Taiwanese play attracts people from all over Kunshan area

The plot covers the lives of four families living in one of the villages over three generations. The audiences clearly appreciated the genuine feelings reflecting real life that transcend regional and political differences, and responded by bursting into laughter or tears from time-to-time.

One member of the audience, a Ms. Qian, told Kunshan Daily that the show reminded her of her own childhood, while a Yin Xiaotian, a regular theatergoer praised the directorial artistry, the performances and the settings. One Taiwanese businessman, Mr. Chen, who worked in Kunshan for many years, went to see the show with several friends and said that the Chinese New Year scene gave him a warm feeling and as did the fact that people living on the mainland and Taiwan have the same ancestors and the same culture.

Scene from the play "The Village". [Photo by Xu Dong/Kunshan Daily]

In December 2002, a museum was opened in the industrial city of Hsinchu, in northwestern Taiwan, in memory of the juan cun culture which is slowly consigned to the pages of history as most of the villages are pulled down over the years to give way to more modern developments and their residents kept moving out.

The stage play was created for the same reason with its many brilliant actors and actresses growing up in the villages themselves, including Chu Chung-heng, a Golden Bell award winner.

Poster for the stage play "The Village". [Photo from Kunshan Culture and Art Center]

As a matter of fact, juan cun villages fostered talents in measurable numbers in various fields who contributed tremendously to the development of modern Taiwan society, including Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, a prominent actress who starred movies directed by Tsui Hark and Wong Kar-wai, Teresa Teng Li-chun, an iconic pop singer known for her romantic ballads, and Terry Guo, founder and chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, world's largest contract electronics manufacturer.