Gesar tells of events occurring between the first and fifth centuries, as the clan system disintegrated, and the slave society evolved. Wars between clans, tribes and ethnic groups constitute the main origins of these stories. From the seventh to ninth centuries, when the Tubo Kingdom was at its zenith, national morale was high, and tales of legendary war heroes were disseminated by word of mouth. The framework for King Gesar thus came into being during this priod, and a few handwritten copies appeared. On the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom in the 10th century, the saga of Gesar was more widely diffused and, in the process, embellished and enhanced.

 

Apart from beingan epic about wars that occurred between different tribes within Tibetan ethnic groups, and the eventual unification of Tibet, Gesar's plot also tells of the three realms (Heaven, Earth, and Hell) and various gods and deities. Gesar, the eponymous leading character within the epic, not only conquers visible enemies, but also triumphs over invisible demons and ghosts. The epic encompasses a massive body of Tibetan mythology.

 

To protect this precious Tibetan cultural gem, in 1979 Tibet Autonomous Region set up a special organization to collect, sort out, record, analyze and publish the epic Gesar. The state has listed this as a key research project for the sixth, seventh and eighth five-year plans. After 20 years of effort, nearly 300 volumes, handwritten and woodblock printed in the Tibetan language, have been collected, and more than 70 volumes published, with a total impression of 3 million copies. More than 3,000 audio cassettes, called the "King of the World Epics," have been recorded, making this oral literature a magnum opus of historic significance. meanwhile, more than 20 volumes have been translated into Chinese and published, and some English, Japanese and French translations have also been published. This feat is unprecedented, both in terms of the preservation of Tibetan folk literature, and in the history of publishing.