Body Meridian System by Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu; Qing dynasty, dated 1688–1703
Color on cloth
Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu
CHINA, Tibet, Lhoka
Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu was a Tibetan physician and an artist of the Menri school of painting. He was summoned to the Potala Palace in 1688 as one of the two artists chosen to participate in the Tibetan Medicinal Thangka Project supervised by Desi Sangye Gyatso. Because of his work as a physician, Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu had a good understanding of anatomy and was thus able to sketch a well-defined diagram of the human body. The Four Medical Tantras are compiled based on the medical thangkas, such as the Body Meridian System.
Desi Sangye Gyatso wrote Record of the Fifth Dalai Lama, which referenced his conceptualizations and drafts for the Red Palace at the Potala Palace. Based on these references, Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu illustrated the official blueprint. Later, he was appointed the chief overseer of the Menri school for the painting of murals in the Red Palace.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: People, page 156.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Pokorski, Stefanie and Yichao and Mankuang and Miaohsi,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: People },
pages = 156,
title = {{Lhodrak Tenzin Norbu}},
volume = 19,
year = {2016}}