Divine artist Barga performs King Gesar at Naqu Mass Art Center. The painting behind him is a portrait of King Gesar. [CnDG by Jiao Meng]

In Tibet, there once lived a King Gesar of gLing. He was believed to be the human incarnation of Padmasambhava, a sage guru from Oddiyana whose name means "the lotus born." Viewed as a "second Buddha," Padmasambhava was said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet and neighboring countries from India.

Stories about the legendary King Gesar and his brave army have been passed down by Tibetans for 1,000 years in a collectively created epic through folk oral traditions. The longest literary work in the world, the epic of King Gesar would fill 120 volumes if assembled into a single compilation, containing more than 20 million words -- 25 times the length of Homer's "Iliad."

The ancient text remains alive today, prized as one of the few remaining "living" epics. King Gesar is kept alive today in rich, imaginative retellings by Gesar ballad singers. One center in Naqu, Xizang Autonomous Region, is trying to preserve and spread the ancient and mysterious art.

As many of the old generations of performers die, so too do the arias and expression methods they sang and used.

"The oldest one right now is only 50 years old, and it's an urgent task to record and protect King Gesar stories," said Zhong Se, the director of Naqu Mass Art Center, the only King Gesar preservation site in Tibet.

She said that the center has found 65 people who can perform King Gesar, and among them, 12 are "divine artists" -- people who have "opened the light by Living Buddha."

Mysterious inheriting method

"Most divine artists got their ability to perform King Gesar around 13, and none of them could read or write," Zhong said. "But they could remember all of the lyrics, which is truly a miracle."

Many ballad singers begin their careers following a dream during sleep, after which they are able to recite large portions of the epic.

Barga, a diving artist, said he was 13 when he dreamed about an old man with a gray goatee.

"He showed me a white road and forced me to walk onto it," Barga, who is now 40, said. "At first I felt scared, but after a while, I could see saint mountains in Tibet surrounding me, and I suddenly felt that I was able to praise saint mountains with endless words."

Lang Se, another divine artist who is 34, said he had a dream after his parents took him to meet a living Buddha at a nearby temple when he was 13, who baptized him. That night, he had a dream about a saint riding a horse.

"He ordered me to read the books he gave me," Lang said. "I never learned how to read, but at that time, I could understand all the words on the books!"

"When I woke up, I kept speaking and singing about the contents of the books," he said. "My family found that I was performing King Gesar."