Dongba painting, the oldest and most representative religious painting of the ancient Naxi people, is also the people's most special and characteristic artistic legacy.

Dongba painting originated from the ancient Dongba hieroglyphs (pictures representing words) as well as from the various Dongba religious activities. For instance, during the sacrificial ceremonies, the ceremony masters had to dress like Buddha or gods, or animals and plants, or even demons. Dongba artists then would draw these images down on paper, creating a primitive form of today's Dongba painting. Dongba scroll paintings as well as the art of Dongba painting are invaluable treasures in the ethnic gallery.

Dongba painting boasts hieroglyph's five classic artistic characters: the Beiye scripture form, exquisite lines, beautiful colors, dynamic expression and sharp features.

Dongba paintings, as an important part of Dongba culture, were mainly about the gods and ghosts who Naxi people believed to exist. The paintings also reflected various aspects of the people's social life.

Dongba paintings fall into different categories, with each one retelling one or several moving stories. According to the forms employed, the paintings can be categorized into five kinds.

Bamboo-pen paintings, the first kind, were mostly used for the bindings and illustrations of Dongba scriptures. These paintings were painted on a piece of bark-made paper by artists using a tipped bamboo plate as a pen with ink on the tip.

Wooden plate paintings, the second kind , were a special kind of Dongba painting that was used for sorcery activities. On a flat wooden plate, a Dongba artist would first draw the sketch with a brush and then add colors to finish the picture. Usually with ingenious designs, odd appearances, vivid expressions and bright colors, this type of painting possesses a unique artistic style.

Scroll paintings, the third kind, blended the painting arts of Naxi, Han and Tibet people. Scroll paintings are, as the name implies, long, multi-piece, or single-piece scroll paintings. In the ancient times, Dongba artists painted on flax, and later on calico. Sometimes, paper was also used. Compared with the above two types, scroll paintings are more accurate in design patterns, and richer in tableau (picturesque presentation) with golden or silvery lines sketched sometimes.

Card paintings, the fourth kind, were done in different forms. Some card paintings were done with bamboo pens, and so were also referred to as "bamboo pen paintings." Yet there were also some colored ones done with a brush. A few of these paintings were done on paper flags, which were used for funerals.

The Road to Heaven
Of all the Dongba paintings, "The Road to Heaven" is the most famous one. With a length of over
14 meters and a width of 26 centimeters, it is consisted of four parts: the hell, the human world,
the nature and the heaven, vividly depicting more than 300 figures and dozens of rare animals and
birds. Featuring bright colors and vivid characters, the piece, while bearing the influence from
Tibetan painting art, also boasts the styles and characteristics of traditional Naxi painting.

"The Road to Heaven" was mostly used at funerals to release the deceased people's souls from purgatory. The painting displayed the scenes of the souls going through the hell, the human world, the natural world and the heaven. It has been considered a piece with high cultural and artistic value.

In recent years, a contemporary Dongba painting school has appeared in China's painting circles, mainly consisting of the young and middle-aged Naxi painters. While inheriting the quintessence of Dongba painting art, the painters strive to look at this ancient ethnic group and the culture of its people from a new perspective. The result has been the creation of numerous pictures with a fresh flavor of the times and a strong ethnic touch. Both bold and expressive in their techniques of expression, the contemporary artists are able to create pictures with rich connotations, vividly exhibiting the age-long history and unique customs as well as the love and life pursuits of ancient Naxi people.

Dongba paintings have aroused the interests of the painting circles both home and abroad because of the Naxi people and their religion and just because of the paintings themselves.

Author: Jessie