King Gesar returns to enlighten Olympic visitors

As the artistic expedition endured, more and more people teamed up with Genqiu to help him with the mission of integrating The Epic of King Gesar with the art of Thangka painting, Tibetan opera singing and Tibetan folk singing.

With warm support from King Gesar researchers, Thangka painters and local government, the project snowballed into a huge cultural endeavor that has attracted attention from across the country, according to Zeren Jimei, chief marketing director for the project.

Still, the project, which has incurred over 23 million yuan ($3.35 million) in costs, presented a challenge for the artists. The lack of authoritative blueprints on the Thangka series made it hard to create the collection, says Qiudengzi, a Tibetologist from Garze and chief literary scriptwriter for the King Gesar Epic Thangka Series.

At least 100 versions of the legend about King Gesar have been found circulating among ballad singers, Qiudengzi explains. Although basic rules are respected by all painters, he says the stories of King Gesar are plentiful and portrayals of the King vary from one painting school to another, and from region to region across China.

Therefore, to guarantee the depictions of the King and the epic's 30 other key characters, ancient weapons and daily events were kept in line with historical records and widely recognized oral narrations, a band of researchers, folklorists and Thangka painters have traveled to Sichuan, Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, and even to Nepal and India, to research and gather materials for the project over the years.