With the support of the Digital Industry Administration of the Department of Digital Development, STUST, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Tainan City Government, and the Minghuayuan Theater Troupe worked together on the experimental performance of "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother” on September 22 at the Social Education Center of Yongkang District, Tainan City. Hui-min Chen, Deputy Director of the Digital Industry Agency, Deputy Director Wei-shu Lin of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Tainan City Government, Vice President Zhen-chian Wang of STUST, and Director Sheng-fu Chen of the Minghuayuan Theater Troupe jointly unveiled this event, which uses 5G to combine virtual and real incidents in its prelude to the opera performance.

【With the support of the Digital Industry Administration of the Department of Digital Development, STUST, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Tainan City Government, and the Minghuayuan Theater Troupe worked together on the experimental performance of "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother.”】

The Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Tainan City Government stated that with the rapid development of science and technology, there will be many challenges in the integration of art and technology. Tainan City encourages performing groups to create more innovative performance models through the value-added application of technology. This cooperation between STUST and the Minghuayuan Theater Troupe used 5G to combine virtual and real incidents, with a combination of innovative technology and traditional opera in their performance of "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother." In a brand new fashion, the opera created a rare demonstration of integration of technology, art, and cultural performances.

【A rehearsal of "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother”】

Hui-min Chen, Deputy Director of the Digital Industry Agency of the Ministry of Digital Development, mentioned that for the virtual-and-real combination, low-latency networks are crucial. There have been similar attempts over the past in the 4G era, but latency issues often resulted in a several-second difference between actor movements and data transmission. However, 5G networks can effectively overcome this problem and reduce delays to the millisecond level, making them almost undetectable to the human eye. Therefore, it was precisely through the 5G network that "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother” could use virtual-and-real combination technology to present performance content in an innovative manner.

【The final rehearsal of "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother”】

Zhao-shian Chen, CEO of Minghuayuan Theater Troupe, said that "War of the Underworld" is adapted from the work of the well-known Taiwanese cartoonist Zong-cheng Wei, who won the Best Young Man Comic Award at the Golden Comic Awards in 2018. It has been well received after its performance. This time "The War of the Underworld: The Advent of the Holy Mother” projected the content of the play onto the background of the Tainan area. Through 5G and motion capture technology, the soul character Mo-niang Lin in the play could break the space restrictions in a virtual posture and perform with physical actors to create unique visual effects. STUST would like to thank the central government and the Tainan City Government for their support. Gratitude should also be given to the Yongkang District Office for providing a comfortable venue for the audience to enjoy the co-creation feast inspired by culture and technology.

De-guang Chou, Acting President of STUST, said that the integration of traditional opera and 5G technology not only made an important contribution to the preservation of Taiwanese Opera, but also created unlimited potential for breakthrough innovation in 5G technology and traditional opera. To be sure, it will also have a huge impact on the cultural and creative industries.

"War of the Underworld: Our Lady Comes South" was performed on a trial basis at the Social Education Center of Yongkang District, Tainan City, on September 22. It is expected to be officially released to the public after the opening of the Shichao Art Museum in Tainan in the future.