LHASA, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Allegedly having had a dream, a 13-year-old Tibetan boy has since been able to tell Tibetans" most respected story about a legendary hero -- King Gesser, which is also the longest epic in the world.

　　This has aroused enormous interest among experts to explain the boy"s mysterious capability.

　　The boy, named Sitar Doje in the Tibetan language, is a fifth-grade student at a local elementary school in Shading Town, Banbar County in Qamdo Prefecture. He said he fell asleep one day when hewas 11 years old, and woke up miraculously able to tell the story of King Gesser. Now the boy can talk and sing about the story for six consecutive hours.

　　The 10-million-word Tibetan epic portraying legendary hero King Gesser has more than 200 parts that have been passed down from generation to generation as oral works of folk art.

　　According to Tibetan tradition, people who learned to tell the epic story through dreaming are addressed as "God-taught Master." In Tibet, many epic-tellers since ancient times claimed that they had learned to tell the story in dreams.

　　Cering Puncog, vice director of the Ethnic Institute of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, said there have been many excellent talkers of the King Gesser story in Qamdo Prefecture. Hesaid Sitar Doje became a capable talker probably because he had listened to old talkers" presentations many times, thought of themvery often in his mind and dreams, and finally recited the epic asa "natural" talker.

　　The Cultural Bureau of Qamdo Prefecture has dispatched staff to check the boy"s ability and video tape a live performance of the boy.

　　Cering Puncog said the most interesting point is that the boy was an educated person who has almost finished his elementary schooling, receiving a modern education. So he is far different from old story talkers most of whom were illiterate. Among the 40 best talkers publicly acknowledged in Tibet, only four can read.

　　For example, Samzhub, a 82-year-old Tibetan folk story-teller, is regarded as the master of talking and singing Gesser. Although unable to read a single word, the old man can tell 65 parts of theepic, totaling more than 20 million words. The Tibetan edition of a five-part King Gesser, compiled according to Samzhub"s telling about the long story, was published in 2001.

　　China has about 140 Gesser story-telling masters. They are mainly from three ethnic groups that had some close relation with the legendary King in their ancient culture: Tibetans, Mongolians or Tu ethnic people. These masters
are all now cherished as "national treasures."

　　According to Cering, far fewer people can talk and sing Gesser"s story, and most living talkers are in their late years. The 13-year-old boy who can talk and sing about the epic indicates that the valuable oral heritage has young successors and can survive inmodern times.

　　To save the epic, the country has published the Academic Works Collection of Gesserology, edited by Zhao Bingli, a research fellow at the Academy of Social Sciences of Qinghai Province.

　　There are two different views about the time of the creation ofthe epic: one says that the epic was produced in the period from the beginning of the Christian era to the 6th century, based on the story of a real tribal chief who tamed forces of evil such as ghosts and goblins, and safeguarded a stable environment for people.

　　Some hold that the epic emerged between the 11th and 13th centuries, when Tibetans hoped for a hero to appear and unify separated Tibet.

　　The Chinese government set up a special organization to save and catalogue the epic in 1979, and listed the research work as a major research program in every Five-Year Plan.

　　Currently, Tibet has collected nearly 300 hand-written or woodcut copies of the epic. More than 3 million copies of the Tibetan version of the epic have been printed. The epic has been translated into Chinese, English, Japanese,
French and other foreign languages.

World"s longest epic keeps growing
(2003.04.02 11:24:07)

　　XINING, April 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The Life of King Gesar, a Tibetan heroic tale and the world"s longest epic, is becoming longer, according to Gesarologists.

　　The epic folk tale of the ethnic Tibetan group in China, was created between the 10th and 16th centuries, and tells the story of the ancient Tibetan King Gesar who conquered other Tibetan tribes and brought stability to Tibet.

　　For a thousand years, the tale has been passed down through singing or recitation by ballad singers or lyricists among Tibetans, Mongolians, and Tu and Naxi people living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

　　Jonba Dongchu, director of the Gesar Institute of Qinghai, said that as experts make verbatim recordings of the balladeers" singing, they are finding a lot of new content of the masterpiece.

　　So far, it has been generally accepted that the epic comprises more than 200 volumes, with 500,000 lines.

　　"But that is just what has been compiled and the epic is far more than that," Jonba said.

　　Meanwhile, more balladeers have been found and the content theysing is not always the same, showing that the epic is being constantly developed.

　　Qinghai now boasts about 100 Gesar ballad singers, mostly from ethnic Tibetan or Mongolian groups in outlying areas with poor access to traffic or modern communications.

　　"Without them, the longest epic would have been forgotten during the long process of history," Jonba said.

　　The Life of King Gesar is regarded as a brilliant literary workas valuable as those of ancient Greece or India and it enjoys unfading popularity in the world.

　　In October 2001, at its 31st conference, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed the millennium of "King Gesar" as one of the anniversaries to be marked by its member countries in 2002 and 2003, the director noted.

Tibetan Gesaer Museum
(2002.07.30 14:56:03)

Local actors perform the traditional epic "Gesaer" on the
inauguration ceremony of Gesaer Museum in Guide County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, west China"s Qinghai Province, July, 30, 2002. The museum includes exhibit rooms, a bedchamber and statues. Gesaer was an ancient Tibetan hero, whose story goes round the Tibet, Mongolia, Tu, Naxi and other ethnic groups.

Commentary: Local colleges monumental in Tibet"s culture
(2002.07.29 16:06:17)

LHASA, July 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The graduation of the first group of postgraduates from colleges in Tibet Autonomous Region has proved that local institutions of higher learning have become sacred sites where traditional Tibetan culture is carried forward and developed.

　　The 10 postgraduates, all Tibetans, completed their post-graduate studies and were awarded graduation and master"s degree certificates on July 17. They majored in Tibetology, the history of the Tibetan ethnic group, Tibetan language and Tibetan medicine-- which constitute the core of Tibetan culture -- over the past three years. Their success shows that Tibetans can promote and carry forward their traditional culture in pace with the times.

　　This was unimaginable in the past, however. Before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, there was not a single school in Tibet in a modern sense and education was only a tool controlled and manipulated by temples, with some people taught in private schools. Tibetan culture and art were made to cater to the nobles and high officials, and the feudal serfdom shackled the spread and growth of fine Tibetan culture.

　　King Gesar, the longest epic poem in the world, was then only handed down orally by folk ballad singers, who, at the bottom of the social ladder, could only make a living by singing the story of King Gesar, the legendary hero of the Tibetan ethnic group. Butthe ballad-singing was regarded by the nobles as "beggars" hurly-burlies".

　　For a prolonged historical period, many fine aspects of Tibetanculture ceased to develop and some were on the verge of extinction.

　　Historical records show that in old Tibet, there were only a few schools for monks and high officials and few private schools, with less than 3,000 students at most. Among ordinary Tibetans, less than two percent of the school-age children were at school, with the illiteracy rate standing at over 90 percent.

　　The founding of the Qamdo primary school, with the help of the People"s Liberation Army (PLA), in March 1951, marked the emergence of modern schooling in Tibet. In the ensuing half century, the Chinese central government helped Tibet set up a comprehensive modern education system covering elementary education, the education of pre-school children and adults, vocational and higher education.

　　Tibet"s first school of higher learning, which focuses on fostering and
training local Tibetan cadres, was set up in 1958. Tibet Gongxue (Public School) provides not only liberal education courses, but also courses of Tibetan ethnic culture. Tibetan language has remained a required course for all those studying in the school over the past four decades and more.

　　Tibet University, the first multiversity in Tibet, offers such courses as
the Tibetan language, Tibetan art and the history of the Tibetan ethnic group. More than 10,000 students, 85 percent ofwhom are of Tibetan and other ethnic groups, have graduated from the university since its establishment in 1985.

　　With an aim to develop and carry forward traditional Tibetan medicine, the College of Tibetan Medicine was founded with the assistance of the central government. The college has become the largest and most authoritative educational institution of Tibetan medicine in China.

　　Tibetan experts and scholars have made marked achievements in the study of Tibetology, the history of the Tibetan ethnic group, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan culture, art, music and relations with other parts of China, and the epic King Gesar in addition to theircontributions to educating university students over past decades.

　　Tibet University and the College of Tibetan Medicine opened post-graduate courses on the history, languages and art of China"sethnic groups, and a course in the Tibetan medicine starting 1998.

　　The founding and development of colleges and universities in Tibet signify the real revival of the cultural consciousness of the Tibetan ethnic group. Tibet"s colleges and universities have become major venues for people to systematically study, sort out and carry forward the traditional Tibetan culture. They also serveas important bridges through which traditional Tibetan culture is mingled with the process of modernization and globalization.

Chinese, foreign scholars share views on noted Tibetan epic
(2002.07.29 14:57:08)

XINING, July 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The fifth international symposium on the world"s longest epic poem, "Life of King Gesar", has ended in this capital of northwest China"s Qinghai province.

　　"The life of King Gesar," a folk epic of the ethnic Tibetan group in China, is the world"s longest epic, comprising 36 volumes in 15 million words, with one million to 1.5 million lines in poetry alone in addition to those in prose. The epic enjoy unfading popularity in areas inhabited by people of the Tibetan, Mongolia and Tu nationalities.

　　"The life of King Gesar", cited as the longest epic in the world, has been
passed down by ballad singers or lyricists from generation to generation among Tibetans, Mongolians, Tu and Naxi people living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

　　The epic is regarded as a brilliant literary work as valuable as those of ancient Greece or India.

　　More than 150 Gesarologists from China and from such foreign countries as the United States, Japan, India, Germany, France and Mongolia attended the five-day workshop on the life of legendary Tibetan hero, which opened on July 22 at the joint sponsorship of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Qinghai Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

　　The participants have shared views on the Tibetan epic by reading a number of academic papers and holding academic discussions during the workshop.

　　Bouchenaki Mounir, an official from the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), calledthe 1,000-year-old legend a "living treasure of humanity".

　　Jiaoba Dongzhu, director of the Gesar Institute of Qinghai, said the epic was also well-known in dozens of nations.

　　Last October, at its 31st conference, the UNESCO listed the millennium of "King Gesar" as one of the anniversaries to be marked by its member countries in 2002 and 2003, the director noted.

Young ballad singers keep world"s longest epic alive
(2002.07.26 16:44:51)

XINING, July 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A young ballad singer from China"s northwest Qinghai province fascinated a packed audience recently at an international seminar on Gesar, the world"s longest epic poem.

　　Dawa Zhagba, 24, a brilliant Tibetan singer from the Yushu Tibet autonomous prefecture in Qinghai, can recite more than 100 verses of the "Life of King Gesar", the story of an ancient Tibetan king who brought peace and stability to the region by conquering the demons of other tribes.

　　"The life of King Gesar," a folk epic of the ethnic Tibetan group in China, is the world"s longest epic, comprising 36 volumesin 15 million words, with one million to 1.5 million lines in poetry alone in addition to those in prose. The epic enjoys unfading popularity in area inhabited by people of the Tibetan, Mongolia and Tu nationalities.

　　The epic in 200 verses has been orally handed down by ballad singers for 1,000 years in China.

　　"To our great relief, young ballad singers like Dawa will continue handing down the masterpiece," said Prof. Lan Qogya at the Northwest Institute for Nationalities.

　　China boasts about 100 Gesar ballad singers, mostly from ethnicTibetan or Mongolian groups in outlying areas with poor access to traffic or modern communications, says Yang Enhong, a prestigious Gesarologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

　　"These singers are priceless national gems," she said. "Withoutthem, the world"s longest epic could have sunk into oblivion in the long course of history."

　　To retain the original form of the epic and protect it from theimpact of
modern society, experts in China have started making verbatim recordings of the balladeers" singing, which will be compiled into more versions of the masterpiece.

　　Meanwhile, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization has designated 2002 and 2003 as the years tocelebrate the
millennial anniversary of the epic poem, believed todate from the 10th century.

World marks 1000-year-old epic poem "King Gesser"
(2002.07.18 20:11:55)

CHENGDU, July 18 (Xinhuanet)-- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2002 and 2003 for marking the millenary of the world"s longest epic poem "King Gesser."

　　"King Gesser" was written about 1,000 years ago in Tibet and quickly spread around the Himalayan mountains region. It tells thestory of an ancient Tibetan king who conquered the devils of otherTibetan tribes and made Tibet stable.

　　Foreign scholars first read the epic in 1716 when a Mongolian edition was printed in Beijing.

　　Perlath, a Russian traveler brought the epic to his country in 1776 and commented on the character of Gesser.

　　"King Gesser" has been studied around the world for more than two hundred years. In 1836, the Mongolian edition of the epic was printed in Russia and in 1839, it was translated into German and published in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

　　The publication of "King Gesser" in 1939 attracted wide attention in
international academic circles and sparked Western research into the epic. Later, two schools of thought developed.

　　One branch represented scholars from Mongolia and the former Soviet Union. Ce Darmutinsullen, a Mongolian scholar wrote a treatise on the historical sources of the poem.

　　Research into the epic blossomed around the 1960s. Two French scholars, Alexander Davy Nell and Professor Stillen made a great academic contribution during this period.

　　Professor R.A. Stein wrote and published "Research on "King Gesser " and folk artists" in 1959. It was regarded as a masterly summary of Western research.

　　The seventh international forum on Tibetan studies, held in Austria in June 1995, discussed "King Gesser " as a special topic for the first time. The epic"s rich and legendary content plus unique ethnic features again deeply impressed international academics.

　　The Chinese government took nearly 50 years researching "King Gesser." The results proved that epics existed during China"s ancient history and negated the idea that China has no epic poems.

　　Noted as "the world"s only surviving epic," "King Gesser" has been
translated into many languages, including English, French, German, Russian and Indian and has spread to more than 40 countries and regions worldwide.

World"s longest epic to last another thousand years
(2002.07.10 18:05:56)

CHENGDU, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Samzhub never learned to read or write -- but 20 million words of the world"s longest epic poem are kept in his head.

　　Now the octogenarian Tibetan folk artist is at the forefront ofthe Chinese government"s efforts to save the Tibetan folk epic "King Gesser" from disappearing.

　　For a thousand years, the tale of Gesser, who conquered other Tibetan tribes and brought stability to Tibet, has been handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, through singing or recitation.

　　For this reason, many folk artists have been invited to record and save the epic in a bid to save it from extinction.

　　Samzhub is regarded as a master of singing and reciting the epic, with the ability to retell 65 parts, totaling 20 million words, out of the poem"s 200 or more parts.

　　Several dozen parts of the epic compiled according to Samzhub"stelling have been published or are set to be published in coming years.

　　Samzhub is only one of the 100 Gesser singers, who have been discovered in China and who have made significant contributions tosaving the epic poem, known as the oriental Iliad, after the Greekepic poem by Homer in the eighth century BC.

　　Gyambian Gyaco, former chairman of the China Gesser Society, said the Tibet Autonomous Region, in southwest China, alone has recorded 70 parts of the epic, according to the telling of local ballad singers compiled in 80 volumes covering one million lines.

　　"King Gesser," which originates in Tibet, has been very popularin seven provinces and autonomous regions in China including Tibet,the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces.

　　There are many versions of the epic, which has long been recited and developed in Tibetan and Mongolian languages and the languages of the Tu and Naxi ethnic minorities of China.

　　Special offices for saving the epic have been set up in the seven provinces and autonomous regions.

　　The Tibet Autonomous Region has discovered and collected more than 100 versions of the epic, sung and recited by different folk artists, and 55 different xylographed and mimeographed versions, with more than 40 parts having been published in recent years. Sichuan Province has compiled more than 40 parts of the epic treasure.

　　To date, the Chinese government has collected and compiled morethan 150 parts of hand-written and woodcut versions of the epic, totaling 15 million words, according to Yang Enhong, an expert in the study of Gesserology.

　　Yang said this was the result of the efforts that the Chinese government and people from all walks of life had made to save the epic over the past half century and more.

　　Yang said the central government had devoted huge manpower and material resources to saving "King Gesser" ever since the foundingof the People"s Republic of China in 1949. Collecting and studying the epic had long been a major program of China"s philosophy and social sciences research and a major research program of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences over the past 20 years.

　　To save the epic, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Culture, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have jointly set up a special leading group to promote and oversee the work.

　　Gyambian Gyaco, former chairman of the China Gesser Society, said the Chinese government, over the past 50 years, had organized several hundred experts and scientists to investigate and collect different versions of the epic.

　　"The move is unprecedented in the history of Tibetan culture and is rare in the history of China"s multinational cultures," said Gyambian Gyaco.

　　The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has designated 2002 and 2003 as the years to celebrate the millennial anniversary of Gesser.

　　The Chinese government is preparing a series of activities and the seven provinces and autonomous regions where the epic is popular will also stage celebrations.

　　The achievements China has made in the study of the epic attract attention from both at home and abroad. "King Gesser" in the Tibetan language and the "Story of Gessuerh" in Mongolian havebeen translated into English, French, German, Russian and other foreign languages. The story of Gesser is known in about 40 countries and regions.

　　"We shoulder the responsibility to protect the epic, the common treasure of mankind, and to guarantee its permanence," said Gesserology expert Yang Enhong.

　　The big success of the Chinese government and experts is in making the research of "King Gesser" an international topic in addition to its protection in China, Yang said.

World"s longest epic sung for thousand years
(2002.07.09 17:29:03)

EDS-Xinhua is releasing a series of stories on Gesar to coincide withthe
celebration of the millennial anniversary of the epic poem "King Gesar" CHENGDU, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The ancient king, Gesar, may have been dead for a thousand years, but he lives on in the Gesar ballad singers who rove the Qinghai-Tibetan and the Mongolian Plateaus, constantly reciting and developing "The Life of King Gesar", the world"s longest epic poem.

　　"King Gesar tells the story of an ancient Tibetan king who conquered the devils of other Tibetan tribes and made Tibet stable.

　　The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2002 and 2003 as the years tocelebrate the millennial anniversary of the epic poem "King Gesar".

　　Yang Enhong, the renowned Chinese "Gesarologist", said that the Gesar folk artists were the true spirit of the epic. Their enthusiastic performances inspired herdsman for generations.

　　"The Life of King Gesar" has been orally handed down by ballad singers for a thousand years in China. "Without them, the longest epic would have been forgotten amid the long process of history," Yang said.

　　China now boasts about 100 Gesar ballad singers. Most are Tibetan, while the rest are from the Mongolian or Tu ethnic groups. But few young Tibetans continue to learn how to sing the epic, putting the cultural treasure in danger of being lost.

　　Senior Gesar ballad singers, mostly from impoverished herdsmen"s families, made a living by singing the epic before 1949, when the People"s Republic of China was founded. They wandered the vastpastures with no fixed abode, just like the Homer epic performers of ancient Greece.

　　They also used to travel with Tibetan Buddhist disciples, supporting each other and worshipping holy places together.

　　Zaba, a noted epic performer set foot on all the holy mountains and lakes in Tibet, together with disciples, leaving the epic echoing everywhere he went.

　　But how did those epic performers, who were mostly illiterate and settled in remote areas, recite dozens of epics with millions of characters?

　　Some performers claimed to be divinely chosen as artists, saying that they received decrees from God and King Gesar in childhood dreams. The decree ordered them to be epic performers. After the dreams, they fell ill. When the illness went away, lamasprayed for them and suddenly epics came to their minds.

　　Gangri Qucheng, guest professor of Southwest China"s Institute for
Nationalities, says that their talent is so impressive that experts wonder how they memorize such a long epic. Understanding their method of memorizing is becoming a major project.

　　"The Life of King Gesar" is divided into more than 100 sections.Every folk artist can perform different parts of the epic.

　　So far, those artists have been regarded as national treasures.To guarantee the epic is handed down in future, Chinese experts have invited the artists to record their own editions of the epic.

　　It is such a big project, say experts, that every artist could record
hundreds of cassettes.

Carved stone characters of world"s longest epic discovered in SW China
(2002.07.09 10:45:40)

CHENGDU, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Nearly 1,000 carved stone characters of the Tibetan epic "King Gesser", the longest epic in the world, have been discovered in Danba County, in southwest China"s Sichuan Province.

　　More than 100 stone figures, of various sizes, were found at the Jinlong (golden fish) Temple in Mosika Village of Dandong Township, in Danba County, mostly featuring scenes of horse-riding,archery and fighting on the battle field.

　　Professor Yang Jiaming, an expert in the study of Tibetology, called them "living characters of King Gesser".

　　According to Yang, the stone figures were carved more than 200 years ago, using local flagstones. Skillful indigenous craftsmen carved Gesser"s characters into different postures according to the shape and size of flagstones, using different techniques such as incised inscription and relief.

　　An official with the Danba County culture and tourism bureau said Danba had long been held sacred in areas inhabited by Tibetans, and within Danba County, there were many of Gesser"s fingerprints, ruins of the camp of Gesser"s uncle and other ruins relating to the Tibetan hero.

　　Danban also has many folk artists who recite and sing the epic,"King
Gesser", and perform the epic on stage.

　　Experts say these stone carvings not only enrich the research on Gesser and ancient Tibetan paintings, but also provide material evidence for the study of the development of Tibetan culture and the nomadic economy and culture in the area.

　　Known as the oriental Iliad, after the Greek epic poem by Homerin the eighth century B.C., "King Gesser" is the longest epic in the world and dates from about 1,000 years ago.

Birthplace of Tibetan hero Gesser confirmed
(2002.07.08 17:08:34)

CHENGDU, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Axu prairie in Dege County, southwest China"s Sichuan Province, has been confirmed by Chinese experts as the birthplace of Gesser, the legendary hero of the Tibetan ethnic group.

　　The story of Gesser has been handed down for 1,000 years by Tibetan folk artists who sing and recite the ten-million-word ancient Tibetan folk epic, "King Gesser", possibly the longest epic in the world.

　　The birthplace was confirmed by 14 experts in the study of Gesser based on first-hand investigations at Axu prairie in Axu Township of Dege County. The experts came from the National Gesser Office, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xibei (northwest China) College of Nationalities, Sichuan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences and other research institutes.

　　They believe that Gesser was born at Xiesuyageikangduo, in Axu Township, saying the landforms there tally completely with what isdescribed in the epic about the birthplace of the hero. The name of Gesser"s birthplace in the epic is similar to Xiesuyageikangduoin pronunciation.

　　Moreover, Gesser was born into a poor family and often grazed domestic animals in Dagun, Ranni and other places in Axu Township.All these are recorded in the epic.

　　So far, seven xylographed versions of "King Gesser" have been discovered in areas inhabited by Tibetans. Experts found that six of the seven versions come from Dege County and they confirmed that the Zhuqing Temple in Dege is the very place where Gesser"s story was first performed in the form of Zang (Tibetan) opera.

　　Experts also discovered the ruins of the castles of Gesser"s 30 senior generals and his wives in Dege County in addition to many literary quotations about Gesser. Dege now has 33 place names connected to characters in the epic, and all the county"s 57 temples have Gesser relics.

　　Rinzin, an associate research fellow with Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences, said that there were many Gesser research institutes in foreign countries, but they know nothing about Gesser"s birthplace.

　　Having studied Gesser for a dozen years, Rinzin said they had discovered visual evidence that proved Gesser"s birthplace was in Axu.

　　Yang Enhong, a research fellow with the National Gesser Office, said that their conclusions were based on rigorous research.

　　A historical fact is usually established on the basis of historical records, archaeological discoveries and folklore, Yang said, adding many
historical books had records on Gesser"s birthplace.

　　The investigation into Gesser"s birthplace is one of the eventsto commemorate Gesser. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will also participate in these events scheduled to be held this year and next.

　　During their investigation, experts also found many historical sites
relating to Gesser, including the capital of Lingguo, a tribe led by Gesser, the ruins of ancient houses, a tent in which Gesser once lived, castles and other facilities.

A Tibetan Known for Singing Epic "Gesser"
(2001.05.14 21:29:43)

LHASA, May 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Samzhub, 79, cannot read. But this does not prevent him from talking and singing the "Gesser," an ancient Tibetan epic portraying the legendary hero Gesser. Samzhub can sing nearly 20 million words of the epic, probably the longest epic in the world, which has been passed down orally through generations. Samzhub is one of the few people in Tibet who can sing such a long part of the Gesser epic. Twenty years ago, the Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences invited Samzhub to record and save the epic. Samzhub was born into a farmer"s family in a small village in the northern part of Tibet. His grandfather, who used to run a small business, was also a popular epic singer in Tibet. But Samzhub said that what really inspired him to talk and sing the epic was a dream he had at the age of 11. He said, in the dream, a god told him how to sing the epic "Gesser." Samzhub began singing the epic when he was 11 years old. He gained respect from his country fellows because Tibetans believe that a man who can sing the epic is a reincarnation of a high- ranking officer of Gesser. Later, Samzhub moved about for years because his family could not make ends meet. Finally, he traveled to Gangrenboqin Mountain, following pilgrims. Samzhub then listened to the epic "Gesser" sung by others and added the pieces to his own. It was unusual that Samzhub was able to recite the story just by listening to it once. He got married at the age of 30. In the 1950s, Samzhub and his wife moved to Mezhugongkar County, where they received a cow and a piece of farmland from the local government. Samzhub worked during the day time and sang the epic for his country fellows in the evening since then. The Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences invited Samzhub to record the epic in 1979, and to date, Samzhub has finished more than 50 parts. It still remains a secret why Samzhub,who cannot read, can recite accurately such a long part of the story. Samzhub"s recording will be compiled into books and will be published. Samzhub received an award from the government for his outstanding contribution to saving the epic. In 1996, Samzhub went to Beijing to attend the awarding ceremony. Samzhub sang the epic in Beijing, and caused a stir in the national capital. Like most Tibetans, Samzhub is a believer in Buddhism.

Backgrounder: Tibetan Nationality
(2001.05.21 16:25:54)

LHASA, May 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Tibetan, one of the 55 minority nationalities in China, is mainly scattered in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan autonomous prefectures in Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Tibet has a Tibetan population of 2.41 million, making up 92 percent of its total population. Tibetans call themselves "Boba", which means farming group. Tibet got its present name during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. The region was liberated peacefully in 1951, and the feudal- slave system was ended through a course of democratic reforms in 1959. The Tibet Autonomous Region was founded in 1965. Twelve autonomous prefectures and counties have been set up since then. Tibetans have their own language and written characters. The heyday of the Tibetan culture lasted from the 10th to 16th century. The epic portraying the legendary hero Gesser is considered the longest epic in the world. Tibetan drama fully reflects its national flavor. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, the regional capital, is the architectural complex at the highest elevation on earth. Tibetan medicine is an important part of the Chinese medical system. Tibetans believe in Mahayana, which absorbs the rite of local Buddhists. The regional economy is characterized by animal husbandry and agriculture.

A Tibetan Known for Singing Epic "Gesser"
(2001.05.14 21:29:43)

LHASA, May 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Samzhub, 79, cannot read. But this does not prevent him from talking and singing the "Gesser," an ancient Tibetan epic portraying the legendary hero Gesser. Samzhub can sing nearly 20 million words of the epic, probably the longest epic in the world, which has been passed down orally through generations. Samzhub is one of the few people in Tibet who can sing such a long part of the Gesser epic. Twenty years ago, the Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences invited Samzhub to record and save the epic. Samzhub was born into a farmer"s family in a small village in the northern part of Tibet. His grandfather, who used to run a small business, was also a popular epic singer in Tibet. But Samzhub said that what really inspired him to talk and sing the epic was a dream he had at the age of 11. He said, in the dream, a god told him how to sing the epic "Gesser." Samzhub began singing the epic when he was 11 years old. He gained respect from his country fellows because Tibetans believe that a man who can sing the epic is a reincarnation of a high- ranking officer of Gesser. Later, Samzhub moved about for years because his family could not make ends meet. Finally, he traveled to Gangrenboqin Mountain, following pilgrims. Samzhub then listened to the epic "Gesser" sung by others and added the pieces to his own. It was unusual that Samzhub was able to recite the story just by listening to it once. He got married at the age of 30. In the 1950s, Samzhub and his wife moved to Mezhugongkar County, where they received a cow and a piece of farmland from the local government. Samzhub worked during the day time and sang the epic for his country fellows in the evening since then. The Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences invited Samzhub to record the epic in 1979, and to date, Samzhub has finished more than 50 parts. It still remains a secret why Samzhub,who cannot read, can recite accurately such a long part of the story. Samzhub"s recording will be compiled into books and will be published. Samzhub received an award from the government for his outstanding contribution to saving the epic. In 1996, Samzhub went to Beijing to attend the awarding ceremony. Samzhub sang the epic in Beijing, and caused a stir in the national capital. Like most Tibetans, Samzhub is a believer in Buddhism.

China Intensifying Efforts to Save World"s Longest Epic
(2001.05.01 08:42:23)

　　LHASA, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- China is intensifying its efforts to save the Tibetan folk epic "King Gesser," the longest epic in the world. Samzhub, 80, a Tibetan folk artist, is regarded as the master of talking and singing the epic portraying the legendary hero Gesser. The Tibetan edition of a five-part version of King Gesser, compiled according to Samzhub"s telling of the story, will be published in June this year. Some film producers are shooting films on Samzhub and others, recording the epic they tell and sing. Samzhub, who can not read a single word, can tell 65 parts of the epic, totaling more than 20 million words. "He can tell the complete story of Gesser," said Cering Puncog, deputy director of the Nationalities Institute under the Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences. Cering Puncog disclosed that the academy plans to publish 45 parts of the epic sung by Samzhub in the coming five to eight years. There are two different views about when the epic first came about. One is that the epic was produced in the period from the beginning of the Christian era to the 6th century, based on the story of a real tribal head who tamed such forces of evil as ghosts and goblins, and safeguarded the environment for the people. The other is that the epic emerged between the 11th and 13th centuries, when Tibetans hoped that a hero would appear to unify the then separated Tibet. The epic has more than 200 parts which have come down through oral singing and talking by folk artists. The Chinese government set up a special organization to save and record the epic after 1979, and listed the research work as a major research program. To date, more than 40 Gesser story tellers have been found in Tibet. Cering Puncog said that most of the story tellers cannot read and they do not know each other. But they tell basically the same story. The Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Social Sciences and
Tibet University are busy recording the epic told by local folk artists such as Samzhub. Later, they will compile the epic into books in accordance with the recorded materials. Currently, Tibet has collected nearly 300 hand-written or woodcut copies of the epic. More than three million copies of the Tibetan version of the epic have been printed. The epic has also been translated into Chinese, English, Japanese, French and other languages.