King Gesar getting a Mandarin voice

Samphel, a rapper of The Epic of King Gesar, performs in a tea house in Lhasa. Palden Nyima / China Daily

The Epic of King Gesar, with more than 120 volumes and 1 million lines, is believed to be the world's longest narrative epic, and it is regarded as an encyclopedia of Tibetan ancient society.

The government of the Tibet autonomous region has invested 7 million yuan ($1.15 million) to translate The Epic of King Gesar into Mandarin, according to a recent report from the second session of the 10th Tibet Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"Many people only hear that The Epic of King Gesar is known as The Iliad or The Odyssey of the East," says Tsering Dondrup, 28, a staff expert on the tales at the Tibet Autonomous Regional Archives Bureau. The new translation would give Mandarin speakers, at least, a chance to actually read it.

"Translation of The Epic of King Gesar into Chinese is essential," says Migmar Tsering, an editor at the Tibet Academy of Social Science, so people in the Chinese-speaking world can enjoy reading it and learn more about Tibetan culture. It's also seen as a key government move to protect the traditional culture.

The members of the committee will offer advice and suggestions on building unique ethnic culture via proposals, says Lobsang Dorje, the committee's vice-chairman. Officials say the project covers only part of the epic, which is the section performed by the famous former rapper Samdrub.

Sixteen translators and other experts started to work last month to produce the Mandarin series, which will consist of 22 books when it's completed. The project will take five years to complete and publish, according to the Tibet Academy of Social Science.

Language environment such as the various dialects, religious vocabularies, and Tibetan proverbs pose challenges in the translation, says Tsering Dondrup, who is an experienced translator with a master's degree in the studies of King Gesar at Northwest Nationalities University in Lanzhou, Gansu province.

"The work is being carried out by specialists and scholars who have a profound understanding in this field," says Migmar Tsering.