Tibetan full-length heroic epic with an artistic flavor of rap “Gesar,” Mongolian heroic epic “Jangar,” and Kyrgyz people’s epic “Manas” have become celebrated as the three most important heroic epics created by the minorities in China.
Widely acclaimed as “Oriental Homeric epics,” “Gesar” took shape gradually from around 300 BC to AD 6th century. From the early 7th century to the 9th century, the epic was further brought to completion. “Gesar” offers a startling panorama of how Gesar fought battles here and there, vanquished demons and monsters, and brought benefit to the people, representing the highest achievement of ancient Tibetan literature.
“Jangar” took shape from the 15th century to the first half of the 17th century. It tells of the vivid stories on how Jangar got rid of the cruel and pacified the good people. At present, the epic still circulates in the forms of both speech and handwritten copy among the Mongolians. As a result, Jangar has become a household name.
The full-length epic “Manas” came into being in the 13th century. During the period of its spread among the people, it was brought to completion gradually. As the most cherished heritage of Kyrgyz people’s folk literature, “Manas” describes the fateful days when the heroes from eight generations of Manas’ family led Kyrgyz people to struggle for freedom and well-being. It provides a panoramic view of Kyrgyz people’s lives and has been widely acknowledged as an encyclopaedia of Kyrgyz Nationality.
Blessed with the superior artistic quality and distinctive ethnic flavor, the above-mentioned epics have captured more and more attention from the international community. However, only parts of the voluminous epics were translated into foreign languages and rolled off the press in the past. With the help of the National Publication Foundation under the State General Administration of Press and Publication, Gyanpian Gyamco, Wu Wei, He Dexiu, He Jihong and Chun Yi sorted out and then compiled the three masterpieces into lucidly written books with painstaking care. They were entitled “King Gesar,” “The Epic of Jangar” and “Legend of Manas” respectively. For foreign readers’ convenient reading, they have been translated into English in addition to Tibetan, Mongolian and the Kyrgyz language. A word of recognition should be due to the publication project’s consultants, authors and translators all of whom have improved this project greatly by giving so generously of their time and talent!
