It’s not accidental to want to go to Dege. I had this idea two or three years ago. This small town located deep in the western Sichuan plateau and located on Sichuan-Tibet Highway 317, which is adjacent to Jiangda, Tibet, has always attracted me. Once, a friend brought me back the scriptures printed on the scripture boards of the Dege Sutra Printing House. I saw the exquisiteness of the classics and cultural heritage in them, with strong regional characteristics, which aroused my yearning for the Dege Sutra Printing House. .

Due to the pressure of life and work in the world of mortals, people often feel tired. So, I took a short leave to some quiet places in order to seek some spiritual sustenance and comfort. This is the state of mind when there is no longer the roar of cars in my ears, and when the neon lights of the city are no longer flashing in front of my eyes. For me, every time I travel far, there will always be some opportunities to go to some temples. Buddhism should not be very strange to people like me, but I don’t go to temples to seek protection or escape, but to More is to feel, to experience.

Dege Sutra Printing House is known as "Encyclopedia of Tibetan Culture", "Bright Cultural Pearl in Tibetan Areas" and "Treasure House under Snow Mountain". "Gejixiang Juhuiyuan", was built in 1729, with a total area of ​​about 5,000 square meters, the building covers an area of ​​nearly 3,000 square meters, and a total construction area of ​​more than 9,000 square meters. It is located in the cultural center of Dege County (Gengqing Town) Street, in 1996 by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Whenever the first ray of sunshine falls in the morning, the Tibetan masses will come here and circle around the Sutra Printing House clockwise in a continuous stream. And I follow the flow of people here to indulge my thoughts and travel through time and space to find traces of history. The brick walls and profound tiles here, the towering ancient trees here, and the shrubs and grasses here are all so calm and orderly, so simple and thick, so quiet and mysterious.

The red wall is soaring, the green trees are whirling, quiet and magnificent... The sun shines into the Dege Sutra Printing House through the windows. National intangible cultural heritage inheritor Peng Cuo Zeren held a carving knife and skillfully carved Tibetan characters on wooden boards. Such engraved panels are then printed on Xuan paper or Tibetan paper, and become Tibetan Buddhist scriptures and various Tibetan cultural classics widely circulated in Tibetan areas.

In the Dege Sutra Printing House, there is a nearly 300-year-old woodblock printing technique, which is known to more people through the Internet. "Benevolent Dege" was "picked up" by the "Great Craftsman" program group. In this cultural program, it focuses on the life of top artisans in Asia, and shows the production process of 12 exquisite handmade objects and local cultural customs in the form of micro-records. Dege Sutra Printing Institute was listed on the engraving printing list, which once aroused heated comments from netizens.

As time goes by in the Sutra Printing House, the engraving in the hands of Phuntsok Tsering, which carries the national culture and the memory and emotion of "good land and virtue", will tell the story of "drip water wears away stone" to people in the Internet age.

Under the baptism of the years, Dege Sutra Printing House is filled with the fragrance of ancient printing culture, revealing a vigorous and profound humanistic heritage. This place may be able to accommodate the world, whether it is the past or the present, if you have not seen it with your own eyes, it is hard to believe that there is such a special treasure house of Tibetan culture in the depths of this plateau, in the hinterland of Tibetan areas.

Thank you for every long journey. The road ahead is smooth and bumpy. Step by step, the Dege Sutra Printing House is waiting for people's faith in the quietness of the long river of time, telling a mystery that people can't let go of! The Buddha said: Fate is created by oneself, appearance is born from the heart, everything in the world is a form, if the heart does not move, everything will not move, if the heart does not change, everything will not change! Everything happens, it is all due to fate, meeting by chance, looking back suddenly, just for the moment when the eyes meet! Today, there are very few pilgrims who kowtow and no believers with clasped hands... The blue lotus blooms, the Buddha of Ultimate Bliss appears, or the belief in his heart is the same.

(1) Engraving process

In order to make a printing plate that meets the printing requirements, one must be familiar with its process and the operation of each link, and strictly control the following procedures: the first is the processing of the printing plate, the second is the engraving of the printing plate, and the third is The first is the proofreading of printing plates, and the last is the collection of printing plates.

The material for the woodcut plate is red birch that has just fallen in autumn, and experienced personnel are required to select the material and make the board. First, go up the mountain to find high-quality trees suitable for engraving. Then saw the cut logs into several sections, split them into boards with a thickness of about 5 cm, and place them in a ventilated place to dry in the shade. After the wood boards are dried, put them in sheep manure for a winter, take out the wood boards and boil them in water the next year, then dry the boards again and make plates. According to the specifications of the book version, cut the boards into several pieces. The front and back sides are planed and polished. Then, the characters and patterns that need to be woodcut are written on thin paper and pasted on the wooden board, and then carved into reverse woodblocks. This is a critical stage, and it is necessary to select excellent craftsmen to ensure a good layout and word design. After the books to be engraved have undergone strict and meticulous three-time proofreading, the engravers will engrave according to the handwriting on the horizontal paper, and the editor and reviewer will conduct three proofreadings on the proof after engraving. If the layout has been changed a lot, it must be re-engraved, and if the change is small, it must be re-engraved. Only when it is completely accurate can the printing plate be soaked in ghee for a day and then taken out to dry. Then use a kind of plant root called "Suba" to boil water, wash and dry in the sun. At this point, the production of a printing plate is complete, and it can be put into storage and printed on the shelves according to the catalog. The printing plates processed through the above-mentioned process flow are still uncorrupted, cracked and deformed after a hundred years. Usually, a skilled worker can engrave one side of a book board every day. The workload of painting and engraving is even greater.

In the production of picture plates, the painter first draws the pattern. There are strict measurement standards and drawing rules for patterns. Those who change or invent Buddha statues, mandala, and pagodas at will will not only fail to obtain merit, but will accumulate sins. Therefore, this is the most critical step in creating a picture plate, which determines the success or failure of the picture plate shape. It can be said that every pattern painter of the woodblock printing plate is a top painter. For example, among the authors of the paintings and patterns in the collection of the Dege Sutra Printing Institute, Situ Quji Jiongnai, Zhuba Pubuzeren, Zengba Jiangyang, Jiarong Lakhan, and Tang Lazewang are all well-known in Tibetan areas. painter. Then the well-created drawing is handed over to the engraver for engraving. The engraver plans, scrapes and flattens the wooden board to upper the board, engraves, and then prints it on cloth or Tibetan paper by the printer. In engraving creation, the availability of carving knives, which can be sharpened and used, plays a very important role. When beginners choose knives, they must first understand their respective uses, and then go to the blacksmith shop to customize and buy them. Most carvers can make handy knives themselves. Just as "sharpening a knife does not make woodcutters wrong", every carver must have a natural bluestone rock whetstone. In 1983, the Dege Sutra Printing Institute went to Tibet to find a whetstone. The bluestone rock grinding was opened in Danga Township, Saga County, Shigatse, Tibet. More than a thousand catties of knife stone were transported back for use by the engraver.

The engraving craftsmen of Dege Sutra Printing Institute are trained by teachers and apprentices. All craftsmen have to pass strict examinations and select those who are fully skilled in their skills before they can undertake the task of engraving. Carving artists not only require skillful techniques, but also a good foundation in Tibetan grammar and painting. In particular, craftsmen who carve and paint must understand the basic skills of composition and painting. Tibetans believe that the ancient printing plates handed down by the Dege Sutra Printing House for hundreds of years have been consecrated by many eminent monks, and the printed classics and picture plates have better blessings.

To sum up, it is not difficult to see that the production of each woodcut block is completed through the division of labor and cooperation of painters, engravers, and printers. Each process condenses the painstaking wisdom and fine skills of each craftsman technician. It is also the best artistic achievement of their hard work. The final printed picture board has to be consecrated and blessed by a lama in order to become a beautiful and complete picture board with blessing power. Afterwards, it can be used for worship, visualization or as a base for thangka paintings during practice.

The statue culture of Tibetan Buddhism is not only for believers to publicize and worship religious teachings, but also has a direct connection with the practice activities of Tantric practitioners. The practice of Tibetan Buddhism has strict rituals, righteousness, mystery, and peculiarities. The so-called "three secrets are for use" and "four mantras are for appearance", that is, practitioners can achieve "three secrets corresponding to each other" through visualization of the deity. ", "Becoming a Buddha in one body." Sculptures or portraits of lamas, deities, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors, mandalas, pagodas, etc. are all enshrined and visualized in preparation for Dharma practice.

(2) Printing process

First, the printing group receives ink and paper from the ink grinding group and the paper cutting group respectively, and the printing workers put the cut papers one by one in a large basin filled with clean water for moderate soaking and then dry them properly. On the second day, the printer sitting on the operating stool tilts the printing plate on the lying board in front of him, holds the paper in his left hand, and holds the cloth roller in his right hand, and waits for the ink wiper sitting on the opposite side to spread the ink on the printing plate with an ink cartridge Finally, put the paper on the printing plate with the left hand, and slowly push the roller over the printing plate three times from top to bottom with the right hand, and then turn the printing plate to the back to print on both sides, and then change another printing plate, and so on. . After the daily printing work is completed, the printed finished products are dried one by one, and then the pages are counted and put into storage.

The binding team took out the printed books from the warehouse, aligned the pages of each book in order of page number and threaded them tightly with woolen wool, and then divided and collected the completed books on the grinding bookshelf. Clip a piece of red paper to show the difference. Then use the wedge method to place it neatly on the grinding bookshelf, and the bookbinding worker will continue to push and pull it with a thick scraper to scrape off the rough edges of the pages that exceed the edge of the grinding bookshelf. Grind again until the edge of the book is completely flat. Then apply a layer of red paint, let it dry for a while, remove the grinding bookshelf, add a cover and a back cover to each letter, mark the letter head label made of paper on the left book head, and mark the abbreviated title and letter sequence. The order of functions is generally in Tibetan alphabetical order. The printing of such a set of books is considered complete, and can be requested after storage. The requester wraps the scriptures in scriptures, and then places the upper and lower layers of scripture board guards and binds them with straps. It can be used for worship or chanting, research or study.

Transportation, starting from Chengdu to Dege:

Option 1: Public transportation

First, take a bus from Chengdu Xinnanmen Station to Kangding—the next day from Kangding to Dege (the whole journey is 811.6km)

Method 2: Self-driving

First take 318, pass Chengya and Yakang Expressway to Kangding, branch from Xinduqiao to 317, pass through: Daofu, Luhuo, Ganzi, and then arrive at Dege

Method 3: Airplane

There are four round-trip flights a week from Chengdu to Ganzi Gesar Airport, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; the airport has direct buses to Dege County

Tickets for Dege Sutra Printing House: 50 yuan/person, no taking photos and making loud noises in the courtyard. In order to better understand this treasure house of Tibetan culture, you can ask a young lady or brother to explain it, so as not to look at the flowers on horseback

Accommodation recommendation: Traveling on the road is hard all the way, a comfortable hotel Ling Gesar will surely wash away your fatigue from the long journey.