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Ye Xingsheng,
a Collector of Tibetan Artifacts
Biography of Ye Xingsheng: Born in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan
Province, in August 1948, Ye Xingsheng is a member of the Chinese
Artists' Association, a member of the Council of the Chinese Folk
Art Association, president of the Tibetan Folk Art Association and
a professor of Sichuan United University. He started to produce owrks
of art at age 15, took part in Tibetan art exhibitions at 17, and
set up an art gallery in Lhasa at 18. Then he began a serios study
of traditional Tibetan art and innovated Tibetan cloth painting. His
works have been exhibited at home and abroad and he has won 12 Tibetan
and national prizes. From 1980 to 1985, Ye designed and painted seven
large murals for the Tibet Hall of the Great Hall of the People
in Beijing. 
During his 30 years in Tibet, Ye spent a great deal of energy and
money in collecting Tibetan folk art. In doing this, he has contributed
much to the preservation, inheritance and study of traditional Tibetan
culture. In 1999, he donated his more than 2,000-piece collection
to the People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Some of
the works were exhibited at the "Shining Pearl of the Snowland！China
Tibetan Culture Exhibition" held on March 8, 1999.
Ye Xingsheng has spent half of his life collecting the more than
2,000 works of Tibetan folk art in order to awaken Tibetan confidence
and pride in their historical and artistic creativity. At the "China
Tibet Cultural Exhibition," his Tibetan folk-art collection was
divided into the following classifications: meadow art, culture of
dress and personal adornment, culture of food and bever-age, art of
religion and sculpture, Mani stone carvings, and cultural articles.
Started His Collections at Age 13
In early 1950s, Ye traveled with his parents from Sichuan Province
to Tibet. At 13, he arrived in Shannan Prefecture, the cradle of Tibetan
culture, where he learned the Tibetan language. Because of his love
of painting, he copied some of the murals in the Changzhug Temple.
An old lama once gave him a pot of butter groma. After eating it,
Ye kept the beautiful pot and this became the first item in his collection.
From then on, he continued to obtain pieces of Tibetan folk art over
a period of 35 years.
His second collection also began with a gift. In 1965, Ye lived
in the house of a lonely, old Tibetan man. They spent a year together
and addressed each other as father and son. In saying good-bye, Ye
gave a bag of flour and a pail of edible vegetable oil to his "father,"
while the old man presented his only ancient eggshell vase, made at
the official kiln of Maizhokunggar County, to his "son"
as a souvenir. The vase accompanied Ye wherever he traveled until
now.
"Gyatso" on Parkhor Street
Parkhor Street in Lhasa is not only the commerical center of the
city but it is the place to find Tibetan national art. Covered with
traditional adornments from head to foot, the stall owners sell folk
utensils. In a small grocery, one can find fine articles, some passed
down through many generations. Consequently, this street was important
to Ye. He once purchased metal articles in various shapes from Buddhist
pilgrims here. He also found a set of gilt gears in the furred robe
of a Tibetan woman. Ye was single and lived a relatively dull life
so he frequented Parkhor Street every day. He enjoyed a good reputation
there. The peddlers didn't know what work he did, but they knew that
he was willing to spend money. They called him "Gyatso,"
the most common name among Tibetan men. Some Tibetans even helped
him with his collecting.
"They're My Children."
Ye is both rational and obsessed by his collections. "Every
time I get an addition to my collection, I gain more knowledge and
respect for the Tibetan people... Each addition shows technology and
wisdom; dozens of pieces together illustrate a branch of learning
and a culture; all of them combined demonstrate the glorious history
and civilization of Tibet. After acquiring 2,000 items, I have understood
the weight and greatness of the nation which the Tibetans themselves
may not know."
Ye sees the wisdom and culture contained in his Tibetan collections.
"Tibetans put a lot of energy into the making of even a simple
article," Ye says. "Taking the ring as an example, it is
actually a fine ink bottle or it is neither a ring nor an ink bottle
but a work of art. All these details amply show the Tibetan's love
of life and their creativity. A Tibetan's furred robe is also a type
of culture. Pulling the fur collar upward, a person can live through
the winter. Putting down the fur sleeves, one can spend summer. Covering
the body, the robe becomes a quilt. Under the body, the robe becomes
a bed. It's the national custom to travel around wearing such a robe.
It's more a national wisdom. Tibetan works of folk art and articles
for daily use, such as herdsmen's steels, belts and snuff boxes, women's
wrist adornments and jewelry together with ordinary pail of butter,
all show the Tibetans' aesthetic taste is as high as the altitude
of the land."
Among all that he has collected, Ye especially favors a standing
bowl and case. The blue and white porcelain bowl was made in the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644) by Han people while the case was an Tibetan handicraft.
The Tibetan metal base inside the case holds the bowl firmly. They
have been preserved intact. Through the observation, Ye has gained
a further understanding of the Tibetans.
Ye says, "Everyone believe that the Tibetans are rough, bold
and uninhibited, which is incomplete. Carefulness and sensitivity
are also part of their personalities. You can imagine that a Tibetan
cultivates the character of independent thinking and creating on the
boundless and quiet grassland." Ye likes his collections, but
loves the beautiful, borad and profound soul of the Tibetans more.
Ye believes that collecting is not only a fine pursuit but a benefit
to his painting and writing. He once created a work called "Soul
of the Plateau" using an ox head, Tibetan knife, bone adornments,
copper, auspicious scarf and stripes to express his impression of
the plateau and Tibetan people. He draws inspiration from the appearance,
color, stripes and patterns of his collections.
Valuable Collections and Poor Collector
Ye can't calculate how much money he has invested in his collections.
He didn't expect that they would be valuable in future. Someone has
made a rough estimate that his collections are now worth more than
100 million yuan, but Ye says that he would rather live on his meager
salary than exchange anything for his collections. He takes money
coolly. It is his way of living.
He hoped eventually to find a good place for hix coolections, hoping
their tremendous social value would not be neglected. Maybe it would
be best to leave them in his will to museums, but Ye finally decided
to donate them all.
On February 11, 1999, the Tibet Museum in Lhasa held a solemn ceremony
for Ye. Lhakpa Phuntslk, vice president of the Tibet Autonomous Region,
declared, "After receiving Ye's collections, the Tibet Museum
will set up a Ye Xingsheng Tibetan Folk Art Hall, gradually perfecting
the collections so as to make it the base ffor the study, promotion
and development of Tibetan folk culture." Ye was engaged as an
advisor to the museum.
Of course, Ye hopes an unprecedented change might occur in his life.
He often regrets the opportunity he missed in the short love affair
he had when he was young. The woman who came to Tibet for him eventually
left. Ye says, "The love has become a memory. I want to have
a home now." |
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