The Puppetmaster
(Hsimeng rensheng)

Li Tien Lu is the world’s most famous puppetmaster. Born in Taiwan on the wake of World War I, he lived through the Japanese occupation, and American bombings of his country. Now eighty-four, he reflects on the forces that shaped his life : My hands breathed life into my puppet figures. I created them and directed the drama of their fates, almost as though I were God himself. But the reality is that, with someone above me pulling the strings, I, too, am a mere puppet…”.