"Although Jing Yi's book (Golden Himalayas) is not a huge work, it carries great symbolic meaning. Although of Bai ethnic group, her work concentrates on another ethnic group. This is a symbol of harmony among the Chinese ethnic groups," said Deng Youmei, vice-chairman of the Chinese Writers Association.
"Tibetan medicine is a rich scientific and cultural heritage. It faces urgent questions of how to scientifically continue, develop and make use of the tradition. Jing Yi's work is a warm reflection on the growth of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Group, said Danzhu Angben, a Tibetan scholar with the Central Translation Center of Ethnic Minority Literature.
"As a Tibetan scholar, I once again feel the splendid achievements of my people, and wander freely on the Himalayas and the Yarlung Zangbo River with the author."
"This is a different and rich story. A group of strange but charismatic people are vivid and alive here, such as scientists, entrepreneurs, Tibetan medical masters, astronomy masters, Tibetan directors of medicine plants, singers and business representatives. The gathering of these people is in itself a legend," said Lei Da, a literary critic.
"If you read Festival and Survival carefully, you'll find that Jing Yi has portrayed Bai Gengsheng as a modern sage of the Naxi people. This is not only because Bai was the general designer of the Dongba festival, more importantly, he is a scholar with modern sense and a solid base of social sciences. His expounding of the Dongba culture was the basis of the festival, an important turn in the history of Naxi people. When the old Dongba Xi Aniu held an ancient ceremony to grant the title 'A-ming-dong-bai' to Bai Gengsheng, the old dongba actually pushed the young man into the position as the third generation Dongba sage after Ding-ba-shi-luo and A-ming-shi-luo. Through the eyes of the old dongba, we can feel the trust, love and great expectations the Naxi people have placed on the new generation of scholars," said He Xilai,a literary critic.
(China Daily April 22, 2002)
