Interactive Taiwanese hand-puppetry as an edutainment tool for traditional heritage

Abstract

Taiwanese hand-puppetry is a precious and entertaining cultural heritage which is still well received nowadays by the young, adult, students, teachers, fans and scholars. Throughout its history, hand-puppetry has been a popular entertainment at Taiwanese temple festivals, performed as an offering to gods. From the hand-puppetry, many people learn moral lessons, local language and local custom in their childhood. To compete with popular culture genres imported from United States and Japan, modern Taiwanese puppeteers created new and hybrid forms adapted from fantasy martial arts. The cultural impression of hand-puppetry is so intensive that the government chose it as the representative symbol of Taiwan. There is even a dedicated television channel broadcasting hand-puppetry shows only (Figure 1).