The exhibition on the 8th floor of the Dadaocheng Theater included some puppets that were typically used for glove puppetry TV plays. In the 70’s Huang Chun-­hsiung, recognizing the power of the TV medium brought glove puppetry from the stage to the TV. Taiwan Television Enterprise aired 583 episodes of the puppet show The Scholar Swordsman in the early 1970s, garnering a record 97% share of the TV viewing audience before its 1974 demise. > Righting Wrongs for more than 40 years: Scholar Swordsman Shi Yanwen by Kobe Chen

“In 1971, his program Shi Yan-wen : the Scholar Swordsman quickly became a sensation, consistently hitting ratings of 90% or higher. Legend has it that when Shi Yan-wen (史豔文) was on air, productivity around Taiwan ground to a halt. The government pulled the show off the air in 1974, accusing it of disrupting the nation’s work schedule and harming the economy. But many suspected that another motivation was involved.” > Taiwanese Puppetry: Continuing a Rich Tradition by Stephanie Huffman

Pili International Multimedia Co
Taiwan’s glove puppetry is a vessel for Taiwanese customs passed down through the generations. While still maintaining many of its traditional features, the art form has absorbed many modern elements and the puppets have grown in scale and range of movement. > watch on youtube

“Pili International Multimedia Co., Ltd. Is in the top hundred listed companies in Taiwan, but is still managed by the Huang family. Our group was made very welcome at its huge studio building in Huwei, Yunlin County. Chris Huang, the Chairman, is also the script editor, basing stories on Chinese history and legend, and his brother, Vincent, the Vice-Chairman, continues to provide the great range of voices.

Chris Huang commented that we all know that the puppets are without life, and should be grateful to the puppeteers for giving their life to the puppets. The company has been working on Thunderbolt Fantasy for Japan and has also made a 3-D film with Warner Bros. Pili has created something hugely successful, very modern and uniquely Taiwanese.” >>>Traditional Puppetry in Taiwan by Richard Bradshaw

“In sum, the Pili international multimedia Co. Ltd. make Pili puppet shows and the products related become a complete chain of industry. Puppet shows are now still rooted in traditional Chinese culture, while there are also some trends that such a root is becoming shallow.
For instance, the tradition for one person to perform all dialogues is preserved to some degree in Pili puppet TV series, while singings, music and sound effects in puppet shows were performed by professional singers and producers. This can be seen as a division of labor in the so-called New Media Age, which could help to make the sound effects more vivid and diverse. But if this effect of the new technologies aggresses one step further and the producer of puppet TV shows let different performers to perform for each puppet role, I’m afraid that one of the important traits of puppet shows will be lost. Tradition puppet shows played in theatres are limited in a little stage. But when shot on TV, they are shot in different sets with different scenes, sometimes even shot outdoors. Such a change is a great help to make the background of the puppet shows more realistic and delicate. But the producers should not let the settings take too much of their attention. Because all sets are designed for the story lines after all, otherwise they will be putting the cart before the horse.” >>>Changes of Taiwan Pili Puppet Shows in New Media age by Zhongxuan Dai

GooDoo Puppet Troupe is a modern troupe based in Tainan, founded in 2000 by Huang Guan-wei. Huang has successfully turned a love of puppets into a career, performing with his troupe regularly in Tainan and across Taiwan. GooDoo’s shows are based on historical events in Taiwan and performed in Taiwanese, with Chinese and English subtitles. > watch on youtube

Lin Zi-yang, a young Taiwanese entrepreneur who prefers going by the name Snowter, is working to bring budaixi to a larger audience. Founded in 2016, his NPY Studio creates the online puppet show Underworld Rangers (江湖救援團). > watch on youtube