Many minority groups in China have long and rich literary traditions, which mainly consist of epics, ballads, myths, legends, poems, anecdotes, words of wisdom, songs, and so forth. Most of these were created collectively and have been passed down orally from generation to generation. Only recently have efforts been made to write them down or have them published as literary collections. For example, in Tibet, it was discovered that a storyteller named Samzhub could sing 20 million words of the Tibetan religious epic Gesser despite the fact that he could not read. His words are being recorded by researchers. Samzhub is only one of many whose words have been recorded. In total, researchers have made 45,000 tapes and recorded 45 million words of various versions of Gesser told by Tibetan and Mongolian storytellers. Some of these stories have already been published.
Jangar, the heroic epic of the Mongols, was first published in Mongolian in the late 1950s, and was revised and republished in the 1980s. The hero epic of the Kirgiz in Xinjiang and Central Asia, Manas, has also been published. The Uigyurs are known for producing words of wisdom and stories of wit and humour. Kutadgu Bilig (Bule zhihui or Wisdom of Royal Glory), a long poem composed by Yusuf Khass-Hajib in the eleventh century, has attracted much academic attention, whereas stories about Afanti, a legendary figure who liked to make fun of the rich and powerful, have become popular among both adults and children throughout China. Oral traditions of some southern minority groups have also been collected, compiled and published, and these include Ashma of the Yi people and the Genesis of the Naxi people. A film based on the former became very popular nationally. The compilation, publication and translation of the literary collections of the minority groups ensure their preservation and help their spread among other ethnic groups.
Further reading
Afanti de gushi (1958).Shanghai: Shanghai wenhua.
——(1959). Beijing: Zuojia.
Afanti de gushi (1963). Beijing: Zhongguo shaonian ertong.
——(1981). Beijing: Zhongguo minjian wenyi.
Ashma (1960). Kunming: Yunnan renmin.
——(1962, 1978). Beijing: Renmin wenxue.
Chuangshiji—Naxizu shishi (1962). Beijing: Renmin wenxue.
Chuangshiji—Naxizu minjian shishi (1978). Kunming: Yunnnan renmin.
Dongba jingdian xuanyi (1994). Trans. He Zhiwu. Kunming: Yunnan renmin.
Dongba wenhua cidian (1997). Trans. Li Guowen. Kunming: Yunnan jiaoyu chubanse.
Dongba xiangxing wenzi changyongci yizhu (1995).
Trans. Zhao Jingxiu. Kunming: Yunnan renmin.
Fule zhihui (1979). Trans. Geng Shimin and Wei Zuiyi. Urumqi: Xinjiang renmin.
——(1986). Trans. Hao Guanzhong. Beijing: Minzu.
Gesa’er Wang Zhuan (1980–8). Multi-volumes. Trans. Wang Yinuan et al. Lanzhou: Gansu renmin.
——(1991). Trans. Wang Qinuan and Wang Xingxian. Lanzhou: Dunhuang wenyi.
——(1991). Trans. Xu Guoqiong and Wang Xiaosong. Beijing: Zhongguo zangxue.
——(2000). Trans. Liu Liqian. Beijing: Minzu.
Jiangge’er (1983). Trans. Sedaoerji. Beijing: Renmin wenxue.
——(1993). Trans. Heile and Ding Shihao. Urumqi: Xinjiang renmin.
Zhongguo shaoshu minzu yingxiong shishi—Manasi (1990, 1995). Trans. Lang Ying. Hangzhou: Zhejiang jiaoyu.
HAN XIAORONG