King Gesar getting a Mandarin voice

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.