Li Tien-lu (24 December 191013 August 1998) was a Taiwanese puppeteer. He is best known to the international audience for playing principal characters in several Taiwanese films directed by

Hou Hsiao-hsien Hou Hsiao-hsien ( zh, t=侯孝賢, poj=Hâu Hàu-hiân; born 8 April 1947) is a retired Mainland Chinese-born Taiwanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a leading figure in world cinema and in Taiwan's New Wave cinema mo ...

Biography

Born in Taiwan in 1910, Li Tien-lu had been trained in

glove puppetry Glove puppetry () is a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of China's Fujian province, and historically practised in the Min Nan-speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaos ...

by his father since the age of eight. He founded the puppet theatre troupe Almost Like Life in 1932, aged 22. The group ended performances in 1937, soon after the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

began and Japanese authorities censored Taiwanese Hokkien entertainment. Almost Like Life returned to the stage in 1941. Li's troupe premiered one of its most famous performances, 300 Years of Qing Dynasty — Keng Yao, in 1948. They became even more well-known under the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

government. In 1962, Li's puppet troupe became the first to be featured in a television show. Li considered retirement in the 1970s, as the popularity of

lessened. However, both Jacques Pimpaneau and Jean-Luc Penso visited Li from France, and Penso remained in Taiwan to learn the art of glove puppetry. Penso established the Theatre du Petit Miroir troupe in Paris in 1975. Penso later recalled Li's intense and challenging teaching style, and stated that Li refused tuition payments, as he had taught his children glove puppetry for free. Other students of Li included his sons Chen Hsi-huang and Li Chuan-tsan, as well as Huang Wu-shan, Madeleine Beresford, and Margaret Moody. Li also performed

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...

Taiwanese opera Taiwanese opera ( zh, t=, p=gēzǎixì, poj=koa-á-hì, l=Song Drama, c=, s=) commonly known as Ke-Tse opera or Hokkien opera, is a form of traditional drama originating in Taiwan. Taiwanese opera uses a stylised combination of both the literary ...

, and Hakka opera. He received Taiwan's National Heritage Award in 1985, and the National Cultural Award in 1991, which was bestowed with the title of "living national treasure." In 1995, the government of France named Li a knight of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. The

Li Tien-lu Hand Puppet Historical Museum The Li Tien-lu Hand Puppet Historical Museum () is a museum in Sanzhi District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The museum opened on 31 December 1996, two years before the death of its namesake, the puppeteer Li Tien-lu. The museum was reopened on ...

is named after Li and opened to the public in 1996. He died at the age of 87 on 13 August 1998.

Filmography

Li featured in the role of the grandfather in

's 1986 film ''

Dust in the Wind "Dust in the Wind" is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas and written by band member Kerry Livgren, first released on their 1977 album '' Point of Know Return''. The song peaked at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the w ...

'' and 1987 film '' Daughter of the Nile''. He also played the patriarch of the extended Chinese family facing the events surrounding ''

A City of Sadness ''A City of Sadness'' () is a 1989 Taiwanese historical drama directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. It tells the story of a family embroiled in the " White Terror" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang government (KMT) after their a ...

'' (1989). '' The Puppetmaster'' (1993) tells the true story of Li's life as a master

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

, spanning the years from Li’s birth in 1910 to the end of Japan’s fifty-year occupation of Taiwan in 1945. Li was posthumously featured in the 2001 documentary ''Tug of War: The Story of Taiwan''.

Commemoration

Li Tien-lu was the subject of a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

on the occasion of what would have been his 110th birthday on 24 December 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Tian-lu Taiwanese male film actors Taiwanese puppeteers Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Male actors from Taipei 1910 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Taiwanese male actors Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Glove puppetry