In recent years, Taiwanese opera has seen an emergence of Buddhist dramas; in just a little more than ten years, several renowned troupes have rolled out Buddhist dramas for their annual drama production and have thus been able to learn from one another. Statistics show that during the 13 years from 2007 to 2019, there were 18 Buddhist dramas from five Taiwanese opera troupes; there were Buddhist drama performances almost every year. This phenomenon in the realm of contemporary Taiwanese opera deserves more attention. However, Buddhist drama performances are often met with polarized critiques on account of contradictions regarding the combination of religion and drama; these contradictions reflect complex issues of performance forms, milieus, and objectives, the audience's religious beliefs, and so on. These issues can be analyzed in depth and then understood comprehensively if the history of Buddhism and drama in Taiwan can be investigated as a way to observe the context and development trajectory of these two fields. This research accordingly aims to explore relevant issues in two dimensions: first, the history of Taiwanese opera and Buddhism in Taiwan is expected to shed light on their common ideals that have made possible Buddhist dramas and the opportunities of cooperation between Buddhism and performing arts. Second, the development in the themes and forms of Taiwanese opera, as well as the performance characteristics of different troupes, will be examined to analyze the phenomenon of Buddhist dramas in Taiwan and its significance in the history of Taiwanese opera.
