Project Introduction Glove Puppet: Rae Hu
Glove puppetry is the pride and joy of the Taiwanese culture. It also appears as a common activity that general audiences attend because it provides them an opportunity to examine and appreciate the artistic values of glove puppetry while enjoying the shows presented. Glove puppetry is a type of opera in which uses clothed puppets to present a story. The stories presented are usually surrounded by historical characters and the show is normally both entertaining and informative. Glove puppetry was originated in the 17th century. It was first introduced to Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of the Fujian Province in China. It was historically practiced in the Min Nan speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, and other parts of southern China. It had since established itself contemporarily as a popular art form in Taiwan because most people from those Min Nan speaking places, later on, migrate to Taiwan. Glove Puppetry is not only common in Taiwan but also is several Asian countries such as Japan and India.
The object is significant to me for several reasons. First off, it helped refreshen my memory from when I was in junior high school. This object was originally bought off of an shopping online website called PCHome. As lame as it sounds, I started off with buying the object plainly for a project and expecting myself to throw the puppetry away or lose it later on. However, after researching the object, I decided to keep it, and my parents allowed me to place it into a see-through drawer. This helped refreshen my memory with the reason being that even though the project was an unexpectedly poor performance of my group, we still had a lot of fun with the production. I ended up getting a score within the range that I expected, which wasn’t as high as I thought I would get. It also reminded me of all the chaotic arguments that me and my classmates had when working on group projects. As chaotic as it might be, I still made that most out of it, and had a lot of fun with the glove puppetry that I had bought. The second reason that this object is important to me is because of the representation of the object to our country. Taiwan is a really small island that people still confuse with Thailand and forget about. However, with these artistic values that are presented, we have more to show the world to and also we are able to have more interaction and connection to not only the Asian countries but also the other side of the world. The third reason is it’s importance to the country. The object has been going around for a long time, and a lot of foreigners come to Taiwan especially for its artistic criteria and its food, which is why I chose glove puppetry as a representation of my project.
Glove puppetry is important to three different criteria of contexts. First off, it’s important to the cultural values of Taiwan. It’s important with the reason being that glove puppetry not only promotes the culture of Asia. Glove puppetry also take a role in influencing religion. Glove puppetry is commonly performed in temples and public places in Taiwan. The dialogue is generally presented in Taiwanese, which is another additional reason why it fits into the cultural values of Taiwan. People who visit and enjoy glove puppetry might not completely always get what the shows are exactly about, but most may learn more about the history of glove puppetry. Next off, glove puppetry fits into historical values. The character Guan-Yu is an important character in the history of China. He was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on most of his early exploits. Guan Yu played an important role in the events leading up to the end of the Han dynasty and the establishment of Liu Bei's state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is a representation of the historical values within glove puppetry and is commonly acted out to provide the audience more knowledge about the backstory of the history of Asia. Last, is its social values. Glove puppetry might not seem to be something that is appealing to Gen Z since the internet is taking over our lives. However, in the past, when people around the world visit Taiwan, most tour guides bring them on an itinerary in which they go around the museum of glove puppetry and enjoy a show in the museum. Taiwan’s extraordinary culture has helped further extend our ability to show the world a different and more diverse side of Taiwan.
The creation of glove puppetry is shown as something significant to Asia. It’s significant with the reason being that it not only provides artistic values to Taiwan, but it’s also a combination of several different arts. First off, it’s an art form in which incorporates with literary motifs, music as well as voice acting. It was first introduced in the Ming Dynasty. Glove puppetry is actually a start to the extension of several different types of performing arts. Every puppet has its own unique style of clothing, and most generally, the storyline is surrounded by the history of Chinese wars. The materials used on the puppetry can go from a really low price to a really high price depending on the change of clothing and the quality of the object. For example, when I bought mine, I bought it at a really low price. However, in contrast, the ones that are used in the shows tend to be more expensive in order to provide more lively actions. The master of creation of glove puppetry is shown to still be popular but not as popular as what the past might be.
To conclude, glove puppetry is a performance and artistic value to Taiwan. It’s presented in several different forms. Glove puppetry also further helps give the world a view of Taiwan’s form of art looks like, and it also gives context to Taiwan and makes it diverse.