The Taiwanese literature program at National Chengkung University will soon be graduating its first doctoral student.
Chen Long-ting’s dissertation on the oral literature of Taiwanese puppet shows has already been accepted.
As a child, Chen loved to go watch puppet shows with his grandmother. In fact, this love was so strong that Chen gave up university studies in Chinese medicine to transfer to the department of drama at Chinese Culture University. Being constantly besieged with questions about “What is Taiwanese culture, anyway?” from foreigners, and discovering that there were precious few Taiwanese who could answer the question, he felt bad, and when choosing a specialty for his MA degree, began to delve into the folk songs that underpin Taiwanese culture. He went out into villages and towns to seek out artists, and did a field survey. When looking into the nature of puppetry and the cultural framework supporting it, Chen discovered a vital vein of primitive literature….
Chen’s dissertation looks at the oral literature in Taiwanese puppet shows. He began from the perspective of research into literature in the Minnan dialect. In an attempt to find an alternate route to investigate folk literature and oral and sung traditions in Taiwanese society, Chen looked primarily at the oral scripts of puppeteers. Chen invested a great deal of time and energy going out into the countryside to cultivate relationships with puppet artists and gather records, tape recordings and DVDs of early Taiwanese puppet theatre.
sources:
- First-ever Ph.D. in Taiwanese literature set to graduate (translation of article below), Taiwan Headlines, June 23, 2006
- Dì-yī wèi Táiwān wénxué yánjiū bóshì: Chén Lóng-tíng shēngēng dònglì láizì bùdàixì (第一位台灣文學研究博士 陳龍廷深耕動力 來自布袋戲), Liberty Times, June 23, 2006
additional reading: