Puppetry master Chen Hsi-huang (陳錫煌), who is revered as a "National Living Treasure" of Taiwan, will perform the "Legend of Nian Gengyao (年羹堯傳奇)" from April 12 to 14 at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center in Taipei as part of the second edition of the annual Taiwan Traditional Theater Festival, which runs from March 28 through June 2 this year.
He is the only glove puppeteer in Taiwan to have been recognized by the Ministry of Culture as an important preserver of both traditional glove puppetry and classical glove puppet clothing and headwear props. He founded the eponymous Chen Hsi-Huang Traditional Puppet Troupe (陳錫煌傳統掌中劇團) in December 2008.
Chen was born in 1931 into a family of glove puppeteers. His paternal grandfather, Hsu Chin-mu, was the head of Hua Yang Tai Puppet Theatre Troupe (華陽台); his maternal grandfather, Chen A-lai (陳阿來), was the head of Le Hua Yuan Puppet Theatre Troupe (樂花園); and his father, Li Tian-lu (李天祿), was the head of I Wan Jan Puppet Theatre (亦宛然).
"Legend of Nian Gengyao" is the most classic tale of the "Three Hundred Years of Qing Court (清宮三百年)" performance series scripted by his father, explained Chen, who remembered how the script was adapted from the famous novel "Secret History of the Qing Court (清宮秘史)." Puppet shows on the legend had made a big splash from town to town across Taiwan at temple festivals for nearly 13 years after the script was released in 1948. Even today, the storyline is discussed by people with much joy and enthusiasm.
The legend is about the formidable general Nian Gengyao (年羹堯) of Qing dynasty, who was reportedly a child from an unwed mother and separated from his parents upon birth. However, his mother Chun-hua (春花) finally located him after 16 years of search, reuniting Nian with his family for the very first time.
Chen and Huang Chiao-wei (黃僑偉), a fellow Taiwanese glove puppeteer, will co-perform the legend in a different way than Li’s original play. Wang Jin-yin (王金櫻) and Chiu Chiu-huei (邱秋惠), both famous Taiwanese opera actresses, have also been invited to sing for the April 12-14 performances.
Chun-hua, Chen explained, is considered a dan (young female) role and will be represented by a puppet designed with "lotus feet" in line with imperial Qing custom. In a showmanship of dexterous puppetry control and the gracefulness of Chun-hua's figure, her gait will also reflect the way women with bound feet walked.
The production this time is different from its original version, not only incorporating new concepts for puppetry stage design such as picture-within-picture displays, but also skipping the gong and drum beats that usually accompany traditional Chinese opera, added Huang.
Ticketing information and more can be found here.