one page will appear on the facing page too, and possibly cause the growth of fungus. In the case of printing prayer flags, the woodblock and the flag cloth should match in size. Upon applying the ink onto the block, the cloth is placed neatly on the woodblock and printed using whatever form of rolling materials are utilised in the local tradition.
Community The Late Lopon (Teacher) Sangay Dorji of Simtokha Rigzhung School at Semtokha and Lam (Spiritul master) Ogyen Tenzin of Thubten Loselling Dratshang in Norbugang, Samtse are the two institutions in middle 2010 who discontinued the printing tradition. Currently, NLAB is the lone institution that preserves and promotes the woodblock engraving as well as xylography printing skills. Mr. Yeshey Namgyal (Instructor), Phurba Thinley, artisan and Kelzang Dawa, apprentice were the practitioners of the printing element in the country. Data collected by: Mr. Yeshi Lhendup, NLAB
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/

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