From the magnificent Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the vast and fertile Mongolian grasslands; from the sources of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers to the basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River; from the magical and beautiful Tianshan Mountains to charming Baikal Lake, this immortal epic still resounds.
    Gesar is a great heroic epic collectively created by the ethnic Tibetan. It has been passed down for some 1,000 years. It is an immense work filling 120-odd volumes, with more than one million verses, totaling over 20 million words. It is longer than the total length of the famous five epics (the five epics areÑ the Babylonian Gilgamesh, the Greek Iliad and Odyssey, and the Indian Ramayana and Mahabharata.) and is known as the longest epic in the world. Gesar is broad and profound, reflecting the important historic stages of the development of the ethnic Tibetan and the basic social structure of Tibet, and representing the highest achievement of Tibetan culture. It is a great encyclopedia-like work featuring the study of ancient Tibetan social history, religion, exchanges between ethnic groups, moral concepts, folk customs, and traditions.
    The longest heroic epic in the world
    Gesar was created during the period of ancient Tibetan tribal society. In the 7th-9th centuries, the rule of the Tibetan kings collapsed, and Tibetan society entered a period of great turbulence and transition. From the 10th to the 12th centuries, as Tibetan slave society gave way to a form of feudal-slave society, Gesar was further refined, and gained wide fame. With the resurgence of Buddhism in Tibet around the 11th century, Tibetan monks began participating in efforts to collect and compile Gesar, and the earliest manual transcripts emerged. However, the woodcut copies emerged relatively late. It is said that the work was undertaken by Sde-dge gling-tshang Tusi, a descendant of King Gesar. Several copies of the Gesar epic were cut and printed, but the length was limited, and such copies did not prove popular.
    The important periods in Tibetan social development have greatly influenced the popularization and development of the epic, and are reflected directly or indirectly through this great work. At the same time, Gesar had a tremendous influence on the creation and development of different aspects of Tibetan culture during different periods, resulting in it holding an indelible position in Tibetan cultural history. No other work comes close to the epic in its ability to reflect the history and cultural development of ancient Tibetan society; nor has any other work been able to so thoroughly influence the cultural development of the Tibetans.
    What does Gesar recount?
    Gesar recounts an old story:
    Long, long ago, the common people of the Tibetan plateau were subjected to natural disasters and calamities. Demons and spirits ran wild. The Lord of Heaven, to help the people, sent his son God, Gesar, down to the “land of snow” to lead the Tibetan people. In order to enable Gesar defeat the demons and spirits, aid the poor and benefit the common people, the Lord of Heaven endowed Gesar with special characteristics and marvelous powers and abilities, making him a semi-divine hero combining the characteristics of a god, a dragon and a fierce spirit known as nyan in the primitive religion of the Tibetans. Arriving on earth, Gesar led the people of the kingdom of Ling, a small realm in ancient Tibet, to eventually defeat the evil demons and spirits.
    From the day he was born, Gesar used his magical power to defeat the demons and benefit the people. At the age of five, he moved with his mother, Guo, to the source of the Yellow River. When he was eight, the Ling tribe followed them there. Winning a horse race at the age of 12, Gesar was recognized as the chief of the tribe. At the same time, he married the beautiful and virtuous Seng-lcam-vbrug-mo. Gesar then led expeditions against the enemies of his tribal kingdom, defeating, in succession, the northern demons who had invaded the territory of the Ling, King Gur-dkar-rgyal-po of Hor, King Sadam of Vjav, King Shin-khri of Sman, and scores of small tribes and minor kingdoms known as zong in ancient Tibet. He eventually unified the whole Tibet plateau. After completing his sacred mission, Gesar returned to Heaven together with his mother and wife Vbrug-mo.
    Gesar has a unique structure, completely unlike those of other epics. The traditional version contains several prefaces dealing with such episodes as such as his birth, his life in Heaven, and his winning the horse race and becoming king. Then there are four parts about defeating the demons, followed by the battles against the Mon, Hor, Sman and Ling. Further sections deal with the struggles against 18 big zong, 18 medium-sized zong and 18 small zong. These are the main contents of the epic. The last part is titled Rescuing Mother from Hell.
    When folk artists tell and sing the stories, they often use three sentences to outline the epic: The Lord of Heaven sends Gesar to Earth; Gesar fights a series of battles; He triumphs in the Underworld.
    “The Lord of Heaven sends Gesar to Earth” refers to the series of episodes when the gods and goddesses hold a council and decide to send the son of the Lord of Heaven, Gesar, to Earth to defeat the demons. “Gesar fights a series of battles” covers the period from Gesar’s birth to his return to Heaven, which includes all Gesar’s heroic achievements. This is the main part of the epic. “Gesar triumphs in the Underworld” tells how Gesar completes his mission, rescuing his mother and all the other people suffering in Hell, and then returns to Heaven.
    An important artistic achievement of the Gesar epic lies in its portrayal of thousands of figures. Whether heroes or tyrants, men or women, young or old, the figures make deep impressions on us with their clearly defined characters and striking images. Gesar, Vbrug-mo, Thubpa Gawa, Tondon,Bstan-ma and Rgya-tsha zhal-dkar have become immortal characters in the history of Tibetan literature. In addition, there are many gods and goddesses, and demons with their own unique characteristics. No two figures are identical.
    As Gesar is a  work of folk literature, the language is natural and easy to understand. During the epic’s centuries of circulation, its language has been repeatedly tempered and brought to a high degree of sophistication, so that it is now regarded as the cream of the Tibetan language.
    The people who bring Gesar to life--“Zhigun Bards”
    The artists who recite and sing the Gesar stories are called Zhigun Bards in Tibetan, meaning  “story teller.”The popularity of Gesar for 1,000 years on the roof of the world should be credited to them. They are the direct creators, inheritors, popularizers and the most outstanding and popular folk artists responsible for the work. But for them, this great epic would long ago have been lost to history.
    Compared with other folk artists in Tibet, the Zhigun Bards has the following characteristics:
    First, his mode of performance is diverse, and the performance is not limited by time, place or other conditions.
    Unlike Tibetan opera, stories from the epic can be recited and sung anywhere Ñ in a nobleman’s mansion or a beggar’s hut, or even under the open blue sky of the pasturelands. They can also be presented during the day or at night, winter or summer, rain or shine. The Zhigun Bards are especially likely to be invited to give a performance on holidays or at wedding ceremonies.
    Second, the Zhigun Bards lead a wandering life.
    Most Zhigun Bards don’t have a fixed abode. They travel everywhere on the vast Qinghai-Tibet plateau, in a similar manner to the bards who sang the Homeric epics in ancient Greece. Often, they travel together with monks and Ramba artists. So the Zhigun Bards have a great deal of knowledge of everyday life in Tibet and its geography, and are familiar with the different Tibetan dialects.
    Third, they are poor and lead a hard life.
    Most Zhigun Bards were classed along with beggars before the democratic reform in Tibet in the 1950s. They earned a meager income as street performers, and if they fell ill and could no longer perform, they had to resort to begging. Namowa, who performed Tibet opera, and Ramba artists had to pay poll taxes as well as singing and dancing taxes, while only begging taxes were levied on the Zhigun Bards. This shows how poor they were and how low their social status was.
    That magical hat The ritual of reciting and singing the epic
    There are several sorts of rituals which accompany a performance of the Gesar epic:
    First, burning incense to invite the god down.
    Before a performance starts, an incense burner table is first laid out, bearing a statue of Gesar, and a portrait of Gesar is suspended over it. Portraits of the 30 heroes and of Vbrug-mo, Gesar’s queen,flank the Gesar portrait. Statues of the master of Lianhuasheng, Vbrug-mo Rgya-tsha (half brother of Gesar), Bstan-ma, or other heroes were sometimes displayed.  Butter lamps are lit and bowls of clean water are laid out, and then the Zhigun Bards prays before the portraits. Then, holding Buddhist prayer beads he sits cross-legged with half-closed eyes and palms together, and chanting and praying. It is said that they request the soul of King Gesar or of one of his generals, or a god (different Zhigun Bards worship different gods) to be present. A few minutes later, the Zhigun Bards nods and shakes his head, at the same time gesticulating with both his hands and feet. Then, taking off his hat and putting it on the table, the Zhigun Bards begin to chant. This ceremony brings a sense of solemnity and mystery.
    Second, chanting accompanied by paintings.
    Some bards bring a scroll painting with a scene from a story from the epic. Such paintings are called Zongtang in Tibetan, and the stories are similar to those in Buddhist sutras. Zongtang are normally painted and embroidered by Buddhist artists. Some of them are extremely delicate, and are valued as art treasures.
    Third, chanting wearing the hat.
    Whether men or women, old or young, all Zhigun Bards have a hat known as a sgrung-zhav (literally “story-hat”) in Tibetan.  About a foot long, the hat is decorated with agate, coral, pearls, and peacock or other type of feathers.
    The bard holds the hat in his or her left hand, stretching out the right hand to point around the hat to tell its origin and value in measured tones.
    Sometimes a Zhigun Bard compares the hat to the whole world-the top of the hat is the center of the world, i.e., the territory of ancient Ling. Sometimes he compares the four corners to the four directions of east, west, south and north, and compares the various ornaments to lakes, rivers and oceans. Then he says that Gesar is the greatest hero, who dominates the fate of the whole world, and that he is going to relate an episode from Gesar’s innumerable achievements. Thus they come to the subject of the performance.
    There are special songs (zhongxie in Tibetan)which are something like a prologue, to attract the audience’s attention and build up an atmosphere. The lines are not fixed-they are compiled freely according to the time, place, and people around. Like the content of the epic, the lines are full of abundant imagination and vivid metaphor.
    The Zhigun Bards only wear their sgrung-zhav when they perform. They use the highest praise to describe the hats, endowing them with not only rich connotations and symbolic meanings, but also a sacred and mysterious air. They claim that the hats have been blessed by King Gesar’s Jiate. In the past, the respect people gave to the hats was far beyond that which they gave to the bards.
    After describing the hat, the bard will put it aside, and begin to sing the epic. When chanting, some bards hold a string of beads, while others hold nothing. The famous artist Yumei always holds beads when she chants, which she says gives her inspiration.
    “The Riddle of the Sphinx” During the Spreading of the Gesar Epic
    Judging from our long experience of exploration, research and interviewing the Zhigun Bards, we’ve come to the conclusion that they have two distinct characteristics:
    First:they have an extraordinary memory.
    Second, they are full of enthusiasm.
    There are three kinds of artists in Tibet- Tibetan opera artists, Ramba artists, and the Gesar bards.
    Unlike other folk artists, the bards don’t pass down their legacy from master to apprentice, or from father to son. They say, “How can one teach dozens of books and thousands of poems word by word? Even if the epic were taught, how could one remember it all?”  But how did the Zhigun Bards themselves learn to sing the epic? They answer, “It depends on destiny. If you are destined to be a Zhigun Bard, you don’t need a teacher; if you are not, you will never learn the epic.
    According to tradition, zhigun are classified into the following types:
    The first type is “divinely inspired bards” (vbabs-sgrung) who claim to have experienced a mysterious dream, and woke up to find themselves able to chant the Gesar epic.
    The second type is “suddenly realized” bards(dalang-sgrung) who claim to have suddenly realized how to recite and sing the Gesar epic.
    The third type is “knowing-from-hearing” bards (thos-sgrung). They say that they were not divinely inspired, but grew familiar with the Gesar story by hearing others recite and chant it.
    The fourth type is “sing-chanters” (dan-sgrung), who have the ability to read, and who usually recite and chant the Gesar stories from a script.
    The fifth type is “treasure-in-the-heart” bards (gongde)whose abilities are beyond our imagination. But from the name we can tell that such bards have the treasure of Gesar in their hearts. They can excavate the treasure as miners do, and write the stories down.
    The sixth type is “divinely-inspired-by-the-mirror” bards (pra-pa), who peer into a bronze mirror while chanting and reciting. They claim to be able to see the various episodes in the mirror.
    The seventh type is “exploration” bards (dedun). They are persons who explore the stories of Gesar. According to tradition version, a god or Buddha or senior monk hid all the copies of the Gesar epic in caves or in other secret places. Those who can dig the copies out are called “exploration” bards.
    Among all these Zhigun Bards, the majority are said to be divinely inspired. Most of them have had one or two dreams about Gesar when they were young. Some of them even sleep for days and dream endless dreams about Gesar. Generally, they fall ill after such dreams. When they recover, they are in high spirits and have an irresistible urge to tell the tales they have dreamed about. They then chant and recite without stopping for days, months, years, or even for their whole lives.
    Some people may wonder, is this a kind of magic? It is indeed. Many of the bards have said so. Zhigun Bards of long ago said so; and so do the bards of modern times. Drakpa, Samzhub,Yumei,Tshe-ring dbang-vdul, Tshe-ring rdo-rje and Zla-ba grags-pa,...all famous Zhigun Bards-claimed to have had such an experience.
    How can an illiterate farmer or herdsman narrate one or two dozen, or even several dozen volumes, and sing hundreds of thousands of, or even millions of lines of verse? If what they have sung are compiled to books, it would be of millions or more words that equal to several dozen of books. How have they learned to chant and remembered all these? This truly is the ÒRiddle of the SphinxÓ in the field of Chinese historical research.
    Among the bards, Drakpa is a celebrated figure.
    Drakpa was born into a slave family in Bianba Zong, in the Changdu area of Tibet, and spent his early years in hard labor. Gifted with an extraordinary memory, he learned to recite and chant the Gesar epic while he was a teenager. In his 20s, he  became famous as Zhigun Bards all over Tibet.
    But despite his fame, misery and poverty dogged Drakpa until the peaceful liberation of Tibet; he lost three of his five children and his wife to starvation and overwork.
    Especially after the democratic revolution Tibet, Drakpa’s outstanding talent gradually became fully appreciated. Because of his great contributions to the collection and compilation of the Gesar stories, he was recognized by the relevant department as an outstanding Gesar bard.
    When Drakpa passed away on November 3, 1986, even on his deathbed, he was still chanting. His life was intertwined with Gesar: He was born for Gesar, and died for Gesar too.
    Drakpa narrated and sang 25 volumes of King Gesar, which is equivalent to almost 600,000 lines, and six million words. All that he narrated was recorded and compiled by the Gesar Research Institute of the University of Tibet.
    The figure is equal to 25 Homeric Epics, 15 Ramayanas or three Mahabharatas.
    The number of the words is equal to five copies of the great 19-century Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions.
    It is an amazing number, a precious cultural heritage. It is by far the longest and the most complete set of versions in the world. These versions embody Drakpa’s artistic talent.
    Other leading Gesar bards are helping to collect and compille Gesar. The young female Zhigun Yumei can sing more than 20 volumes, while the old bard Samdrub can sing more than 40 volumes -- equal to 700,000 lines, or seven million words. Tshe-ring dbang-vdul from Mount Tanggula, Qinghai Province, claims to be able to sing 120 volumes.
    The bards have made meritorious contributions to research into the Gesar epic, and to research into Tibetan culture as a whole.