Tertön

Prologue: The Xi Demon-Suppressing Thangka

Thangka, also called Tangka or Tangka, is a term transliterated from Tibetan, specifically referring to religious scroll paintings mounted with colored silk and hung for worship. It is a unique form of painting in Tibetan culture, with a wide variety of subjects encompassing the history, politics, culture, and social life of the Tibetan people. Historians have honored it as an encyclopedia of the Tibetan nation.

The surviving thangkas in mainland China are mostly works from Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, among which two thangkas named "Xi Demon-Suppressing Chart" have especially drawn the attention of historians.

These thangkas were discovered by the Xi Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Administration Committee during the cataloging of relics from the Norbulingka Palace. Both are identical in size and content, measuring one meter in height and seventy-three centimeters in width. In the painting, the demoness lies on her back, legs slightly bent, right arm raised with wrist drooping, left arm lifted above her head, wrist arched. Her body is adorned with mountains and rivers, veins clearly visible, and numerous temples of various sizes are constructed across her form, including twelve demon-suppressing temples said to have been built in the seventh century, such as the Suppressing Limb Temple and others.

The content of the "Xi Demon-Suppressing Chart" originates from the ancient legend of Songtsen Gampo, the Tibetan king; Princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty; and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal,