Cranes on the grasslands

Zhumo was the concubine of King Gesar of the State of Ling. She owned three cranes. When the Hor King Baizam made inroads into Ling and carried her off, she refused to be his concubine. Through the three cranes, she sent a letter written in her blood to King Gesar, asking him to rescue her. The three cranes did what she demanded.

In the epic King Gesar, the Battle Between Hor and Ling depicts this episode of history in vivid, touching words. It reveals the mistakes of King Gesar. Given the fact that, when the epic was created, the Tubo Society featured worship of the king as the son of the God, it is really unusual for the epic King Gesar to point out his shortcomings and mistakes. Moreover, the epic shows equality between man and cranes, which means man is not the only resident of the earth.

Aesthetic Beauty

Following the industrial revolution, man depended on natural science to achieve leaps and bounds. Alongside with social progress, however, man plunged into unscrupulous plunder of the natural resources. Such wanton plunder brought wealth to mankind, but created pollution. An ecological crisis looms large.

Such a situation reminds me of the ecological concept contained in King Gesar. This, of course, does not mean we will have to return to a primitive society. But we need to pay attention to the relationship between life and nature.

Wetland Ecology

Cranes multiply in the wetland. Scientists take cranes as the parameter of the wetland and as the indicative species.

The number of cranes in the wetland symbolizes the quality of he wetland ecological environment. Statistics show one hectare of wetland produces 600kg of carbon dioxide. It regulates the climate and is a major source of rivers. For instance, the Yangtze River meanders through 60 km of wetland. Hence, wetlands are a source of human civilization.

King Gesar draws from stories much told on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. While Zhumo had three cranes, Hor King Baizam had four birds.

The northern Tibet is an isolated location featuring high elevation, cold climate creating permafrost, and extensive marshlands. Given the fact that 50 percent of the wetlands have been lost in the world, those which emerged during the period of King Gesar have maintained a good ecology.

Ecological Protection

When the State of Hor invaded the State of Ling, King Baizam ordered his troops not to fell the trees and damage the grasslands.

Before engagement, both sides did their best to protect the ecological sites in their respective states. A case in point was the battle between General Gyacha of the State of Ling and Lha'o, son of Hor King Baizam. Lha's sang:

"Tibetan Plateau in the world, Will not balance if there is nothing.
Clouds up in the sky, Turns into rein which nourishes the land,
And fog is produced here.
Summer water become ice in cold places,
And ice melts in warm areas.
Winter and summer shift,
Grass grows as a result,
And cold and warm currents balance."

Ecological Culture of King Gesar

The longest epic in the world, King Gesar, is hailed as the encyclopedia of ancient Tibetan society and Asia's Iliad. Recent years saw redoubled efforts to study the epic, which covers the political, military, economic, cultural, folklore and social fields. The ecological culture it contains is considered to be of realistic value.

Research into the ecological culture and ecological concept is an undertaking which will benefit society and future generations.