Editor's note: Currently Yang Enhong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, took an interview of China Tibet Online. Having been working in Nagqu Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region for 12 years, Yang is famous for her achievements in Tibetan literature. Loving Tibetan culture as well as Tibetan people, she made friends with many folk artists and writers.

China Tibet Online: Now the Tibetan epic King Gesar has been brought to the stage as a dance drama (created by Chengdu Military Area Command, the drama Hero Gesar was performed at Southwest Theater in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from Dec. 28 to 30, 2011). However, King Gesar performers of old typically performed alone on simple raised platforms. What influence do you think about the traditional Gesar, positive or negative?

King Gesar performers [Photo/Xinhua]

Yang Enhong: Traditionally, the Gesar is inherited by brain memory and the elder Gesar singers ... But now the traditional style is shrinking. When I worked in Tibet in 1980s, many traditional Gesar singing artists were still alive and now most of them have passed away.  However, the Tibetan people are still in great demand of the Gesar stories. So in the new era, seeking new ways to meet the demand of the local people is not a bad way as that benefits the people's cultural life.

Yang Enhong, researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences [Photo/China Tibet Online]

On the other hand, in the sense of protecting the intangible culture heritage, we are trying our best to protect and conserve the singing art in its original way. 

Background: King Gesar, the world's longest epic, is a symbol of Tibetan culture and is on the list of China's national intangible cultural heritage.

Western epic poems like the Iliad and the Odyssey were finished in ancient times, but the Epic of King Gesar is still very much alive.

The epic poem from Tibet is a piece of intangible cultural heritage that the regional government has been trying hard to preserve.

The story's 1 million lines are now repeated by the region's 116 King Gesar storytellers every day as part of a government initiative to encourage the performance and preservation of the epic tale.

The Epic of King Gesar is sometimes referred to as an "Eastern Homer," referring to the famed epic poet from Greece. The tale is composed of many smaller stories of kings fighting demons and helping their weaker subjugates. The poem is one of the world's only living epic poems, as it continues to be written and changed by those who perform it.

China Tibet Online: The 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso's poems are so hot now, especially after the film If You Are the One 2 was released. Some even imitate him to write poems,  which can mix the spurious with the genuine. How do you understand such phenomena?

Yang Enhong: I love his poems very much. He lived in a special era with special conditions: he was not enthroned until he was 15 years old. That is to say he lived in the Lhoka where people favored the poetry of "Xie" (four sentences with each sentence containing six words). He was deeply influenced by the poetry and that influence didn't stop after he moved to Potala Palace.

When I worked in Tibet, we collected his poems. Some got 50 ones while some say they collected 70 ones.That is not an exact number yet. As a Dalai Lama without much political achievement, he occupies an important role in literary history. We can say that his writing comes from the folk and returns to the folk.

Now many fans imitate him to write. That is an interesting thing, which shows their enthusiasm for his poems.

 Tsangyang Gyatso [Photo/China Wiki]

Background: Tsangyang Gyatso (March 1, 1683 – Nov. 15, 1706) was the 6th Dalai Lama. He was a rebellious Buddhist icon who wrote romantic poems about Buddhism and love that are still popular today. They have been quoted in novels, other poems and movies. Two of his love poems became particularly popular after the release of the comedy If You Are the One 2 in December 2010, whose theme song borrows lines from his poem Better Not to Meet.

Born on March 1, 1683 to a serf family in southern Tibet, Tsangyang's life was full of twists and turns. Some accounts say Tsangyang was discovered in 1688 as the reincarnation of the 5th Dalai Lama Lozang Gyatso, six years after Lozang's death. The Regent Desi Sangye Gyatso had kept the death a secret to maintain the stability of his administration. However, Tsangyang was officially discovered in 1697, after Emperor Kangxi finally heard about the death of the 5th Dalai Lama and ordered an explanation from the Regent. The Regent then sent a delegation to Beijing announcing the death of the 5th Dalai Lama and the discovery of the 6th Dalai Lama. Tsangyang was enthroned in October of that year.

As Dalai Lama, Tsangyang often went against the principles of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and rejected life as a monk. He preferred drinking, writing love songs and poems. He also had no real power and was essentially a puppet of the Regent, who plotted to assassinate Lhasang Khan, the newly enthroned king of the Khoshut Mongols and ally of Emperor Kangxi. When a war broke out in 1705, the Regent was killed, and Lhasang Khan deposed Tsangyang the following year, using his behavior as an excuse. Emperor Kangxi ordered Tsangyang to Beijing for questioning. On his trip, Tsangyang mysteriously died in Xining at the age of 24. Yet, rumors and legends say he had escaped, traveling and dying at 64.

While being taken out of Lhasa, Tsangyang wrote a poem in which some say foretold his rebirth: "White crane, lend me your wings. I will not fly far. From Lithang I shall return."

(Some of the background information is from China.org.cn)