8/16/2023 0 Comments Chinese puppetry in singapore![]() ![]() The show was eventually allowed back on the air in 1982, in the waning days of martial law. ![]() So when the government drove the popular show Shi Yan-wen from television, it’s likely that protecting the economy was less of a concern than some political considerations. At this point, the dialogue would also switch from Japanese to Taiwanese. Interestingly, a similar dynamic had existed during the years of Japanese colonial rule when Taiwanese art and entertainment were discouraged from promoting themes considered overtly “local.” During this period, many Taiwanese puppet troupes would dress their puppets in Japanese kimonos, only to remove the outer garbs later in the performance (after the colonial authorities had departed) to reveal traditional budaixi attire beneath. Regulations restricted the amount of Taiwanese programming and even the number of Taiwanese songs that could be performed on TV each day. ![]() The language issueĭuring the martial law era, budaixi contrasted sharply with nearly everything else on Taiwan’s popular entertainment landscape in that most performances were performed in Taiwanese rather than the Mandarin that the Kuomintang (KMT) government was intent on promoting. The attention to details, such as with this puppet of Shi Yan-wen, brings the characters to life. But many suspected that another motivation was involved. The government pulled the show off the air in 1974, accusing it of disrupting the nation’s work schedule and harming the economy. Legend has it that when Shi Yan-wen (史豔文) was on air, productivity around Taiwan ground to a halt. In 1971, his program Shi Yan-wen : the Scholar Swordsman quickly became a sensation, consistently hitting ratings of 90% or higher. Considered the father of television puppet theater, puppet master Huang Chun-hsiung refined the Golden Ray style for the TV age, with dialogue in Taiwanese supplemented by Chinese subtitles. Puppet theater was featured on Taiwan television from its early days, but saw a tremendous rise in popularity over the next decade. The advent of television in the 1960s would cause the art form to evolve even more. The popularity of this new style grew rapidly alongside traditional budaixi shows. Black lights and fireworks were added to create greater fanfare, and elements from foreign movies, music, and cartoons were incorporated into the puppet shows. Golden Ray’s puppets were larger, and their colors, clothing, and hairstyles also changed. The biggest changes in the budaixi world came after the creation of the Golden Ray Theater (Jinguang Budaixi ) in 1950, which ushered in a new era for puppet theater in Taiwan. Performances were held at times of important life events in society, including weddings and various religious observances. The tradition of traveling budaixi troupes changed little in Taiwan from the Qing dynasty into Japanese colonial days. The baskets were kept backstage and puppets would be tossed into them during the performance to facilitate quick character changes. The art form was also known as “small-basket theater” after the way in which the puppets were carried between villages and towns by the performers. Though found elsewhere, budaixi experienced its greatest development in Taiwan and has become something of a national art form.īudaixi literally means “cloth sack theater.” In the early days, the glove puppet bodies were created from square, sack-shaped pieces of cloth, while the head, hands, and feet were carved from wood or molded from clay. Scholars believe it originated in the coastal regions of China sometime in the 18th century before spreading to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia along with migrants from the China mainland. The most popular type of puppetry in Taiwan is budaixi (布袋戲, also sometimes written as potehi or poteshi), in which puppets are worn like a glove and manipulated by hand. Shadow puppetry, now more widely associated with Indonesia, creates a shadow performance for the audience with intricately cut leather strips performing behind a backlit cloth. These include marionette puppetry in which the action is controlled from above by strings, and rod puppetry in which the puppets’ bodies are moved around the stage on a long stick while smaller rods are used to control the arms and legs. China boasts several styles of puppetry dating back to the Han dynasty. Puppet theater’s rich history throughout Asia is well known. While evolving from outdoor performances in villages and city neighborhoods to television and the internet, budaixi has maintained its popularity. ![]()
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