Tibetan Folk Tales

Folk tales are an important component of the long and rich culture of Tibetan ethnic minority. Most of their contents have connection with Tibetan Buddhism, because such religion has become part of the Tibetans' daily life.

The Tibetan folk tales can be divided into two types: stories handed down through oral narration, stories compiled and recorded in the written form. All these stories have been popular among people for a long time.

The Tibetan folk stories can be further divided into several subcategories: stories eulogizing wise people and describing the resistance against oppression and exploitation, myths and stories about fighting against nature, and stories describing love freedom and marriage, and fables that personalize animals to further reveal life philosophy to human beings.

As to the artistic expression of Tibetan folk stories, this kind of literature has diversified, flexible styles, including myths, legends and fables, etc. As to the artistic techniques, the folk stories adopted rich techniques. Folk songs and popular ballads are always added into the Tibetan folk stories, so storytellers can sing while telling a story to attract listeners and make stories more vivid. This is one of the major differences between the Tibetan folk stories and other folk stories.