The Tibet Tsangyang Gyatso Cultural Research Association was established in Lhasa on July 22, after being approval by the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The association will be dedicated to restoring the authentic works of Tsangyang Gyatso and other literary works, promoting cultural research in related fields and the development of creative industry.

The 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, a famous poet-monk in Tibet’s history, was born at Urgelling Monastery near Monyul Tawang in 1683, and was welcomed at the Potala Palace in 1697. In recent years, a “Tsangyang Gyatso fever” spreading in literary circles has continued to rise, with the “poems” and “research achievements” of this legendary person getting mixed together.

"The common people are still very far away from the true Tsangyang Gyatso,” Basang Norbu, Tibetologist and one of the founders of the Tibet Tsangyang Gyatso Cultural Research Association admitted. Today, scholars from all over are conflicted, and the research is still dispersed. “As a talented poet, Tsangyang Gyatso left behind a slew of questions difficult to understand, which deserve objective exploration and deep research.”

Reports say that domestic Tibetologists will form the backbone of the association, and it will be made up of experts and scholars from various ethnic groups, with a majority of members who are proficient in both Tibetan and Chinese writing. In future, they will hold national and international Tsangyang Gyatso cultural and academic seminars, artistic performances, exhibitions, and other events; organize the creation of relevant Tsangyang Gyatso art and literature and film products; authorize the promulgation of Tsangyang Gyatso’s “mysterious life”, make corrections, and standardize Chinese and English versions of Tsangyang Gyatso’ poetry; make preparations for a Tsangyang Gyatso Museum; and set up the Tsangyang Gyatso Cultural Research website.

 “Tsangyang Gyatso’s integrated collection of religious culture and secular culture, elite culture and folk culture, is not only a piece of cultural history, but is also a true inherited tradition, a popular and interpretive culture,” Basang Norbu said, hoping that through the association, academic and social forces will come together to pay close attention to the culture of Tsangyang Gyatso, to better protect this exquisite Tibetan cultural treasure.