Taiwanese Folk Opera

I-lan Cultural Bureau,Taiwan, published a series of books with five CDs. It categorizes the Taiwanese folk opera into five elements,including,drama,crying tunes,new tunes,folk tunes and miscellaneous tunes. The CDs demonstrate the ways of singing each tune and serve as a useful approach to traditional Taiwanese opera which was one of the most important recreational pleasure for most Taiwanese elders during the past fifty years. The other element equally important for Taiwanese entertainment is (glove) puppet show. When I was a school boy, my grandma often took me to the theatre to see the opera,and so most of the tunes in the album are familiar to me.

Ghost month

In Taiwan, July, by Lunar calendar, is the month of ghosts. It is commonly believed that all the ghosts are set free from the hell and return to our world. As they are starved in the hell, people in the mudane world prepared numerous foods for them to eat and burn lots of paper money for them to spend. In Taiwan during this month, some businesses are delayed. People usually don't get married in this month, and so the photographer can't earn money from the newly wedded couple. The bakers complain of the scantiness of orders of wedding cake. The restaurant owners are worried that few couples come to their restaurants for the wedding party.Happily enough is that the ghost month is past, and everything is alive after a terrible halt.