Gesar - From Heroic Land to Tibetan Odyssey of Modernization

On-going project on modernization and transition of Tibetan ethnic community in west China, inspired by the ancient Tibetan epic tale "King Gesar".

“Epic of King Gesar” is the most well-known Tibetan ethnic epic in China and the longest one in human history, it tells the story of King Gesar, a half-human half deification character who was reincarnate from Guru Rinpoche and claim King of the tibetan area, he wins the war towards evil, saves many lives of its people, and finally bring the peace back to his homeland.

Narrated and inherited by charismatic minstrel and tibetan buddist Lama since A.D. 11th Century, the epic survived numerous social revolutions of modern China, it reflects history, politics, social structure and daily life of people who live in Tibetan plateau area.

From 2017, i traced the clue from the epic King Gesar, travel to many locations and archeologies in Qinghai and Sichuan province, which believed to be the birthplace of the epic, exploring the bundary both geographically and mentally between surreal myths and current reality.

The project Gesar is aim to document the spiritual and complex socio-political landscape of modern Tibetan ethnic group in west China, base on clues and metaphors from the ancient epic. To put questions on how people looks at the past of their ancestors and social heritages? In what way shapes their ethnic identity? If the epic was the old narrative of ancient tibetan world, what is the narrative now for the new era and generation? What changed were made from lifestyle and religious beliefs, to relationship within the local community under the fact of the tighten political space by the communism authority, on what remain or lost for people who live in this territory under intense social transition and modernization, in which i believe is a universal topic to the majority of our world.