TY - JOUR AU - Virtanen, Riika J. PY - 2020/08/07 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Artists and Society in Modern Tibetan Literature JF - Studia Orientalia Electronica JA - StOrE VL - 8 IS - 1 SE - DO - 10.23993/store.8662 UR - https://journal.fi/store/article/view/8662 SP - 85-119 AB - <p>It is usually thought that modern forms of Tibetan culture started to emerge largely in the latter half&nbsp;of the twentieth century, although there existed some signs and developments of modernization&nbsp;already in the first half. Since then, modern and traditional arts have existed side by side, often&nbsp;influencing each other and even appearing in hybrid forms. This situation is reflected in stories&nbsp;about artists in contemporary Tibetan fiction: these literary works include stories about artists&nbsp;which reflect both traditional Tibetan arts and folk culture and modern arts. This essay focuses on&nbsp;prose works by three writers: Dhondup Gyal (1953–1985), Tashi Palden (b. 1962), and Tsering<br>Dhondup (b. 1961). In the works discussed, the main characters are representatives of different&nbsp;art forms. The stories contain descriptions of the lives of artists and themes related to becoming,&nbsp;practising, and living as an artist. After the occupation of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army of&nbsp;the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s, Tibetan society underwent a considerable transformation.&nbsp;The changes in society and its norms and values are also reflected in the descriptions of the&nbsp;artists’ lives. The relationship between artists and the surrounding society cannot be characterized&nbsp;unidimensionally. The stories describe highly differing attitudes and values towards culture and&nbsp;art, which range from appreciating and being supportive to limiting and being negative. The relationship&nbsp;between the artist and society may also undergo changes within a single story, reflecting&nbsp;the influence of different attitudes and cultural policies in the society towards the practice of an&nbsp;artistic vocation. Examining the descriptions of artists and the theme of living as an artist, this&nbsp;essay contributes to the discussion of the genre of artist stories in Tibetan culture.</p> ER -