Tibetan literature
Tibetan literature generally refers to literature written in the
Terminology
Today, the term "Tibetan literature" can also be applied to any work by an ethnic Tibetan person. However, who is a "Tibetan" and who speaks "the Tibetan language" are contested. For instance, Chinese ethnologists have argued that the
Historical
The Tibetan script was developed from an Indic script in the 7th century during the Tibetan Imperial period. Literature in the Tibetan language received its first impetus in the 8th century with the establishment of the monastic university
Throughout most of Tibetan history, its literary works have been strongly influenced by
Modern era
After 1949, when
The most influential Tibetan writers come from Qinghai rather than Tibet; these "Amdowa" writers include Dhondup Gyal and Gendün Chöphel, whose works were characteristic of modernism. Their works are featured in Tibetan-language textbooks used in the "Five Provinces" as part of China's unified education policy for all Tibetan-speaking areas of China. According to the exile historian Tsering Shakya, despite state monitoring, "Tibetan writers, intellectuals, and artists have been able through fiction to conduct an autonomous debate on the nature of Tibetan identity".[1]
Modern Tibetan literature is influenced by the trends of Chinese literature as a whole because of intranational translation from Chinese into Tibetan; Tibetan-language literature is also translated into Chinese, but to a far lesser extent. The Catalogue of Chinese Publications in Tibetan Studies (1949-1991) lists 1,497 Tibetological publications, 813 in Chinese and 663 in Tibetan. Some well-known Tibetan writers who publish in both Chinese and Tibetan include Jangbu and Tsedor. Adding to the diversity of Tibetan literature are longtime Han Chinese residents of Tibet who were educated in Tibetan; these lao Xizang (Tibetan veterans) often publish literary criticism with nostalgic and sentimental overtones.[4]
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. 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. Within China the most promoted author is Alai (1959-), who writes in Chinese. Tashi Dawa, the vice-chairman of the TARWA, is another prominent Sinophone Tibetan writer.[1]
Diaspora literature
Writers in the
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.
- Contemporary Tibetan Literary Studies. (v1-6) ed. Steven J. Venturino, International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford.
- Materials for a history of Tibetan literature, Part 1. Lokesh Chandra, International Academy of Indian Culture, 1963
- 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).
- The arrow and the spindle: studies in history, myths, rituals and beliefs in Tibet, Volume 2. Samten Gyaltsen Karmay, Mandala Book Point, 1998
- Amdo Tibetans in transition: society and culture in the post-Mao era. International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000
See also
- Tibetan culture
- Tibetan Buddhist canon
- Namtar—hagiography
- Tibetan autobiography
- List of Tibetan writers
- The Girl Langa Langchung and the Rooster
- Category:Tibetan Buddhist texts
References
- ^ a b c d Kolas, Ashield; Thowsen, Monika P. (2005). On the Margins of Tibet: Cultural Survival on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier. pp. 40–41, 138–139.
- ^ Richardson, Hugh (1983). Art of Tibet. Collection. University of California Press. p. 58.
- ^ a b c Blondeau, Anne-Marie; Buffetrille, Katia (2008). "What is the Chinese Government's Attitude Toward Traditional Tibetan Literature and Art?". Authenticating Tibet: Answers to China's 100 Questions. University of California Press. pp. 214–217.
- ^ a b Hartley, Lauran; Schiaffini-Vedani, Patricia (2008). Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Duke University Press. pp. 181–183.
- ^ McMillin, Laurie Hovell (2002), "New Age Namtar: Tibetan Autobiographies in English", in Klieger, P. Christiaan (ed.), Tibet, Self, and the Tibetan Diaspora, Brill, pp. 156–157
Further reading
- Damdinsuren, T. (1977). "A Short Review on Tibetan Literature and Its Mongolian Translations". The Tibet Journal. 2 (3): 62–66. JSTOR 43299870.