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1、The Art Life of ThubtenThubten is a household name across Tibet. The career of this 81-year-old performing artist has spanned seven decades.Famous Chinese crosstalk comedian， Jiang Kun， once said that where there are people， there is Thubten. Over 100 books of work journals are kept on this mans boo
2、kshelf， and the “China Performing Art Peony Awards Lifetime Achievement Award” statuette on his desk proves Jiang Kuns point.Thubten was born into a serf family in Lhasa in 1934. These humble beginnings did not stop him from rising to a remarkable life and career. In 1951， as the peaceful liberation
3、 of Tibet ushered in a new era， the lives of all Tibetans including the then 17-year-old Thubten were changed forever. Nine years later， Thubten， a young man who loved singing and dancing， became a member of the Lhasa City Song and Dance Troupe.National First Grade director and Thubtens good friend，
4、 Tenzin Gonpo， recalled， “Thubten could dance and sing well then， and he also played the fl ute.”“The herdsmen were gasping with admiration at his wonderful herdsmenstyle dance. They asked， Is Mr. Thubten really from the city of Lhasa？” Thubtens performance partner， Migmar， added.If the 26-year-old
5、Thubten had pursued a career as a dancer， the history of Chinas comic art would have missed out on a remarkable name. The person who changed Thubtens life and career was Lobsang Dorje， whose performance of the crosstalk “Drunk” in 1962 gave Thubten his fi rst taste of the art of verbal comedy.“Drunk
6、” is one of the signature works of the Chinese crosstalk master Hou Baolin. Lobsang Dorje saw Hous performance in a theater in Beijing and was deeply inspired. He then came back to Tibet and adapted it into the Tibetan language.The fi rst time Thubten saw “Drunk”， he was completely captivated like e
7、veryone else present. “Each member of the audience was laughing so hard. The performance showed how badly one can behave when intoxicated. It was both funny and educational.” After the show， Thubten ran backstage to fi nd Lobsang Dorje and expressed his wishes to study under him. The man agreed with
8、out any hesitation and gave the transcript to the young man right on the spot. A couple of days later， he started teaching Thubten formally.In the following years， based on traditional Tibetan performing arts and borrowing from Chinese crosstalk， Thubten gradually established the art form of Tibetan
9、 crosstalk. Perhaps his background in song and dance helped or his diligence paid off ， but when Thubtens version of The Harms of Alcohol was performed in public in Lhasas Nyimo County for the fi rst time in 1963， it was received rapturously. Before the show was over， some housewives stood up and ex
10、claimed， “See that？ Thats just the way you act when you get plastered！”Thubten was deeply moved by the peoples laughter and applause. He felt that his dreams were within reach. He made up his mind to dedicate his life to bring happiness to peoples lives with his art.Unfortunately， in 1966， Thubten w
11、as forced to leave his beloved stage. His crosstalk career came to an abrupt end. He did not start performing again until 1978.The performance of The Sea of Songs and Dances marked Thubtens return. After a hiatus of ten-plus years， the man came back with a bang. The number lists the well-known songs
12、 and dances created in the everyday lives of the Tibetans in a humorous way， showing how highly developed and profound the tradition of Tibetan performing art is.Tenzin Gonpo was there at Thubtens comeback show. “He was in top form that day， even better than before. He put more thought into his repe
13、rtoire， and his works became more culturally refi ned.”Thubten had always kept an enthusiasm for his art， even during diffi cult times. Whether he was in a city or rural areas， Thubten would spare no eff ort in furthering his study for his future shows.Every time he was in any rural areas， Thubten w
14、ould waste no time in learning the local folk songs， proverbs， and witticisms to incorporate them into his works. Thubtens performing partner， Migmar， said， “People just see his performances onstage. What they do not see is that he spent more time observing. Thubten once said that it was with this f
15、i rsthand knowledge that we could speak on behalf of the people onstage.”From the 1980s on， when Thubten was well into his 50s， he had an impressive second act of his career. He wrote and performed a series of hit programs such as The Cries of Cultural Relics， The Importance of Dialects， Pretending
16、to Understand， Offering Mixture of Tsampa and Butter on the Third Day of the New Year， Good-Bye to Poverty and Hello to Prosperity， and We Love the Lhalu Wetland.In those days， when transportation was a serous problem， if one wanted to bring entertainment performances to the broad masses， one could only walk. To Thubten and his colleagues， their fi rst trip to Metok remained a most unforgettable one. “The road was just this wide then，” M
