The founder of the "Kinmen Marionette Theater Troupe (金門傀儡戲劇團)" Tsai Chia-keng (蔡甲庚) passed away on March 2 at the age of 90. Tsai has been a puppeteer for nearly 70 years, dedicating his life to promoting the culture of marionette and passing on the performing art to younger generations.
Upon hearing the news of Tsai’s passing, Culture Minister Shih Che expressed his condolences and commended Tsai for his dedication, adding that Tsai strived to preserve the traditional performing art by passing it down to new generations in the family, who have put in efforts in developing and innovating the art as well as promoting the spirit of marionette theater. The Ministry of Culture will present a certificate to commemorate Tsai’s contribution, Minister Shih added.
According to the MOC, Tsai was born in 1934 in Xibao of Anmei Village, Jinning Township. In earlier days, Tsai mainly performed at religious events and temple fairs. Due to the unique Kinmen battlefield culture, there were few puppeteers in Kinmen and Tsai learned to work marionettes from Hsu Shih-shun (許仕順). In 1988, Tsai founded the "Jin Xibao Marionette Theater Troupe (金西堡傀儡戲劇團)," which was formally registered in 2011. Later, Tsai's son Tsai Yuan-chin (蔡遠進) renamed the group "Kinmen Marionette Theater Troupe," which is currently the only marionette theater troupe in Kinmen County. The "Kinmen Marionette Theater Troupe" was later named the preserver of the traditional performing art "Kinmen traditional marionette theater" in 2018.
The "Kinmen Marionette Theater Troupe" has been passed down through the generations by word of mouth and has no written records. Tsai’s son Tsai Yuan-chin has followed in his father’s footsteps and devoted himself to the promotion of marionette theater.