Yueh-an Wang
Today, I came to the school with excitement but nervousness and looked forward to the afternoon, because we planned a visit to the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe for a deeper understanding of our CyberFair project theme. As the assembly time was 3:20 p.m., before the English class was dismissed, I rushed back to the classroom to get my schoolbag, then rushed to the computer room to sort out the materials, and set out for the troupe with some apprehension.

After we arrived at the troupe, gracious director Yueh-chang Lin warmly received and welcomed us, and I immediately threw the tension out of my mind. Inside, I looked around the room. There were puppets, costumes, and pictures of the performances everywhere. Later, we followed the procedures to interview director Lin, who answered our questions in detail. After the interview, director Lin briefly introduced the history of hand puppetry and related information about the troupe, then took some puppets to teach us how to manipulate them. The puppet I got belonged to “Chou” from the five role types of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou. The way to manipulate the puppet is to insert your index finger into the puppet’s head, with the thumb controlling its left hand and the other three fingers controlling its right hand. After I put all my fingers in place, I began to have fun with Yu-jui Chang's puppet, “Jing.” But time flies when you're having fun. I felt like I was only playing for five minutes, and the visiting time was almost over. Everyone had the same feeling as me, but the reality is always cruel, so we had to say goodbye to the director reluctantly.

When I went back to the school after the interview, I thought about today's interview. At the end of the interview, which was conducted the first time in my life, I was both disappointed and delighted. I was disappointed that the interview ended too soon, but I was happy because I benefited a lot from the interview and learned a lot of knowledge about the puppet show that I didn't know before. It was really a rewarding trip.

Yu-jui Chang
The members and teachers of the CyberFair project were scheduled to visit the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe near the school from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13. I came to the school with expectation and excitement that day, but the uniform I brought was left on the bus. At last, I had to borrow a uniform from the school health center and a pair of shoes from my classmate to change clothes. Alas! I was really too careless.

Finally, the long-awaited afternoon came, and when we arrived at the troupe with our teachers, director Lin warmly welcomed us. Inside, there were puppets and costumes everywhere, as well as photos of Lin's father performing, which are really very valuable information. After interviewing director Lin, we were eager to operate the puppets. Therefore, director Lin took many puppets and allowed us to manipulate them. He also introduced them to us: "For a Sheng role type, its walking needs to…, and Dan’s walking needs to…" The puppet I got was "Jing," with a green face plus red hair. I thought I was good at it, but after seeing director Lin perform a fight scene for us, I realized I was like teaching fish how to swim. How embarrassing! At the end of the visit, we posed for a group photo with director Lin, with hands holding the puppets.

Visiting the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe not only completed the task of our CyberFair project, but also saw director Lin in person and experienced how to manipulate the puppets. I hope that local traditional arts and operas, including budaixi, Taiwanese gezai opera, shadow puppetry and so on, can be slowly passed down under the government subsidy!

Yuen-yu Yang

This afternoon was the day for our team members to visit director Lin of the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. Before our visit, we worked out various questions for him and practiced a lot for today’s event.

As soon as we entered the door, the amiable director Lin took us to the living room. I gave a gift box to him and successfully completed the first task. Then I took the lead in asking him questions! The director's detailed answers to our questions were clear ranging from the reasons for taking over the troupe to the current situation and future prospects. Director Lin spoke with humor about what he had been through at the troupe. Touching yet funny!

After the interview, he also shared many experiences in his performing career, and introduced various puppets in detail, with a variety of characters. After that, we actually operated the puppets together!

During this visit, I learned a lot about the hand puppetry. For example, the head of the puppet is carved from wood and then colored, so it can't collide with each other, otherwise the paint will fall off and the puppet be damaged. The roles of the puppets can be divided into five types, i.e. Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou, which are very special. I hope we can visit Lin's home again next time and learn more about the art!

Chen-yu Wu
This time we visited the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. Before the visit, we made a lot of preparations, discussed the questions we wanted to ask, learned interview skills, and did practices.

As soon as we saw troupe director Lin in person, he warmly welcomed us to come in and sit down. He first introduced himself before we interviewed him. Other members spoke very well, neither too fast nor too slow, and director Lin explained and answered in detail. When it was my turn, I was very nervous, but his warm reassurance relaxed me, so I asked the questions I prepared easily. At first, I expected that his answer would be less than 100 words, but instead he started from the legend, with a thorough description.

Although director Lin told us story in fragments, they were very vivid. It felt like we had experienced such a thing. When we listened, we were so fascinated that I even forgot to take notes! After the interview, director Lin gave use some hands-on experience of the puppets, allowing us to know more about the traditional puppet show.

I have gained a lot from this visit and known more about Taiwan's traditional puppetry. But these beautiful traditions have been neglected by us and are facing the crisis of being lost. For this reason, I sincerely hope that everyone should stop being phubbers in their free time, but go outdoors to explore Taiwan's culture!

Meng-chieh Chou

Today was the day that we were going to visit the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. Before that, we spent a lot of time in preparing the topics and doing practices for an interview with director Lin.

As soon as we entered the door, director Lin greeted us warmly and introduced himself. We saw many puppets of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou, with different face features. When I asked Lin about the puppetry characters, he explained the origin of budaixi and sang a poem in Hokkien dialect. Although I could not understand it, it exhibited the ups and downs of the characters' emotions with the tone. It was really interesting!

After the interview, we actually manipulated the puppets. It was very interesting. During the operation, director Lin also explained how to make the puppet. Not until then did I realize that the head of the puppet was made of wood. Then he performed another fight scene, which reflected the saying of “one minute of performance on stage, ten years of hard work off stage.” Puppet fights are conducted with both hands, while a rollover is performed by throwing two puppets into the air, with each falling on the other hand, as if they were actually scuffling.

This visit taught me a lot, such as: the history of budaixi, collision between the heads of the puppets not allowed, the role types of Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou. It also helped me to understand the history and related knowledge of the troupe. It's a worthwhile trip!

Yu-chiao Tang
Today was the day for us to visit the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. After discussion and sorting out the interview questions, with the efforts of all members and the help of the teachers, we didn't feel so nervous at the director Lin's home.

When I first arrived at the front door of director Lin's house, I realized the hard work of running a troupe. A large truck was carrying pieces of wooden platforms. After director Lin's explanation, it turned out that doing a hand puppet show was no easy task. During the interview, Lin answered our questions in great detail, talking about the history, origin and taboos of budaixi, such as: eating no mitten crabs, talking about no snakes, etc.

After the interview, director Lin allowed us to manipulate the puppets. It seemed easy when watching his demonstration, but when we started to operate them ourselves, it was nothing of the sort: Not only is the puppet's head heavy, but its body is too soft to hold up. Director Lin also performed several scenes for us. He skillfully did a narration in Taiwanese, and staged a fight scene between two puppets. When one puppet was preparing to attack with weapons, Lin threw another puppet into the air, just like a move to dodge the assault, which was marvelous and eye-opening.

After this interview, I not only gained a lot of knowledge about hand puppetry, but also learned the interview skills. Following hands-on experience of the puppets, I realized the truth of "one minute of performance on stage, ten years of hard work off stage." The trip was really worthwhile.

Chien-i Kuo
This time, we went to visit the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe and interviewed director Yueh-chang Lin. We had spent a lot of time practicing in advance, so that we could finish it without a hitch. We have also learned a lot about budaixi, and have had more experience and understanding of Taiwan's traditional arts.

I felt that after this visit, I have a deeper understanding of the puppet show. Although the head of the troupe admitted that he did not like the hand puppetry at the beginning, he had to take over the troupe as his "work" with his father's persuasion! But it's admirable that Lin and other members of the troupe devoted their time to passing on traditional culture, so that Taiwan's traditional culture will not be in danger of extinction!

As soon as we stepped into the gate of the troupe, we saw two gods enshrined by the troupe. One is Marshal Tian Du, the other is The King of Western Qin for the front and back stages respectively. Legend has it that The King of Western Qin was once trapped by a snake demon. Later, a tiger came out of the mountain and bit the snake to death. Therefore, there is a rule of forbidding talking about snakes during the performance. The troupe would also worship the tiger that rescued The King of Western Qin from danger. According to legend, Marshal Tian Du got separated from her mother in the field when he was an infant. He had to live on the foam from the crab's mouth, so the troupe has taboos against eating crabs.

This visit has benefited me a lot. I have learned that there are many connections between theater and legendary gods, which were very interesting. Although I was nervous, I actually did well!

Yu-ning Chou

Today we were going to visit the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. We had done a lot of practices before the visit and corrected many problems in the process.

As soon as we entered the house, troupe director Lin with a kind face came out to welcome us, took us to the living room, and received our interview! He answered our questions in detail in a humorous way.
Each question had a story behind, which I expected to be a bunch of dull ones, but it turned out that each was so interesting that I wanted to hear more.

After answering the questions, director Lin introduced the history and legends of hand puppetry, and let us control the puppets ourselves. Seeing our two members staging a fight scene with puppets, he then explained the way of making the puppet. Because the head of the puppet was carved from wood and painted, we should not knock their heads against each other, otherwise the paint on it might be damaged accidentally.

This interview enabled me to know all kinds of knowledge about budaixi, especially relevant taboos, which I could not find on the Internet. After listening to the explanation by director Lin, I learned that puppet operators are not allowed to talk about snakes during the show or eat crabs.
This visit has benefited me a lot. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were reluctant to return to school. I really wanted to continue to listen to the story told by him!

Hsin-yu Wu
The day of visiting the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe finally arrived! After many discussions and votes on a variety of themes proposed by everyone, we finally decided on the theme of "Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe" and began to collect relevant information for further development. Finally, we made an appointment with director Lin for a visit on December 13. After confirming the date of the interview, we began to work out the topic. After discussion and suggestions from the teachers, we started to practice.

When everything was ready, we went to the Ming Hsu Shih Glove Puppet Theater Troupe. Director Lin warmly greeted us and my tension instantly disappeared. After sitting down, we began to do the interview! For every question we asked, director Lin responded in detail. After the interview, he performed an excellent puppet show, which made us fascinated. After that, he gave us hands-on puppet experience, and everyone had a great time! Before we left, we posed for a group photo with director Lin, with hands holding the puppets.

Although this visit did not last long, I got a lot out of it. It was a new experience and helped me to increase my knowledge. It was really great!

I-lun Chen

Today was the day for us to visit troupe director Lin. before we set out, we made a lot of preparations, such as reciting the script, searching for the materials of hand puppetry and working out interview questions. I hoped we could perform well.

When I arrived at director Lin’s home, I found that his table was full of puppets, which were divided into five categories: Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo and Chou. As he was hospitalized a while before, we first presented nutrition products to him as a gesture of goodwill, and then he began to introduce the history of hand puppetry to us, so that we could gain a basic understanding of the origin of the hand puppet show and why it would come to Taiwan, so as to avoid an awkward situation caused by our ignorance in the interview.

At first, I was a little nervous because I was a first-time interviewer, but later I got used to it, and it became better and easier! In recent years, due to the government's lack of support for civil groups, such traditional leisure and entertainment activities have become less and less, and could only be found at temple fairs. Because of this, many young people do not understand this century-old traditional culture and may never see it again, which is a great pity. In the future, in addition to the hope that the government can provide more guidance, we also need to lend more support, so that Taiwan's traditional culture would not disappear.


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