King Gesar, the Tibetan epic, passed down through the generations in a combination of song and narration. It is the longest epic poem in this form known in the world today. In Tibetan-in-habited areas Gesar has been known as the king of the ancient Tibetan kingdom of Ling. The great hero and his brave army are kept alive in the richly imaginative retelling of the epic. From early times the epic was passed on orally. Today a small number of woodblocks preserving sections of the epic can be found in Lhasa, Xigaze and Dege County in Sichuan Province and some handwritten copies in the homes of families high and low. Gesar's image and story are still reborn in carvings, paintings, murals, woodcuts, embroideries, songs, dances and plays.

Tibet has a research institute specializing in the study of the epic. Its research projects are listed as key State projects. Since 1979, the institute has collected more than 180 different combined song and narration versions of the epic, 55 woodblock and mimeographed editions and recorded 70 performances of the epic, filling more than 5,000 recording tapes. A number of sites associated with King Gesar in popular legend have been found and more than 30 folk tales concerning it collected. It is estimated that when reduced this material will supply 80 volumes, approximately 1 million lines of poetry (or 15 million words). More than 20 titles have already been published including Divination in the Celestial Worm and the Ling Kingdom, Birth of the Hero, Winning the Throne in a Horse Race, Battle Between the Meng and Ling Kingdoms, Opening the Gold Cave in Ngari and Distributing Tazig's Wealth.