Taiwanese Puppetry (Budaixi)

Taiwanese puppets show their whole body with hands and feet. They are basically hand puppets, or glove puppets, consisting of a "sack" topped with a painted head, and manipulated with the hands or fingers.

Although puppetry was introduced into China during the Ming dynasty (around 12th century AD) it was only introduced into Taiwan during the Ch'ing dynasty, supposedly by immigrants from Fujian province where it had become more highly developed than elsewhere in China. During this period of more than 200 years it has integrated Taiwanese local cultures and practices and has developed its own nature and become a uniquely Taiwanese cultural style. You can no longer see this kind of hand or glove puppet performance anywhere in China today.

Taiwanese puppetry theatre has become a very distinguished form of performing arts in Taiwan and the puppetry world at large. The costumes are elaborate, but the value of a puppet is generally determined by how many movable parts the face contains. In some cases the face is 4-sided, all 4 sides moving in the same way, and these parts can run to many hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.

The five shapes (two eyes, two nostrils, mouth) and three bones (the eyebrow bone, cheekbone, and jawbone) determine the characteristics of the puppet, such as beauty, ugliness, loyalty, craftiness; or the different emotions, such as joy, anger, sorrow and delight.

Today, Taiwanese puppetry theatre is well preserved, developed and appreciated more than before. It is no wonder most Taiwanese people call it "one of our national cultural treasures".

Budaixi troupes are generally requested to perform at processions and festivals held in honour of local deities; auspicious or happy occasions such as weddings, births, and promotions; or fairs held at the site of a temple or shrine, when the faithful converge to worship a deity. The main purpose of Budaixi is to thank and entertain the Gods. It also serves as a popular means of local folk entertainment.

In general, a show needs two performers: the main performer who generally is the chief or director of the troupe is in charge of the whole show, including manipulating main puppets, singing and narrating. The supporting performer manipulates the puppets to coordinate with the main performer, changes the costumes of puppets, and takes care of the stage. The relationship between the main performer and the supporting performer is one of master and apprentice. Frequently, the master trains his sons to succeed him as puppet master.

The puppets perform on a highly decorative stage, accompanied by an orchestra comprising of string and percussion instruments. The main instruments include, Chinese two-stringed violin (erhu), gong (luo), cymbals (ba), drum (gu), castanets (paiban) and a trumpet-like wind instrument (suona). The backstage music is controlled by the drum player. The drummer needs to pay attention to what is going on in the plot and use the drum to conduct the other musicians. They follow the rhythm of the sets. There are generally around 4-5 musicians in charge of the backstage music. The form of music which still accompanies Taiwanese Budaixi, called Pei-kuan, led puppet shows to various innovations in performance techniques. Acrobatics, and smkills like window-jumping, stage movement, and fighting were devised and sometimes peculiar animals were put on stage to attract additional attention.

The stories basically are selected from popular folklore (e.g. "Journey to the West"), historical serial novels (e.g. "The History of Three Nations", or "the List of Sanctified Gods") and the martial arts world (e.g. "The Water Margin"). Popular stories of historical judicial judges were seen as a distinct form of puppet play and were called "Court Record Plays". Recently, hi-tech innovations have popularised sci-fi stories which are shown on cable TV. Although the purists find this new form vulgar, it is just another stage of innovation and development in an art form which has evolved and developed over many hundreds of years.

Some Taiwanese Puppet Characters

Chang Fei
During the 3 Kingdom period, Chang Fei swore an oath of brotherhood with Liu Pei and Kuan Yu. Chang Fei was a powerful and brave warrior with a hard temper. His upright personality made him become one of Taiwanese puppetry's most popular characters.

Ch'ou
All comic roles are called Ch'ou. Their main purpose in a puppet show is to provide comic relief and to make meaningful amusing comments to the audience.

Chung-Kuei
Chung-Kuei was good in seizing evil and ghosts.

Huan Chon
An old General of the Shu dynasty during the 3 Kingdom period. He was one of the 5 Tiger Generals.

Kong Ming
Kong Ming is the strategist of Liu Pei during the 3 Kingdom period. His stratagems were so wonderful and unpredictable that they seemed to have been conceived by a divine being. He was known as the greatest and most intelligent politician in Chinese history.

Kuan-Yu
During the 3 Kingdom period Kuan-Yu was aligned with Liu Pei and Chang Fei in the latter's struggest against Ts'ao-Ts'ao. Kuan-Yu's loyalty and sense of honour are so legendary that thousands of years ago he was actually deified and is still commonly worshipped by thousands as the God of Righteousness.

The Liberal God of Wealth
The Liberal God of Wealth is one of the most popular gods in Chinese society. He can bring great opportunities and luck to people.

Liu-Pei
The Emperor of Shu dynasty during the 3 Kingdom period, he was aligned with Kuan-Yu and Chang Fei. The 3 men promised to live and die as one in their endeavour to restore the Han dynasty. He was the type of kind-hearted Emperor who is benevolent and generous to his subordinates and to the common people.

Lui-Bu
The most valiant General during the 3 Kingdom period. He was a brave and fierce warrior without match.

Ma-Ts'ao
A great General of the Shu duynasty during the 3 Kingdom period. He was one of the 5 Tiger Generals.

The Military God of Wealth
The Military God of Wealth is a kind and local God. He can bring great opportunities and luck to people.

The Newlyweds
Before the ending of a puppet show the bride and groom are normally introduced to symbolise the happy ending of the whole show.

Sheng
In Taiwanese puppetry all male roles with unpainted faces are called "sheng". Sheng may be civilians, scholars or warriors, of any age. Their age may be deduced from their beards!

Tan
Tan are all the female roles of Taiwanese puppetry. According to the difference between faces or hairstyles we can tell age and personality.

Tsa
All miscellaneous roles are called Tsa, for example monks, Gods, devils, servants, scouts, etc.

Ts'ao Ts'ao
The Prime Minister of the Han dynasty during the 3 Kingdom period. He was unscrupulous and extremely clever. Ts'ao's son established the Wei dynasty.

0864 Ch'ou Euros 120	0865 Bride Euros 150	0867 Tan Euros 120
0868 Kong Ming Euros 150	0870 Tsa Euros 130	0873 Ch'ou juggler. Euros 120
0884 Bridegroom Euros 160	0922 Ch'ou Euros 120	0923 Bridegroom & Bride Euros 150 each
0866 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0869 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0871 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.
0872 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0875 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0876 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.
0877 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0878 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0880 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.
0881 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0882 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0883 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.
0885 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0886 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.	0921 Selection of puppets Please enquire as to price and availability.