Republic of China (Taiwan) 2002 - Regional Opera, Taiwanese Opera

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 25 October 2002
Stamp Name: Regional Opera Series-Taiwanese Opera (Games) Postage Stamps
Dimension of stamps: 40 mm x 30 mm
Printer: China Color Printing Co., Ltd.,R.O.C.
Designer: Kao Sian-Chi
Sheet Composition: 20 ( 5 x 4 )
Print Color: Colorful
Process: Deep etch offset
Paper: Phosphorescent Stamp Paper
Perforation: 11 1/2 x 11

Stamp Design:

To enhance our fellow countrymen's understanding of Taiwanese opera and to celebrate Taiwanese culture, the Directorate General of Posts is once again releasing a set of four stamps on the theme of Taiwanese Opera. Each of the stamps features a famous repertoire in one type of performance locale.

The designs of the four stamps follow:

1. Liang Shan-po and Chu Ying-tai Street Performance:

At the very beginnings of the development of the Taiwanese opera, people, when they were not busy with farm work, would often recite and sing to entertain themselves. At first, there were only male performers wearing everyday clothes. Later, they added some theatrical movements and started putting on some simple make-up, and the females started to perform too. Liang Shan-po and Cliu Ying-tai was one of the most popular repertoires in those days.

2. Hsuech Ting-shan and Fan Li-hua-indoor Performance:

From the end of World War II, when the Japanese left Taiwan, to the early sixties, indoor performance was the most popular form of entertainment. In those days, the dozen or so theaters that regularly put on Taiwanese operas could all accommodate six to eight hundred people. Hsueh Ting-shan and Fan Li-hua is a love story with martial arts movements and fancy special effects, and so was very popular at that time.

3. Hsueh Ping-kuei and Wang Pao-chuan-Outdoor Stage Performance:

From the late sixties through the seventies, with the rise of movies and televisions, Taiwanese operas were forced outdoors. At first, due to its strong local flavor, it was still popular. Later, price wars drove down the quality of performances, and Taiwanese opera started to fade from view. The story of Hsueh Ping-kuei and Wang Pao-chuan, where Wang waits in her cave dwelling for Hsueh to return for 18 years, was sort of like the situation of Taiwanese opera at that time.

4. The Living Buddha Chikung-Modern Theater:

In 1983, a Taiwanese opera company performed at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Their combination of traditional drama and modern theater got an enthusiastic response. Excellent Taiwanese opera companies started to sprout up one after another. The Living Buddha Chikung combined modern theater, sound and light effects, movie production methods, and ample body movements (including flying stunts with actors attached to cables). These turned a love story into a touching, interesting and festive drama.