Table of Contents

Foreword / Matthew K. Kapstein vii
Note on Transliteration xi
Introduction / Lauran R. Hartley and Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani xiii
Part One: Engaging Traditions
1. Heterodox Views and the New Orthodox Poems: Tibetan Writers in the Early and Mid-Twentieth Century / Lauran R. Hartley 3
2. Roar of the Snow Lion: Tibetan Poetry in Chinese / Yangdon Dhondup 32
3. The Development of Modern Tibetan Literature in the People's Republic of China in the 1980s / Tsering Shakya 61
4. Dondrup Gyel and the Remaking of the Tibetan Ramayana / Nancy G. Lin 86
5. "Heartbeat of a New Generation": A Discussion of the New Poetry / Pema Bhum 112
6. "Heartbeat of a New Generation" Revisited / Pema Bhum 135
7. "Oracles and Demons" in Tibetan Literature Today: Representations of Religion in Tibetan-Medium Fiction / Francoise Robin 148
8. One Nation, Two Discourses: Tibetan New Era Literature and the Language Debate / Lara maconi 173
9. The "Condor" Flies over Tibet: Zhaxi Dawa and the Significance of Tibetan Magical Realism / Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani 202
10. In Quest(ion) of an "I": Identity and Idiocy in Alai's Red Poppies / Howard Y. F. Choy 225
11. Development and Urban Space in Contemporary Tibetan Literature / Riika J. Virtanen 236
12. Modern Tibetan Literature and the Rise of Writer Coteries / Sangye Gyatso (Gangzhun) 263
13. Tibetan Literature in the Diaspora / Hortsang Jigme 281
14. Placing Tibetan Fiction in a World of Literary Studies: Jamyang Norbu's The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes / Steven J. Venturino 301
Appendix 1: Glossary of Tibetan Spellings 327
Appendix 2: Glossary of Chinese Terms 338
Appendix 3: Contemporary Tibetan Literary Works in Translation 340
Bibliography 345
About the Contributors 369
Index 373

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A critical introduction to modern Tibetan literature

About the Author

Lauran R. Hartley is Tibetan Studies Librarian at the C. V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University. The translator of Six Stars with a Crooked Neck: Tibetan Memoirs of the Cultural Revolution, Hartley has a doctorate in Tibetan studies. Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani is part-time Assistant Professor of Chinese at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She is President and Founder of the Tibetan Arts and Literature Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Tibetan publishing initiatives. Schiaffini-Vedani has a doctorate in Chinese language and literature, specializing in Sinophone Tibetan literature.

Reviews

"Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change will instantly become the standard reference for future writing on Tibetan literature. The significance of that literature for Sino-Tibetan relations and for the fate of the Tibetan cultural world is only now being recognized. The list of contributors to this collection is a veritable 'who's who' in the study of Tibetan literature."--Janet Gyatso, author of Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary "This book is a milestone. It is the first to bring together the complex variety of ingredients that have nurtured modern Tibetan literature. It considers several literary genres, written in three languages (Tibetan, Chinese, and English), and gives sensitive attention both to Tibetan literary tradition and to the turmoil of modern politics and social change."--Perry Link, author of The Uses of Literature: Life in the Socialist Chinese Literary System "Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change is a pioneering and engaging collection of articles by prominent Tibetan, French and American academics tracing the evolution of Tibetan literature over the past fifty years. Lean and perceptive articles cover a wide range of literary output...With the representations of "Tibetanness" so hotly debated in China and the West, this collection gives a fascinating insight into the parallel debate raging within Tibetan literature itself." George Fitzherbert, Times Literary Supplement, 28th November 2008 "This project fills a long necessary gap not only in the study of Tibetan language and literature, but also in modern Tibetan cultural studies. It succeeds admirably in a task that is not attempting nearly often enough: of bringing Tibetan-related topics into meaningful dialogue with other areas and disciplines...The essays in this book establish a very strong case for why Tibetan literature should be included in World literature categories and given consideration for its artistic and literary quality as well as its political content. Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change, moves far beyond this audience however, as its mature and thought-provoking meditation on concepts of identity, ethnicity, language, and the limitations of the modern nation state in conceptualising culture will not only make it a useful text for courses on modern Tibetan history and culture, but also generally interesting for readers interested in postcolonial/postmodern cultural studies. The editors should be applauded for putting together a selection of exciting and stimulating papers that represent the cutting edge of research in this emerging field. Hopefully this project represents only the beginning of more inter-disciplinary adventures in Tibetan cultural history." Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, The Newsletter IIAS, Summer 2009