Puppet Theater Stage Venues and Performance Styles

In the middle of the 17th century, glove puppetry was very popular in south Fujian. A style emerged in which an individual could stage performances with everything needed contained in a single portable chest. The performer could set up at any designated spot, where the chest became a simple stage, and the puppet master was hidden from view behind a cloth curtain. In the 18th century professional traveling-opera troupes emerged; they would be invited to travel to specific locations, giving shows on outdoor stages. Later these shows evolved to become performances presented specifically to greet or thank deities.

The early glove-puppetry performance stage was a four-cornered shed, made from elaborately carved camphor wood with gold foil pasted on the surface. Since it looked like a temple pavilion from a distance, it was called a cailou (彩樓) or “color pavilion.” The stage was divided into two parts, the upper called the dingpeng (頂蓬) or “canopy,” and the lower the xiapeng (下蓬) or, literally, “under canopy.” Four dragon columns supported the structure, and an apron also surrounded the xiapeng. Two glazed, carved boards were hung horizontally under the transom, to prevent the audience from seeing the puppet master at work, creating three small portals. A small, finely crafted curtain is attached above each portal. Each such stage was a work of art, but because they were expensive to build and not easy to transport, in the late 1930s a billboard-style stage was created in Taiwan that compared favorably with the traditional type in terms of visual effect.

Early glove-puppet performances were for the most part improvised. More formalized storylines emerged in the 18th century, such as Wupao Ji (烏袍記) or “Black Gown Recollection” and Xique Gaozhuang (喜雀告狀) or “Happy Sparrow Files a Lawsuit,” centered on trials, men of letters and beautiful damsels, etc. Today, the most popular plays feature stories adapted from well-known traditional Chinese novels such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義), Journey to the West (西遊記), and Investiture of the Gods (封神榜). In the 1980s, more acrobatic martial-arts combat, comedy, and sci-fi elements were developed in Taiwan puppet theater to heighten the entertainment value.

Glove-Puppet Theater — As Real as Life

Manipulating a bamboo stick with one hand to make a glove puppet delicately comb its hair or smooth its beard are the minute movement inventions that Master Chen Xihuang (陳錫煌) is most proud of. Chen is the eldest son of the great Li Tienlu (李天祿), a “national treasure” (國寶級) puppet master. Constantly watching his grandfather and father perform from his early childhood onwards bestowed him with masterly skills in operating the puppets. And in addition to his mastery at operation, he also has a grand reputation in the industry for crafting the elaborate and sophisticated puppet costumes and headgear. He is painstaking in his studies on how each individual puppet should move, determining how each should walk, sit down, and move in other ways depending on gender, social identity, and personality, for example. His superb performance abilities have earned him a lofty position in the world of glove-puppetry.

Looking back on the history of Taiwan glove puppetry, Chen says that “The range of available amusements in agricultural communities during Taiwan’s pioneer days was limited. When work was done, families would gather at temples or in squares to watch glove-puppet shows. Several plays would be presented each day. This was puppetry’s golden era.” The art form’s fortunes ebbed with the rising popularity of movie theaters and then television, with people coming to think that a trip to the temple or square to watch a puppet show was old-fashioned. Later, some troupes introduced refinements to give audiences a new sensory experience, adapting performances for presentation on television, making the puppets larger and costumes more ornate. Storylines also moved away from traditional themes such as filial piety and righteousness. Sound and light effects were added, and montage editing was used for actions with a high degree of difficulty. This new “golden light puppetry” (金光戲), so different from traditional puppetry fare, was a huge hit with television viewers.

“In traditional puppetry the emphasis is on spoken lines, with narration of plot and dialogue,” says Chen. The telling of stories and ability in dialogue repertoire are key elements in a master’s skill set. Mastering the necessary range in delivering feelings, rises and falls in emotion and bearing through the spoken word is a great challenge.

Among the various roles in glove puppetry are sheng (生, male), dan (旦, female), jing (淨, characters of vivid personality with painted faces), mo (末, old men), chou (丑, comic characters) and shou (獸, beasts such as lions, snakes, and other animals). When each main character comes on stage he or she will have a short monologue to recite, which is an entrance poem or “showing up poem” (出場詩) of four lines of five or seven syllables each, taken from ancient poems and composed in southern Fujianese/Taiwanese. On puppet shows made for TV from the 1990s, a character coming on stage would recite their poem accompanied by music composed specially for it, and sometimes even by a hit song, for more powerful impact.

Chen Xihuang has deep respect for the glove-puppetry tradition, and says he never “performs” puppet theater (玩布袋戲). Instead he says he “invites the puppets” (請偶). In his eyes each puppet has a spirit, and the puppeteer must with sincerity “request or invite” the spirit to make an appearance. Always concerned with the future of the art form, Chen hopes that more people can spend time getting to know Taiwanese glove puppetry, and pass on this key element of Taiwanese cultural heritage to future generations.

Taipei has many venues where you can see traditional puppetry shows and/or join teaching sessions, notably the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei (PACT; 台北偶戲館), Lin Liu-Hsin Puppetry Theatre Museum (林柳新紀念偶戲博物館), and Dadaocheng Theater (大稻埕戲院). If you’d like to buy puppets as souvenirs, apart from PACT and the Lin Liu-Hsin Puppetry Theatre Museum you can also visit Holofang (河洛坊) and other locations. If you’d like to experience the magic of practicing this art form yourself, Master Chen teaches classes at PACT.