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China Tibetannet Editor's Note Shiqu is located in the area inhabited by people of the Tibetan ethnic group. It is close to the Gesar Cultural Area in Yushu and Golog of Qinghai, Qamdo of Tibet, Dege of Garze of Sichuan Province. Our visit to that part of the world not long ago shows that Dege is regarded as the hometown of Gesar, and Shiqu is the cradle of Gesar Culture.
At the invitation of Duan Yijun, Party Secretary of Shiqu County, along with four friends I made a trip to the northwestern tip of Sichuan Province. We went there to look for more of the Gesar Culture. 
Stones Carved With Gesar
Stone carving has long been known to the world. The art is well represented in the Barge Mani Wall and Songge Mani Town. The former extends 1.7 km and the latter is known for its altar shape and a history of some 1,000 years.
When we got to the foot of the Endell Red Hill some 90 km from the county seat, Songge Mani Town rose up in front of us. The Buddha shrines around the town were so exciting that I climbed a ladder provided by a county official to examine them more closely. Around the shrine containing Gesar I discovered a score of Ling state generals cut into the rocks, which I then photographed.
"There are not only stone carvings of King Gesar, but also carvings of some 30 of the most famous generals of the Ling state," an old man told me. He added that the carvings had been in existence for hundreds of years.
When we returned to our lodgings in Shiqu County in the evening, after having carefully measured the town, we were filled with happiness and questions. Some material I read late that night told me that the son of Gesar's military advisor and others were betrayed by Gesar's uncle named Zaotong and died in the battle between the Hor and Ling states at the Endell Red Hill area. Upon their death, Zaotong repented and built the Mani stone mound and a white dagoba at the foot of the hill to house their spirits. This apparently took place some 1,000 years ago, according to the written material. 
In the early 16th century, Baima Renqin rebuilt the Mani stone mound, which was added to by the public over the ensuing centuries to become the present town. Local people believe Nganyi Maqen, a holy mountain, is the place where the soul of Gesar resides. In this sense, Songge Mani Town is the home of souls of the king and his generals.
Since stones carved with Gesar had been found in the town, it was logical to assume there would be more in other Mani stone mounds, and this assumption later proved correct.
The next day, when we examined the back of the Barge Mani Wall, I did my best to examine what was in each of the shrines, and again found a Gesar stone carving.
Tubdain Ruba, in charge of the county's tourism business, invited an old lama in charge of the wall to talk to us.
We chatted in a small house where I found a stone statue of King Gesar.
"The wall was built in 1640," the old lama explained.
"When the wall was first built, the rocks were carved with the Six Syllable Prayer and the stone statue of King Gesar. I brought it here for special protection.
"The 1.7-km wall contains a total of five statues of King Gesar."
Under the old lama's guidance, we saw the remaining carvings. The one at the end of the wall was carved not long ago and is the largest of its kind in the wall.
Hometown of Dengma
Dengma was one of the 30-some generals of the state of Ling, according to Dengma Qingke Zong. Legend has it that Lhoxu was his hometown.
Lhoxu is famous because of the classic entitled Dengma Qingke Zong, a part of the King Gesar epic. According to locals, what was described in the Dengma Qingke Zong took place in the Jingsha River area from Wozhi of Dege County of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Lhoxu in Shiqu County. During the Tubo period, this area was called Deng Longtang or Kang Longtang. It was renamed Dengyu (later Dengke) during the period of the Ling state. When Dengke County was reorganized in the 1970s, its one town and the three townships of Lhoxu were assigned to Shiqu County, while Wozhi and Ngaxu went to Dege County.
Located on the bank of the Jinsha River, Lhoxu, at an elevation of 3,400 meters, is blessed with a warm climate, a boon for growing qingke barley. The names of places listed in Dengma Qingke Zong are still used today.
In Lhoxu, the hometown of Dengma, locals tell this story Dengma was born into the Deng Sahor tribe. He pledged allegiance to the state of Ling when it conquered Dengyu. But some others asserted that Dengma himself was a citizen of the Ling state, and his father was Nangka Shenggar. Of course, there was another story saying that Dengma was the incarnation of the son of the Dragon King, sent to Ling to assist Gesar.
Based on Dengke and General Dengma, people in Garpu Village of Magyia Township of Lhoxu, Shiqu County, believe that long ago, when Dengyu was under the rule of Deng Sahor, Dengma was born in the Deng Sahor Palace. In the first seven days after the birth, it rained blood. Afraid the boy would bring disaster to the area, an order was issued to kill anyone who dared to bring him up. However, Rongcha Chageng, the chief administrator of the Ling state managed to smuggle the boy out of the palace and brought him to Garpu Zebo, within present-day Lhatog Village of Lhoxu Town and Garpu Village of Magyia Town, where the boy conquered a man-eating devil. When they reached the top of Zebolha, the boy refused to go further. "I was born for the security of Dengyu. How can I leave it" he asked. However, his protector managed to take him to Ling state, where the lad emerged as a major general.
We did our best to look for signs of his presence, and a local lama took us to the ruins of the Red Palace of General Dengma, near a Sagya sect monastery named Xurang. Only one wall remained surrounded by mounds. Within the monastery we saw an iron helmet said to have been used by Dengma when he was 13. According to lamas, the Garpu Monastery in Garpu Village, some 10 km from the Red Palace, had been built on the ruins of the White Palace. That monastery contained a helmet used by Dengma when aged 14.
On our way back to the county, we found a General Dengma Memorial Hall being built in Lhoxu Town, and people there told us it was expected to be commissioned within this year.
Ruins of Gear in Zaxika
Shiqu is the origin of the Yarlung Tsangbo River. Its upper reaches are called Zaqu. This is why Shiqu is also called Zaxika which means Yarlung riverside in Tibetan. Ruins related to King Gesar could be found almost everywhere in the 25,141-square-km Zaxika Grassland. For instance, we found stone carvings of Gesar at Shuangge, the site where he trained his men in Maqu Kangbo of Yiniu Township....
On our third day in the county, we met the 5th Living Buddha Silang Renqen. He looked be about 30. While showing us hand-copied material, he told us he had been studying King Gesar for years. "I have visited almost all sites related to the epic," he said, adding that he hoped to see construction of a memorial hall for Gesar and Master Ju Mipang. He showed us hand-copied King Gesar and tangka paintings. The hand-copied King Gesar is a rare edition that has never been published. It tells how Gesar won the horse race to become king of the state of Ling. One of the tangka paintings, depicting Gesar on horseback in battle, was said to be the masterpiece by the king's brother. It should have a history of 1,000 years. In the painting, Gesar has three eyes, and the bristles of his horse are in the shape of cockscombs. The tangka is 62 cm long and 48 cm wide; and the painting itself is 38 cm wide and 47 cm long. Master Ju Mipang also drew a painting of Gesar burning aromatic plants for auspicious smoke. Whenever the local headmen pay homage to King Gesar, the painting is shown. Ju Mipang was the most famous modern Tibetan scholar, known as medical sage and man of letters in the Kham area.
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