Compunction and grief written all over his face, Chris Huang (黃文擇) talked about the large fire that hit Pili International Multimedia’s studio on Thursday, in which more than 2,000 puppets used in the performance and filming of Taiwanese traditional puppet theater, known as budaixi (布袋戲), perished.
Among those destroyed in the fire were the original prototypes for Su Huan-chen (素還真) and I Yeh-shu (一頁書), two of the main characters in a well-known Pili budaixi (霹靂布袋戲) series: Su is known for his wisdom and martial arts skills, while I Yeh-shu is his loyal and trustworthy friend.
“Money can easily replace most of the losses, the sets and the electric equipment that were destroyed in the fire, but those precious original puppet prototypes such as Su Huan-chen cannot be replaced,” Huang, the general manager of Pili International Multimedia, said in an interview on Thursday. “They represent a form of cultural loss.”
PHOTO: LIN KUO-HSIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang comes from the nation’s most prominent hand puppet theater family, whose members — including his late grandfather, Huang Hai-tai (黃海岱), and his father, Huang Chun-hsiung (黃俊雄) — have continued to find new ways to develop and improve on the traditional artistry of performing with wooden puppets.
Chris Huang, together with his brother, Vincent Huang (黃強華), later took up the family trade with a younger generation’s vision and passion, forming Pili Multimedia and propelling the company into the modern era by adopting Hollywood production techniques, as well as computer animated special effects and digital sound effects, taking the traditional artform to a whole new level.
For more than a decade, Vincent Huang wrote scripts for the plays, while Chris Huang took responsibility for voice dubbing.
Photo: LIN KUO-HSIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Pili’s television channel has a record of more than 3.5 million viewers and helped Taiwanese puppet theater go international when one of its shows aired on the Disney Channel in the US.
“Budaixi represents a form of Taiwanese cultural heritage, and that it is the most important form of traditional art in Yunlin County,” Chris Huang said.
Deeply attached to the puppets, he said some of the older puppets were placed in a storehouse with 24-hour air conditioning to regulate the temperature and help preserve them.
“I still cannot believe that the puppets have been lost in a fire,” he said.
Chris Huang said it was impossible to estimate the losses in monetary terms, adding that there was no way to restore the cultural damage from the loss of 500 original handmade puppets.
“I just hope that this fire has drawn the public’s attention to the traditional art of budaixi and that the government can work harder to promote and protect this ancient art,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS