Cultural hybridity and the evolution of Buddhist art: Exploring the integration of Chinese and Tibetan traditions in a globalized age

Abstract

This study looks at how Chinese Buddhist art and Tibetan thangka are changing with mixed materials, cultural exchange, and new ways of showing art. It follows the line from early Chinese change in the Han period and the blended styles at Dunhuang to the strict rules of thangka. It then looks at today, when artists use acrylic, resin, synthetic fabrics, digital drafts, and online platforms. The study uses two ideas. One is that materials help make meaning. The other is that cultures can mix and create new forms. The paper says that sacred meaning grows from several parts at once. These parts are the choice of materials, the accuracy of image rules, the place of ritual, and the viewer’s intention. The paper offers a simple test with three points. These are material, image, and context. It also suggests a two track model that separates ritual use from display and teaching. The findings show that mixed materials can keep and reshape sacred meaning when blessing rites are present, when image rules are kept, and when curators explain clearly. If these parts are missing, works can lose context and turn into spectacle. The study ends with simple advice for artists, curators, and teachers on a middle path that keeps the aim of the doctrine and also supports global sharing, long life of the work, and learning.