With traditional crafts waning and lacking in successors, 20-year-old Chang Hao-wei (張皓瑋) two years ago decided to forgo university and take over his grandfather’s budaixi, or glove puppetry, troupe.
As his grandfather founded the troupe and his father worked as its sound engineer, Chang said that he grew up on the set and had learned from a young age how to handle puppets.
Becoming the head of the troupe at the age of 18, Chang is likely the youngest troupe master in the nation, a position that comes with many duties.
Photo: Chen Fong-li, Taipei Times
At the troupe’s first performance under new management, Chang said that he designed the puppets and wrote the script for the play, he said, adding that he was also the narrator and the dramatist at the event.
While his family was initially worried about his decision, they ultimately supported him by volunteering at every performance and providing some financial backing for equipment, such as lighting and audio equipment.
Chang said that his responsibilities took up most of his free time and he could not participate in many activities that others his age could, but he has never regretted his choice.
After seeing his performance, many of his former classmates were envious, and told him that it was good that he had discovered a passion early in life, he said.
Chang said that he and his troupe have made a name for themselves and are booking more and more performances.
“When we first started, we were invited to perform just the one show,” then as they gained popularity, the troupe would be invited to perform three days in a row, Chang said.
Chang said that on March 20, the troupe made a new record when it was contracted to perform for six consecutive days.
As most of his performances were conducted in front of temples, Chang said that he often felt “divine attention” during his performances.
Sometimes Chang prays before shows, and when he felt spiritual during a performance, the temple would usually ask for an encore or an additional show, which he said is “pretty phenomenal.”
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS