Qamba Zunzhub is the board chairman of the Lhasa Caiquan Liming Handicrafts Co. Ltd, principal of the Lhasa Caiquan Welfare Special School, and director of the Lhasa Caiquan Welfare and Recuperation Clinic.

He is indeed a man absorbed in work day by day.

But, in the eye of numerous business people along Barkor Street in Lhasa, he is none other than the "shoe king."

In fact, they say, about 60 percent of Tibetan shoes created as Tibetan tourist souvenirs that are on sale in Barkor come from Qamba Zunzhub.

When this writer met him recently, he quickly turned the topic of conversation to Tibetan shoes and began showing us examples.

"This is a pair of Songba shoes loved by Tibetan women," he said.

"Songba Tinyima is the best of the Songba shoes as they bear patterns much cherished by noble women in the past."

According to Qamba Zunzhub, Tiri shoes are favored by working women. "Sown with thick threads, they come from Shannan with soles made of locally-available linen. Shannan farmers gather the linen and insert the plant into the sole for us to further process."

In the Tibetan-inhabited areas, there are many kinds of Tibetan shoes. Due to inconvenient transport facilities, Tibetan herders tend to focus entirely on their cows and sheep.

"My father saw in Ngari that herders who wore sheep hide coats and leather shoes and lived in ox-hide tents," said Qamba Zunzhub.

"Unlike herders, farmers wore woolen shoes."

Qamba Zunzhub invited us to sip buttered tea and he himself also took a mouthful.

"I have no idea whether you have noticed the fact that a pair of Tibetan shoes is identical. With your shoes, you have to ensure you put the left one on the left foot; but you don't have to do this if you are wearing Tibetan shoes because there is no distinction between left and right.

"Making Tibetan shoes is a hard task. Shoe makers need to make a hole in the soles with pointed tools and very often their hands are covered with blisters."

Life Story

When we asked him to tell us something about his life, he made the following remarks: "I used to be a member of the Lhasa Chengguan District Song and Dance Ensemble Troupe. In February 1960, when the troupe was financially so pinched that it had to be disbanded, I lost my living.

"Coincidently, Chengguan District was organizing a Tibetan shoe-making workshop and eight skilled masters joined. Each of them contributed 50 Yuan as a kind of share and they worked with tools they had brought with them. I was lucky to be assigned to work in the workshop.

"Sometime later, I was assigned as an accountant of the workshop, and became a member of the factory management committee in 1970.

"By 1985, I was promoted to be a deputy director of the shoe factory, and further promoted to be its director five years later.

There were three shoe factories in Chengguan District, and cut-throat competition kept them close to bankruptcy in the face of a saturated market.

I brought the directors of other two shoe factories together and discussed with them as to whether we could join forces, but I failed to talk them over.

I had some 100 workers to feed. What was to be done? I debated with myself time and again. What was most serious was that the younger generation was reluctant to learn how to make Tibetan shoes, which were unique to Tibet. To turn the tide, I eventually organized the Lhasa Caiquan Welfare Handicrafts Factory.

To seek development of the new factory, I managed to recruit Zhaxi Cering, Benba Toinzhub and Trileg Tachin, all of them veteran shoe makers. At the same time, special arrangements were made for some young people to learn the skills from them. Today, the new factory can make dozens of kinds of Tibetan shoes, and it has become the best of its kind in the Lhasa area."

Varieties of Shoes

Qamba Zunzhub showed us around in the factory. In the exhibition hall, he took up a pair of yellow Tibetan shoes. "This is what we call Gyiachin shoes, meaning rainbow in Chinese.

"The yellow pair of Tibetan shoes is comparatively lower in quality, but they carry religious meaning and hence are loved by monks."

Qamba Zunzhub showed us another pair of Tibetan shoes with flat and upturned soles and told us they were the favorite of officials.


"When I was young, I saw shoes, blue or dark green, worn by artists with the troupe of the local government of Tibet.

"In the past, Tibetans wore shoes that matched their social status. Religious people love to wear shoes made of satin or woolen fabrics. Namgyi Zhacang of the Potala Palace enjoyed the highest ranking among monasteries in Tibet, and people there wore this kind of shoe.

"Shasum shoes were worn only by monks with certain monasteries. The front part was wrapped with ox- hide...."

Souvenir Shoes

In Lhasa streets we noticed small embroidered shoes available as souvenirs. Many told us they were made by Qamba Zunzhub himself. When we asked him how he devised such shoes, the smart man showed us a paper package and told us a story:

"Years ago, when Lhogar was mayor of Lhasa City, we received a Netherlands Government Delegation led by a woman. She presented me with a gift which she said was similar to one presented to Mayor Lhogar.

"I unpacked the package and found two tiny wooden shoe models unique to the Netherlands. What were meaningful were patterns on the models, including the sea coast and windmills.

"This reminded me that we should cherish our traditional culture just as artists in the Netherlands did, and it finally persuaded me to organize people to make tiny embroidered Tibetan shoes as souvenirs and gifts."

"And that's all," the man smiled.


Qamba Zunzhub talking to the writer about Sumba shoes


Songba shoes


woolen shoes


boots


Trying out Tibetan boots together with guests


Qamba Zunzhub (first right,front row) visited Nepal as a member of the TAR Trade Delegation.


Collective photo taken with visitors.The first right is shoe making master Chilei Taqin


Garlho shoes

China Tibet Magazine
TEXT&PHOTOS BY SOIQUN