Forests, Hoe-wielding Figures, and Burial Mounds — On the Performance of The Loser of Legend

Text by Chi Hui-Ling, writer and theatre critic

Golden Bough Theatre is arguably the pioneer of modern Taiwanese theatre. Emerging from the "New Drama" movement, modern Taiwanese plays, before reaching maturity, struggled under the oppressive language policies, barely surviving. In the 1990s, experimental theatre works made a maiden attempt to use Taiwanese. In 1996, Golden Bough premiered The Female Robin Hood- Pai Hsiao Lan, a dark horse featuring Taiwanese, O-Pei-La Hi (Taiwanese opera) style, and an eclectic mix of Taiwanese musical films, Taiwanese opera, restaurant shows, and night market ballads. This vibrant and multifaceted approach rebelled against the mainstream uniformity and defied traditional realistic presentations, showcasing a range of golden-bough-carrying works that adopted either joyous or sombre undertones. Whether adapting Western tragedies to environmental theatre, drawing from Taiwanese history for glamorous musical productions, or piecing together the absurd and tragic lives of ordinary people, the distinctiveness of Golden Bough Theatre lies in both its language and style. Amid the current clamour for "mainstreaming Taiwanese," Golden Bough Theatre's "O-Pei-La Hi" style holds a sense of selfpreservation, contrasting with the loudly proclaimed Taiwanese theatrical works in recent years.


Thus, choosing the Tapani Uprising and not shying away from its proper name, this production forces Golden Bough Theatre to confront Taiwan’s history realistically. However, the challenge lies in the fact that realism has never been Golden Bough Theater's forte. The Loser of Legend  slathers energic body movement and straightforward language on top of historical causality and remains focusing on character portrayal. What matters to the company continues to be the hearts and feelings of the common folk.


The Tapani Uprising broke out in 1915 and was quelled by 1916. The uprising occurred in the mountainous regions bordering Tainan and Kaohsiung, encompassing 15 old villages including today's Yujing, Zuozhen, and Nanhua in Tainan, and Jiaxian in Kaohsiung. During the fifty years of Japanese rule, Taiwan experienced two major armed conflicts, the Tapani Uprising and the Wushe Incident (1930), both triggered by oppression. In 1910, the Japanese government conducted a "Forest Survey." In five years’ time, the ratio of government to private forest land ownership in Taiwan shifted dramatically from 6.2%:93.8% to 94.2%:5.8%. Areas like Tapani, Nanhua, and Tavocan in Tainan Prefecture were designated as government land, dealing a heavy blow to local livelihoods. Additionally, the sugar industry's decline due to rice policies devastated local gentry’s family businesses. This economic conflict, combined with U Tshing-Hong's leadership at Selai Temple which allowed him to mobilise the followers, and the long-term draconian control by Japanese police, led to armed resistance in Tapani, spreading to nearby mountainous areas. The death toll had never been tallied and shrines for appeasing spirits at sites where remains were discovered are common sights even to this day with haunting folklores.


Over a century ago, settlers laboured tirelessly in the wilderness and the mountainous terrains in Taiwan. Behind this massive labour force was a fearless drive to survive. The ruling class' oppression, the organisational power of superstitious beliefs, and the farmers' rebellious toughness culminated in an armed revolution, ultimately costing flesh and blood.


Golden Bough's commitment to the aesthetics of the masses aims to capture the rough and reckless impression of Hoklo, Hakka, and Pingpu (Plains indigenous peoples) peoples as they fought to survive, using bamboo poles with attached knives and Song Jiang Battle Array tactics to stage a uprise over land ownership. The Loser of Legend commemorates, much like the late writer Yang Kui remembered, seeing Japanese soldiers and police quickly marching with guns to quell the rebellion when he was about ten years old in his hometown of Xinhua. This left a lasting impression of colonial oppression on his compassionate young heart, symbolising the ant-like fate of Taiwanese under colonial rule.