Third ‘Pema Golden Pen’ Tibetan Calligraphy Competition Held in Chengdu, Over 2,000 Artworks Exhibited

Kathmandu — The third “Pema Golden Pen” National Tibetan Calligraphy Competition and Exhibition has been held with great fanfare in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. Listed in the second batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage inventory in 2008, Tibetan calligraphy is regarded as an important component of Chinese culture.

Launched in 2023 and held annually, the third edition of the competition received over 2,000 artworks created by calligraphers from Xizang, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and other regions. According to organisers, this year’s event saw not only a larger number of entries but also notably higher quality and elevated skill levels among the calligraphers. Special categories including digital calligraphy, AI artificial intelligence, and wood, stone and bone carvings were also added to the competition.

Karlep, the first-prize winner and a calligrapher from Maldro Gunggar County in Xizang, said he felt energised by the honour as a researcher of Buddhist philosophy and the Tibetan language. “I will now dedicate myself to training more calligraphy teachers and to the development and preservation of Tibetan calligraphy, an important component of the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation,” he said.

Paksam Dondrub, a digital calligrapher from Ganzi, expressed delight at being able to promote his work through digital media and pledged to continue working towards the digital transformation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. “I want to bring a new lustre to a millennia-old heritage in the digital age,” he said.

The ceremony, organised by the Pema Golden Pen Institute, included the awarding of prizes for outstanding artworks, a digital calligraphy launch, certificates for excellent calligraphy preservation, and a world record announcement.