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Taiwanese Hand Puppet Theater is a popular type of performing
arts in the Taiwanese spoken societies. (Changchow, Chuanchow,
and partial Chaochou) According to reliable documents, the
initial wooden puppet show can be traced back from Tang and
Sung Dynasty, although it hadn't developed into significant
performing arts. The mostly common saying nowadays proclaims
it rooted in Chuanchow between the late Ming Dynasty and the
early Ching Dynasty around the 17th century. Although it was
evolved from string puppet, the first hand puppeteer was Liang
Bing-Lin who was an unsuccessful scholar. He began to operate
wooden puppets by hand behind the curtains along with narrations
of tales. Hand puppet theater is so called due to the movement
is managed by hand.
The
Breakthrough of
Traditional Arts
Hand Puppet Theater in the general impression of present time
is no more an informal puppet show of historical stories watched
by crowds in front of a temple but the TV version Hand Puppet
Theater enhanced with sound and special effects. Although
the traditional form does possess appealing element, the theatrical
path has to be modernized to please audience's unpredictable
taste. The productions of PiLi International not only preserve
the essence of tradition but also research and develop new
ideas. The successful combination of traditional expertise
and modern culture initiate a new trend and energy of local
performing arts.
The three generations of Huang's In Yunlin represent the
Taiwanese Hand Puppet Theater History through their and preservation
and innovation...
Huang Hai-Dai who is very well known in the world of Hand
Puppet Theater is the grandfather of Vincent Huang (President
of PiLi International) and Chris Huang (Manager of PiLi International).
At age 32, Huang Hai-Dai was already the founder of Wu
Zhou Yuan. He created a fast-paced action genre with main
character of a swordsman. This breakthrough enhanced the motion
and enriched the characters. The remarkable transformation
not only created a new style but also gave a strong influence
on the later development.
Another well-known person who is also the second son of Huang
Hai-Dai is Huang Chun-Hsiung who continued his father's style
in writing, narration and performing. However, he enlarged
the size of puppets and worked on the appearance and eyes.
His idea of using popular music instead of traditional music
added more dramatic effect to the performance. His successful
transfer of the outdoors puppet stage to the TV medium attained
prosperity and broke the rating record of 97%. 
The biggest breakthrough was made by these two brothers-Chris
Huang and Vincent Huang, who took their father's step to the
next level. This time they produced Hand Puppet Programs with
movie technique and expanded their market with video distribution.
After they achieve 90% share of the video market, they started
their own cable network. PiLi TV Network produces their own
program¡Bshoots their first film and builds connections
with all kinds of industries to generate accessory products.
The objective of PiLi International Multimedia is to build
an omnipotent entertainment kingdom and glorify the Taiwanese
culture.¡C
The Pili Puppet
The World Largest Production Base of Hand Puppet Theater
The three thousand square feet studio established with innovative
equipments is located in Huwei, Yunlin. A team of professional
staff produces all the programs of PiLi in this high-tech
designed studio.
Innovative Cinematography
The innovative cinematography creates the movie effects on
TV screen. The movie technique is also used on scripts¡Bediting¡Bcamera
movement and special effect; therefore, the production always
has better quality than ordinary TV drama. Enormous budget
is spent on the production to ensure the best quality for
the audience. Every procedure is strictly according to film
production rules unlike common television production that
only records everything on stage.
Overwhelming Climax and
Intriguing Scenario
The scripts writers of PiLi gains experience from re-write
of traditional stories to famous serial novels. The characters
they created possess complicated personalities and humanity.
The plots not only present phenomenon in modern societies
but also contain climax and conflicts. The topmost enjoyment
is to involve in the unpredictable scenario and see how it
turns out at the end.
Skillfully Imitation¡BEmotional Narration
Vincent Huang, who can create numerous intonations, does
the affectionate narration of all production. The narration
is recorded in advance before production; therefore, it can
match perfectly with the puppet's movements.¡C
Huge Budget Filming -
Special Effects of High-Tech
To create the astonishing effects of all kinds of fighting
techniques and armories in the fighting scenes, they make
use of different kinds of blast effect¡Bspecial props¡Bediting
techniques instead of traditional ammunition. More computer-generated
effects, such as flying sand and stones and collapse of sky
and ground are enhanced during the postproduction stage
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