Our Founders
Founder: Shao Zhijian
Inheritor of the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage craft of thangka painting
Practitioner in the protection and promotion of thangka cultural heritage
For twenty years, Mr. Shao Zhijian has worked at the forefront of protecting and passing on Tibetan thangka art, part of China's intangible cultural heritage.
He is both a guardian of traditional culture and an active explorer and builder of a contemporary system for transmitting the art of thangka.
Returning to the Plateau and Reviving Endangered Techniques
To organize and understand thangka culture and its traditional methods systematically, Mr. Shao has repeatedly traveled deep into Qinghai, Tibet, and other plateau regions. There, he sought out folk artists and studied traditional thangka painting techniques.
He documented and restored several methods for making natural mineral pigments that were close to disappearing, bringing ancient techniques nearly lost to time back to life.
Building an Artistic System for the Present
Mr. Shao is committed not only to preserving traditional thangka craftsmanship, but also to the development and communication of thangka culture in contemporary society.
By bringing together dispersed folk techniques and organizing the processes and standards of thangka painting, he has helped lay a strong foundation for the art's standardized, systematic, and international development.
Co-founder: Xu Caiyun
Co-founder of Fanchen Thangka
Promoter of thangka culture
As a co-founder of Fanchen Thangka, Ms. Xu Caiyun has been deeply involved in building the brand from its beginning. Together with Mr. Shao, she advances the preservation, communication, and contemporary expression of thangka culture.
A Shared Original Purpose
Throughout the creation and development of Fanchen Thangka, Ms. Xu has kept cultural inheritance at the heart of the work, bringing traditional thangka art together with a modern approach to brand building.
She has actively shaped the brand's cultural framework, helping Fanchen Thangka become not only a platform for presenting thangka works, but also a cultural bridge connecting traditional art with today's public.
Sharing the Beauty of Thangka through Culture
Ms. Xu has long promoted thangka culture through brand communication, cultural content, and public engagement. Her work helps more people encounter thangka, understand it, and appreciate the history and spiritual value behind the art.
Through language closer to contemporary life, she brings this ancient art of the snowlands into modern view so that more people can see, understand, and treasure thangka culture.
Every work presented by Fanchen Thangka carries Mr. Shao's dedication to traditional craftsmanship and Ms. Xu's commitment to sharing thangka culture.
Rooted in inheritance and guided by culture, they protect the art's ancient techniques while exploring new possibilities for thangka in contemporary society.
