Tsha Tsha----The Tibetan clay molded Buddhist images

The Tibetan clay molded Buddhist images, called Tsha Tsha in Tibetan, are a classic representation of Tibetan art in Buddhism. Because of the Tibetans' artistic talents and deep devotion to their religion, Tsha Tshas are a rare inheritance to the world and an irreplaceable treasure of human civilization. Despite repeated destruction caused by nature and human disasters, many Tsha Tshas survived and were found in widely distributed places throughout China. Not only are Tsha Tshas valuable for collection, they are important in the study of Tibetanology, including religion, arts, culture relics, and the culture influences between Tibetan and Han nationalities. In the past, museums in China and abroad had little enthusiasm in the study of Tsha Tshas. The reasons for the unpopularity of Tsha Tshas among experts are: The belief that Tsha Tshas are too fragile for collection and the experts did not have the opportunity to see the diversity of Tsha Tshas and to appreciate some of the best Tsha Tshas masterpieces. Thus, specialized studies of Tsha Tshas were almost nonexistent. Hence there is an urgent need for a reference text to provide a systematic introduction to the subject on Tsha Tshas. This pioneering book serves this purpose and provides a basis for further studies.
Mr.Liu Dong, the author of this book, was born in 1944. He is a scholar, specializing in inscription and calligraphy, at the Tianjin Art Academy. By early family training, he is also an expert in appraisal of Chinese antiques, and he is an avid antique collector himself. His interest in Tsha Tshas began over thirty years ago, and in the last ten years, he has devoted all of his efforts on studying and collecting Tsha Tshas. Mr.Liu has traveled to over ten Chinese provinces and regions, to which Tibetan Buddhism has spread, for onsite investigations.
Mr.Liu started his research on Tsha Tshas when there was only minimal understanding and ambiguous terminology on this subject. With the intention to write an introduction to Tsha Tshas, he developed a classification scheme based on historic periods, regional characteristics, and artistic styles. His systematic and comprehensive analysis on Tsha Tshas presented convincing academic viewpoints and practical research methods.
This book includes a collection of 154 classical Tsha Tshas that are so exquisite that most of them cannot even be found in Tibetan habitants today. Furthermore, pictures of these Tshas Tshas, for the most part, have not been published before. Each picture in this book comes with detailed description and accurate data, providing multi-dimensional information.
The pictures carefully selected in this book represent over one thousand years of Tsha Tshas history, which make this book a valuable multidisciplinary research resource. This book also includes precious documentary pictures which the author took in very unusual circumstances. Such pictures, which are also published for the first time, provide worthy information and can further the reader's interest.
Mr. Ren Ji-Yu, the famous eminent scholar in the field of social science, has highly praised this book as "a treasure of Chinese art and a bridge for the exchange between Han and Tibetan Buddhist culture." At the turn of the new century, Tibetanology will become an even more popular subject. It is at this time that the author included in his book a map of the geographic distribution of Tsha Tshas in China. This map, the result of hard works of many years by the author, is also marked with 149 county level or higher protected locations related to Tsha Tshas. The publication of this book aims to appeal to the whole society to increase awareness of, to arouse interest in and to protect the treasure of Tsha Tshas.