Taichung City's Nantun Wanhe Palace has kept their tradition of this Chinese opera performance "Surname Play" for over 180 years, and this year is no different.

The two-month event,which will portray a series of performances of the 28 surnames, will begin with Zhang, and end with Lin.

In the arena in front of Wanhe Palace, a 100-year old tradtion takes place in which locals participate in the surname play. In this traditional Taiwanese performance of surname and single-name plays, local people of the same surname are organized into a unit. The units different surnames then take turns to invite the acting troupe of god appreciation. In the beginning, only twelve surnames existed, but because the number of followers increased, there now exists 28 surnames. As a result, the whole performance can take up to two months.

The surname play is performed in honor of the Mazu. Its origins trace back to the story of when the Mazu was once unable to return the temple due to heaviness. Followers asked for instructions and were told they needed to perform a surname play to entertain the god. Since then, on the third month of the lunar calendar, people have performed the surname play to entertain the Mazu.

Before, competition between the surnames was intense with several performances taking place back-to-back and the audience ethusiastically involved. However, now with new forms of entertainment, the number of local audiences has dwindled. In addition, the collapse of the clan system is causing the surname play performance to die out. Only the Wanhe Palace has successfully maintained this tradition. Local residents are hoping that this tradition will be able to live on.

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