🔎Local Drama ~ Glove puppetry

  The glove puppetry we still can see during temple activities in Zhutang Township was originated from the inland when the Fujian immigrants came. In Quanzhou, Fujian, Zhangzhou, and Taiwan, hand-operated puppet shows are called "palm shows," "glove puppetry," and "cloth bag opera. And "glove puppetry" is the most common title. We know from social studies that the early immigrants from Quanzhou, Zhangzhou brought their beliefs and began to build temples after successful reclaims.The annual birthday of gods often became the most popular. There were not only idolatrous parades but also the local troupes performing in front of the temples. During the Japanese colonial period, the former township theater was not easy to cross the sea and perfrom. Therefore, it faced the shortage of Nanguan musicians. Thus, a large number of Beiguan musicians and martial arts halls are used to develop a bright and lively "Beiguan glove puppetry". After that, with Taiwan's special historical and social environment, "Taiwan Jin-Guang glove pupperty" was gradually developed!

  Our teachers invited teacher Min-wen Lin who was from Ho-Lo workshop the promotion center of classical puppet. He came to our school with traditional puppets and taught us the knowledge and techniques of the traditional puppet culture. At the same time, Mr. Lin also brought the documentary "Father" which was directed by Li-zhou Yang for ten years and truly presented the flourishing and withering of traditional opera . The documentary introduced national treasure master Xi-huang Chen who is now 88-year-old traditional puppet master and won the 2 awards of "Important Traditional Puppetry Preserver" and "Classical Puppet Clothing Technology Preserver."