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Chen Shui-bian lauds Huang Hai-tai

Dignitaries attend the funeral of legendary puppet master Huang Hai-tai in Yunlin County yesterday. Huang passed away on Feb. 11. PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) presented a state citation yesterday in recognition of the contribution of the late hand puppet master Huang Hai-tai (黃海岱) to the development and promotion of the traditional folk art in Taiwan.

Huang's second son, Huang Chun-hsiung (黃俊雄), who is also a distinguished Taiwanese puppet master, received the citation on behalf of his father at a grand funeral ceremony held in Yunlin County for the senior Huang.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) also attended the funeral to pay tribute to the folk arts master who was praised as a "treasure of the nation."

During the ceremony, head of the Government Information Office Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), Minister of Cultural Affairs Chiu Kun-liang (邱坤良), Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Yunlin County Council Speaker Su Chin-huang (蘇金煌) jointly draped Huang's coffin with the national flag.

Huang Hai-tai passed away at his home in Yunlin on Feb. 11 as a result of pulmonary edema caused by the flu. He celebrated his 107th birthday on Jan. 2. The Yunlin County Council passed a resolution designating the date as "Yunlin Hand Puppet Show Day" in recognition of his contribution to the development of hand puppet theater and related traditional folk arts in Taiwan.

Huang Hai-tai was born in 1901 in Hsiluo Township (西螺), Yunlin County. At the age of 15, he joined his father's hand puppet troupe to begin a career as a puppeteer. In 1942, his own hand puppet group, "Wu Chou Yuan" (五洲園), was recognized by the Japanese colonial government as one of the few professional hand puppet troupes in Taiwan.

Huang Hai-tai, the father of eight sons and two daughters, was the creator of a popular hand puppet drama, Yunchou Hero, which was later transformed into a successful TV series by Huang Chun-hsiung.

Through the Huang family's efforts, classic hand puppet theater was last year officially declared part of Taiwan's national image.

In 1998, Huang Hai-tai was awarded by the Ministry of Education with the honorary title of folk arts master. In the following year, he won the Global Chinese Culture and Arts Award and a lifetime achievement award. He received the National Literary Award in 2000.

Huang Hai-tai's hand puppetry has helped to preserve several aspects of traditional Taiwanese culture, including theater, carving and embroidery.
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