Tibetan literature
Tibetan literature generally refers to literature written in the Tibetan language since the invention of the Indic-style script in the mid 7th century. The term can also be applied to any work by a Tibetan, as writers sometimes opt to use Chinese or English to reach a wider audience.
Literature in the Tibetan language received its first impetus in the 8th century with the establishment of the monastic university Samye for the purpose of the translation of the voluminous Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into the vernacular. In their final form, established in the 14th and 17th centuries respectively, they comprise the 108-volume Kangyur, and its 224-volume commentary, the Tengyur. Because of the destruction of the monastic universities of India by the Mughals, the Tibetan versions of some works are the only extant ones. Around 950, a secret library was created in the Mogao Caves near the oasis of Dunhuang to protect Buddhist scriptures, and it is by this means that we possess many of the oldest versions of some Tibetan, Chinese and Uighur texts.
Throughout most of its history, Tibet has been dominated by lamaseries, and consequently the majority of Tibetan works are strongly marked by Buddhist thought: they are mostly religious, historical, and biographical texts, or a mixture of these genres. There are also collections of folktales (for example, those involving the trickster figure Uncle Tompa) and works dealing with the ancient Bön religion. Particularly well-known in the West are the Tibetan Book of the Dead, translated into English in 1927, the 120-volume Epic of King Gesar, one of the few living epics, and The Tale of the Incomparable Prince by Tshe-rin-dban-rgyal (1697-1763), translated into English in 1996.
After 1980, Tibetan literature underwent a period of great expansion as the destruction wrought by the Cultural Revolution was slowly repaired, and the influence of Chinese poetry, and of Western poetry in Chinese translation, began to make itself felt. Despite these influences, critics and editors gave priority to stories and poems with traditional settings. Most new work takes the form of poetry; the number of modern novels in the Tibetan language is still under 25.
The literary scene since the 1990s generally organises itself in terms of small self-named groups of young writers, many of whom studied at Qinghai University in Xining (Silung). Among the first were the Four Demons of the Old Fort, followed by such groups as the Four Scholars, the Four Owl-Siblings of Rongwo, the Third Generation, etc. There is a Tibetan Association of Writers and a literary journal. Within China the most promoted author is Alai (1959-), who writes in Chinese.
Tibetophone writers outside the PRC are equally active. The first literary journal of writers-in-exile was Jangzhon (1990-97), which was succeeded by several different independent periodicals; and the First National Conference of Tibetan Writers, organised by the Amnye Machen Institute, was held from 15-17 March 1995 at Dharamsala, India. Books in English have been written by exiles such as Bhuchung T. Sonam, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Jamyang Norbu und Tenzin Tsundue.
Some modern writers
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Bibliography
- Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. E. Gene Smith. Wisdom Publications, 2001.
- Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, Roger R. Jackson. Snow Lion Publications, 1995.
- Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Lauran R. Hartley, Matthew T. (FRW) Kapstein, Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani. Duke University Press, 2008.
- Tibetan literature. Wei Wu (肖丽萍), Yufang Geng (耿予方).
See also
- Tibetan culture
- Tibetan Buddhist canon
- Namtar -- hagiography
- List of Tibetan writers
- Category:Tibetan Buddhist texts