Epic of King Gesar
Epic of King Gesar (Ge Sa Er Wang Zhuan in Chinese),also known as the Gesar (Ge Sa Er in Chinese),is a great heroic epic collectively created by the Tibetan people.
Epic of King Gesar is a widespread epic featured with a long history,magnificent structure,numerous volumes，rich content and wide circulation,which represents the highest achievement of ancient Tibetan culture.The epic is produced and developed on the basis of abundant folk literatures such as ancient Tibetan myths,legends,and proverbs.In addition,the epic was merged with the total knowledge of history,society,nature,science,religion,morality,customs,culture,and art gradually by Tibetan people in different times.It is an encyclopedia of ancient Tibetan society,known as the“Homer epic of the East”with great academic,aesthetic and appreciation values.
Epic of King Gesar was written between about 200 or 300 B.C.and 500 A.D.During a long period of nearly a thousand years,it passed down orally by the folk artists who enriched its epic plots and language constantly.Up to the early years of the twelfth century,Epic of King Gesar was matured and perfected gradually,widely circulating in Tibetan areas.Countless minstrels inherited from the singing and performance of Epic of King Gesar from generation to generation.(https://www.daowen.com)
As the world’s longest heroic epic,Epic of King Gesar so far has filled over 120 volumes,more than one million verses and over 20 million words.
The story of Epic of King Gesar is summarized as follows:long long time ago,natural and man-caused disasters swept throughout the Tibetan areas,and people there suffered from the persecution of rampant demons and ghosts.Merciful Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,in order to save sentient beings out of the suffering sea,asked the Amitabha to send the son of God to come down to earth to surrender the devil.The son of God,who was willing to come to the Tibetan area,became the king of Tibetan people,namely,the King of Gesar.With special character and extraordinary talent Gesar took up the sacred mission of defeating demons and devils,suppressing the strong while assisting the weak,and benefiting the people.Gesar is a demi-god hero with the genes of God,dragon and Nian(a God in Tibetan primitive religion).After coming down to the earth,though repeatedly framed,Gesar managed to fight demons,kill ghosts,gain the throne,and marry Brug-mo for his princess by his own strength and the protection of the Gods.Gesar displayed martial prowess and unified the territory through incessant wars.Fulfilling his mission of subduing the demons in the earth,Gesar returned to the Heaven with his mother and his princess Brug-mo.The King of Gesar,who is the incarnation of Guru Rinpoche in legend,is a great hero respected by Tibetan people for his lifelong exploits,support of the good,punishment of the evil,promotion of Buddhism,and dissemination of culture.