Taiwanese master puppeteer Vincent Huang (黃文擇) passed away on June 12 at the age of 65. Upon hearing the news, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te offered his sincere condolences and stated that Huang dedicated his life to the continuation and promotion of the traditional arts. Through his efforts, he successfully introduced glove puppetry to numerous audiences, giving it more visibility on the international stage. MOC will present a posthumous award to Huang in recognition of his talent and invaluable contributions to Taiwan's traditional culture.
Born in 1956 in Yunlin County, Vincent Huang was the second son of Taiwan's national treasure puppet master Toshio Huang (黃俊雄) and the third generation of the Wu Zhou Yuan Puppet Theater Troupe (五洲園布袋戲). He previously served as the vice chairman at the Pili International Multimedia (霹靂國際多媒體) and was the chief voice actor of the Pili glove puppetry.
Over a career that spanned 40-plus years, he was hailed as the "Eight-Voice Wunderkind (八音才子)." He provided the voices for more than 4,000 glove puppet characters, including iconic roles such as Su Huan-jen (素還真) and Scar (葉小釵). Huang is nominated for this year's Taipei Film Festival for his outstanding voice performance in the film "Demigod: The Legend Begins (素還真)," which was released earlier this year. The film is also nominated for four awards at the upcoming festival.
In recent years, Huang has dedicated himself to passing on the glove puppetry and he actively cultivated young voice-acting talents. His great performances brought Pili glove puppetry to its peak, and his legacy will be cherished forever by future generations.