A comprehensive 8-volume, 2-million word translation of the Tibetan classic “King Gesar” (格萨尔王传) has just been published in Chinese by Higher Education Press (高等教育出版社), according to a report carried on China Ethnic Literature Network (中国民族文学网).
The traditional Epic of King Gesar (Tibetan: གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོ), believed to date from the 12th century, relates the heroic deeds of Gesar, the fearless lord of the legendary Kingdom of Ling. It is recorded variously in poetry and prose, and is performed widely throughout Central Asia. According to Wikipedia, besides versions of the tale conserved by PRC-based minorities such as the Bai, Naxi, Pumi, Lisu and Yugur peoples, other variations are also found among the Burushaski-speaking Burusho of Hunza and Gilgit, the Kalmyk and Ladakhi peoples, in Baltistan, in Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, and among various Tibeto-Burmese, Turkish, and Tunghus tribes. The first printed version was a Mongolian text published in Beijing in 1716.
The 8 volumes in the new translation are: 卡切玉宗, 辛丹内讧, 歇日珊瑚宗, 雪山水晶宗, 象雄穆德宗, 阿达拉姆, 大食财宝宗, and 丹玛青稞宗. The texts were translated by more than ten Tibetan specialists including 角巴东主、索南卓玛 and多杰才让.
A bit earlier this year an excerpt from Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Lin’s translation of Alai’s King Gesar was released, and can be seen here.
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Bruce Humes 