Among many local plays in Taiwan, the most unique one is puppet show, which can be roughly divided into puppetry, budaixi and shadow play. These puppet shows, due to the special form of performance, the puppet itself is a fine artwork for its sculpture, costume embroidery, music, literature, and thus is popular with people. Among them, budaixi is the most popular with its small, exquisite size and convenient manipulation. A traditional hand puppet show is often a feast of artistic beauty. The puppets are displayed on the palm like real people, and all of them are voiced by one puppeteer with distinct five-tone words.

History of Hand Puppetry
Budaixi, also known as hand puppetry, has a long history, with many theories about its origin. According to Taiwan Province General Chronicle Volume Six Xueyizhi Art Chapter, budaixi was said to be invented in Quanzhou, China. Legend has it that more than three hundred years ago, in Quanzhou at the end of the Ming dynasty, a scholar named Liang Binglin failed in the exam many times. One day when Liang was praying for the blessing of the gods at Xian Gong Temple beside Jiuli Lake, he dreamed of a silver-haired old man who wrote on his palm the words "fame would come to the palm of your hand.” It seemed that fame and glory was in sight. However, he fell down after the exam results was released. He was very upset. Once when he came across a puppet show, it struck him that he could made puppets himself. He manipulated them with his hands by pulling wires. He entertained people with puppets, and wrote plays to express his depression. Unexpectedly, his show made a big splash. People all over the country rushed to hire him for performances. His fame spread far and wide, and until then did he realized the true meaning of "fame would come to the palm of your hand." However, most scholars in Taiwan thought that budaixi can be traced back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, so budaixi has a history of more than 300 years at least.

Source:Hand puppetry learning website  《Click on me》

Compiled by:Tang Yu-chiao, Kuo Chien-yi, Chen Yi-lun Image source: CyberFair camera