Ini Indexs
The clan associations of the Cantonese and other dialect groups in Singapore are historical products of the Chinese diaspora across different periods of time. At their height in the mid-20th century, approximately 290 Cantonese clan associations could be found on the island.1These organisations were formed based on the shared ties of kinship, place of origin in China, and profession, and had provided both practical and emotional support to immigrants (also known as sinkeh, or newcomers).
As a group, “Cantonese” refers to the Guang-Hui-Zhao (or Kwong-Wai-Siew) people whose mother tongue is Cantonese. In the Qing dynasty, the Guangdong province had 10 prefectures: Guangzhou, Huizhou, Zhaoqing, Chaozhou, Jiaying, Leizhou, Lianzhou, Gaozhou, Shaoguan, and Qiongzhou. These were known mnemonically as “Guang Hui Zhao Chao Jia, Lei Lian Gao Shao Qiong”, and Guang-Hui-Zhao was used as a collective term for the various counties and cities under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing prefectures.
In Singapore and Malaysia, Guang-Hui-Zhao represents the parts of Guangdong province where most of the Cantonese immigrants originally came from. Even though the Huizhou prefecture had a majority Hakka population, the Hakkas were naturally integrated into the Guangzhou and Zhaoqing community since they had gone to sea via Guangzhou.
The Cantonese are also known as Guangfu people, and the Cantonese language is also referred to as the Guangfu dialect. This is because, as the administrative centre of the Guangdong province, Guangzhou was deemed to be representative of the region. Guangfu is an abbreviation of “Guangzhou Fu” (Guangzhou prefecture).
The first kinship-based organisation in Singapore was the Sing Chow Chiu Kwok Thong Cho Kah Koon, founded in 1819 by Chow Ah Chey (1782–1830), who was from Taishan and had arrived on the island with the Raffles expedition. Cho Kah Koon was located at the junction of Lavender Street and Kallang Road, and this downstream area of the Kallang River was where the Cantonese engaged in sawmilling, leatherworking, and masonry, and later ventured into the machinery industry.2
Chow Ah Chey and his fellow men from Taishan went on to establish Ning Yeung Wui Kuan in 1822 — the first Chinese clan association seen in Singapore as well as outside of China.3 Other region-based clan associations formed by Guang-Hui-Zhao people in the 19th century included Huizhou (Wui Chiu Fui Kun, 1822), Zhongshan (Chung Shan Association, 1837), Nanshun (Nam Sun Wui Kun, 1839), Gangzhou (now Xinhui, Kong Chow Wui Koon, 1840), Dong’an (Tung On Wui Kun, 1870), Zhaoqing (Siu Heng Wui Kun, 1878), Panyu (Poon Yue Association, 1879), and Sanshui (Sam Sui Wui Kun, 1886). There were also kinship-based clan associations such as Lau Kwan Cheong Chew Ku Seng Wui Kun (1873) and Kwong Wai Siew Li Si She Shut (1874).4
In Singapore, people from neighbouring regions in the Guangdong prefecture often started clan associations together. For example, Nam Sun Wui Kun included members from the counties of Nanhai and Shunde, and people from Nanhai and Shunde passing through Singapore on their way to South Africa for mining would stay at lodgings set up by the clan folks along Hongkong Street. Tung On Wui Kun was made up of people from the Dongguan and Bao’an (Shenzhen) counties, and its early members were mostly sailors. Chen Loong Wui Koon, founded in 1947, covered the counties of Zengcheng and Longmen.
Clan associations established in the 19th century were characterised by their mission of supporting public welfare and improving the lives of those back in their hometowns. In the late Qing dynasty, Cantonese opera troupes from China sought opportunities abroad and the Liyuan Tang was set up in Singapore in 1857 (“Liyuan” is a term referring to opera troupes). It was later registered as Pat Wo Wui Kun in 1890, in compliance with requirements of the colonial government. The name “Pat Wo” is taken from the phrase ba tang he he, he zhong gong ji, which means a union of eight opera departments (roles) working in harmony. It symbolises the aspiration for concord among all professional actors in the troupe and the goal of bringing joy to the public.
The 20th century saw a diversification in the way clan associations were organised. For instance, Yi Yi Tang Lion Dance Troupe — which was established in 1920, and the first to perform lion dance at the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng to honour ancestors — used lion dance as a means to unite fellow members, only setting up Hok San Association many years later in 1939.5 Shun Tak Community Guild was founded in 1948 to raise funds for flood victims in its hometown, and many of its members also belonged to Nam Sun Wui Kun.6These clan associations were concentrated in and around Chinatown in the early days, but some started to acquire property in Geylang as the city area underwent redevelopment.
Most of the Cantonese women who migrated south from China to seek a living in this region at the start of the 20th century originated from the counties of Sanshui (now Sanshui District) and Shunde (now Shunde District). They became members of Sam Sui Wui Kun, Nam Sun Hui Kun, and Shun Tak Community Guild, and formed a majority in these clan associations.
Those who came from Sanshui mainly worked at construction sites and were colloquially known as samsui women or hong toujin — literally “red headscarf”, a nod to their trademark red headgear. The ones who wore blue headgear instead would have been from the counties of Huaxian and Qingyuan. As for women from Shunde who worked as domestic servants in Singapore, most of them had sworn themselves to celibacy and were commonly called zishunü (self-combed women) or majie.7 In their later years, some would receive help from the clan associations to return to their hometowns, while the others would live out their days in a Gu Po Wu (spinsters’ house) or a temple known as a vegetarian hall.8
Today, the families of the early immigrants have long sunken roots in this land, and the role of clan associations has had to evolve. Since the 1990s, the Cantonese clan associations in Singapore have taken turns to host international conventions to foster connections among the Chinese diaspora around the world. Such cross-border reunions have become one of the main activities through which clan associations engage with the global community. The Cantonese clan associations of Singapore continue to preserve valuable artefacts as well as history and heritage — promoting Cantonese opera and cuisine, lion dance, festivals, and other distinctive cultural features.
The signatories on the land deed of the Ning Yeung Wui Kuan were Liang Yakuan and Dai Yahong, not Chow Ah Chey. The latter had already died in 1830 and could not have received the deed. Someone must have accepted it on his behalf when the colonial government issued it later on.
Ini Indexs
After Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) founded modern Singapore, he adopted policies which granted special privileges to merchants, protecting their interests at every turn. In addition, the merchant class was hailed as the backbone of Singapore society.1 This gave the Chinese who had migrated to Singapore in search of a better life access to business opportunities that were different from those in China.
Under the policies of the colonial government, some of the Chinese who engaged in business gradually formed a wealthy class, and these included Hakka businessmen. With their newfound influence, some Hakka businessmen strived to become leaders of their own ethnic group in order to facilitate their entry into the upper echelons of society. To achieve this goal, these businessmen had to make some form of contributions to their ethnic group, which included establishing clan associations to take care of fellow villagers and setting up schools. This close relationship between businessmen, clan associations, and schools, in which the businessmen played a central role, became a unique feature of the Chinese community.
One example is the Ying Fo Fui Kun, which was established in 1822. In line with its focus on educating the children of clansmen, the clan association’s leaders set up Yin Sin School on 5 May 1905. Modelled after Western education systems, it was one of the earliest modern schools in Singapore. Reformists and revolutionaries in China had travelled to Southeast Asia and the United States during the late Qing dynasty to seek financial support. In the process, they also brought back new ideas on education, which influenced the Chinese community in Singapore. The new concepts rendered traditional private tutoring obsolete, and Western-style pedagogy became the subsequent model for educational endeavours such as Yin Sin School.
Its founders included Ying Fo Fui Kun’s board of directors such as Huang Yunhui (1865–1926), Zhong Xiaoting (birth and death years unknown), and Tang Xianglin (unknown–1940s). The school adopted new standards in teaching methods and textbooks, with all expenses apart from tuition fees covered by donations from the directors and board members of the clan association.2
The school was initially established on Loke Yew Street. After receiving feedback from many parents that the area was not accessible via public transport, the board of directors decided to relocate the school to the premises of Ying Fo Fui Kun at Telok Ayer Street (commonly known as Guan Soon Street) on 21 August 1905.
Yin Sin School’s development suffered a setback during World War II. With the support of the clan association’s leadership and the wider community, the school was rebuilt after the war. However, changes in government education policies in the early 1960s led to a decline and eventual depletion in student enrollment. As a result, the school announced its closure in 1970.
Khee Fatt School was established in 1906. To give children of clansmen a modern education, leaders of Char Yong (Dabu) Association, including Liu Chunrong (birth and death years unknown), initiated fundraising efforts. They then rented a shophouse on Loke Yew Street and founded the school. Its opening ceremony took place on 1 November 1906, with just over 60 students.3 In 1911, in order to provide more space and equipment, Char Yong’s president, Lan Jingqing (birth and death years unknown), and other directors decided to add a third floor to the association’s building to serve as the school compound.
After World War II, to accommodate students who had missed schooling during wartime, the president of Char Yong (Dabu) Association, Chong Moong Seng (1900–1977), led the board of directors in expanding the school. But as education policies evolved in line with Singapore’s development, Khee Fatt School faced a fate similar to that of Yin Sin School.
In 1985, after consultations between the Khee Fatt School Board of Directors and the Ministry of Education, it was decided that the school would cease operations that year. The Ministry of Education then constructed a new school building at 50 West Coast Road, with a donation of $100,000 from the Char Yong (Dabu) Clan Association. The new school was named Qifa Primary School in appreciation of the donation from the Char Yong (Dabu) Clan Association. Leaders of the association were also invited to serve as members of the school’s Advisory Committee.
Yin Sin School and Khee Fatt School were both established by Hakka clan associations, and carried the responsibility of cultural and ethnic education in pre-independence Singapore.
Ini Indexs
In the early 19th century, the Cantonese and Hakka communities in Singapore jointly established Fuk Tak Chi temple (also known as Hok Tek Chi).1 Dedicated to the worship of the Chinese earth deity Tua Pek Kong, the temple oversaw the construction of two cemeteries, Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng.
The temple (later renamed as Hok Tek Chi Loke Yah Teng Association) has been standing on Telok Ayer Street since at least 1824. This is evidenced by a temple plaque from the fourth year of the Daoguang Emperor’s reign (1824) bearing the inscription Zepi haidao (“benefitting the island”). The plaque is the earliest known artefact of the Chinese community in Singapore.
As Tao Gongzhu (birth and death years unknown) detailed in “Fudeci lüyeting yangeshi” (The Historical Evolution of Fuk Tak Chi and Loke Yah Teng)2, Tua Pek Kong was already enshrined by the sea during the Jiaqing era (1796–1820), before the cemetery Cheng San Teng had been established. The shrine was located at the site on Guan Soon Street (the colloquial name of Telok Ayer Street), where Fuk Tak Chi temple now sits. The shrine, which was modest in size, was said to have been the burial site of an elder whose body had been washed ashore onto Telok Ayer Street — then along Singapore’s original coastline. People raised funds to give him a proper burial on the site where he was found.
As the reputation of the site grew, three immigrant communities pooled funds to construct a temple, which they named Fuk Tak Chi. They comprised the Kwong Wai Siew community (Guangzhou, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing), the Fong Yun Thai community (Fengshun, Dabu, and Yongding), and Kar Yeng Five Districts (Meixian, Jiaoling, Pingyuan, Wuhua, and Xingning). The temple was also known as “Fuk Tak Chi by the sea”, due to its proximity to the waters, as well as “Fuk Tak Chi on Telok Ayer Street”. It was a place where the Cantonese and Hakka communities forged their alliance and provided assistance to their clansmen.
According to surviving records inscribed on monuments erected separately by worshippers from the Kwong Wai Siew and Fong Yun Thai communities, Fuk Tak Chi temple underwent several renovations and expansions in 1854, 1862, and 1869. An inscription from 1870 also noted that the Cantonese and Hakka communities had built a walled platform in front of the sea-facing temple to stage performances as offerings to the deities, which boosted its popularity.
Despite the alliance between the Cantonese and Hakkas, disputes over money could not be avoided. After all, the two communities originated from different regions in China and belonged to different dialect groups. A record of the legal dispute between Fuk Tak Chi’s pair of temple keepers in the 12th year of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign (1886) stated that a conflict over the uneven distribution of temple funds caused sufficient alarm to warrant the involvement of the colonial government’s Inspector-General and the Protector of the Chinese in filing and bringing the case to trial. After the trial, on 2 January 1887, representatives from both parties were ordered to sign a contract. The terms stipulated that the two communities would take turns in appointing a temple keeper, and whoever was in charge for the year was to be responsible for all profits or losses to ensure impartiality and prevent further conflicts. From then on, Fuk Tak Chi temple and Loke Yah Teng were managed in this manner,3 and the rotational model remains in use at Hok Tek Chi Loke Yah Teng Association today.
In 1985, Fuk Tak Chi temple was requisitioned by the government. It was officially closed in 1994, and the government sold the land — including the building — for commercial development. As the temple had housed a large number of deities, the Cantonese and Hakka communities invited Taoist priests to perform the necessary rituals for the permanent removal of all the statues. Only the statues of Tua Pek Kong and Cheng Huang Ye (the City God) were relocated to the premises of the Hok Tek Chi Loke Yah Teng Association in Geylang.
Fuk Tak Chi’s building and the land on which it sits now belong to Far East Organization. The property was renovated and converted into Fuk Tak Chi Museum in 1998, and has remained on the original site as a conservation project under the National Heritage Board.
Ini Indexs
The Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng cemetery, with its entrance at Upper Thomson Road, covered an area of 324 acres in the past, equivalent to more than 180 football fields. In the early 1980s, that land was used by the government to develop the new town of Bishan. Today, about two-thirds of the flats in Bishan sit on what was originally the cemetery.1
Just like all other Chinese cemeteries, Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng represented the Chinese community’s belief in being self-reliant in a foreign land — in this case, by taking care of the funeral rites of fellow clan members. Clan associations established 290 collective tombs (zongfen) within the cemetery, which were organised around kinship, place of origin in China, or occupation, and held ceremonies during the annual Qing Ming and Chong Yang festivals.
Before Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, some of the existing cemeteries serving the Cantonese and Hakka community were Cheng San Teng in the area near Maxwell Market, and Loke Yah Teng in Bukit Ho Swee. The establishment of Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng was initiated in 1870 by a group of people. One of them was Boey Nam Sooi, who pooled resources with people from the prefectures of Guangzhou, Huizhou and Zhaoqing. The aim was to purchase land for the burial of Guang-Hui-Zhao people who had “found their way here to Selat (Singapore) and died of unfortunate and ill-fate in a foreign land”.2
Inscription records reveal that the organisation and management of Peck San Theng (as the cemetery was known for short) matured progressively after 20 years of efforts. Members of the Boey (Mei) family, including Boey Nam Sooi, Boey Ah Sam, Mei Wang, and Mei Duancheng, as well as the “Seven Shops of Market Street”, namely Choo Kong Lan, Choo U Lan, Choo Foo Lan, Loh Kee Seng, Kwong Hang Ho, Loh Chee Seng, and Tong Tak Ho, made large donations for the construction of temples and roads.3Hoo Ah Kay (1816–1880), a native of Panyu who served as the consul for China, Russia, and Japan in Singapore, appealed to the colonial government for land tax exemption. Boey Ah Sam, the “General Manager” (da zongli) of Peck San Theng’s developments, was appointed as one of the first members of the Chinese Advisory Board along, with others such as Tan Keong Saik (1850–1909), Tan Jiak Kim (1859–1917), and Seah Liang Seah (1850–1925).4
In the early 20th century, as the number of homes and shops in Kampong San Theng multiplied with the influx of immigrants from China, a cultural and economic ecosystem had begun to take shape. Peck San Theng, now jointly managed by 16 Cantonese clan associations, went on to set up Kwong Wai Shiu Peck Shan Ting School (1936–1981) next door, providing free education to children of all ethnicities. This helped create a community where people could live, work, and honour the dead in the same area.
In 1948, Peck San Theng acquired an additional 175 acres of land, and expanded to the largest size in its history. The burial grounds were demarcated by 12 pavilions which provided resting places for families who came to pay their respects. The 13 burial sites were named after the 13-word phrase “Xing Jia Po Guang Hui Zhao Bi Shan Ting Yu Lan Sheng Hui” (The Yu Lan festival of Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng in Singapore) as Xing Zi Shan, Jia Zi Shan, Po Zi Shan, and so on.5
Peck San Theng also collaborated closely with Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital to manage the funeral rites of deceased patients who had nobody to depend on. According to inscriptions found on the 1923 Grand Universal Salvation Ritual monument,6 Peck San Theng had already provided funding to the hospital then. And according to records from 1930, individuals at a Peck San Theng meeting — among them Ng Sing Phang (1873–1951), Au Min Tong (circa 1882–1939), Chan Chan Phang (unknown–1939), and Lum Mun Tin (1873–1943) — had voted to grant Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital’s request that a rubber plantation at the second pavilion be used to reinter, without charge, the remains of patients who had passed away at the hospital over the years.
Ng Sing Phang, a former general manager of Peck San Theng, was then the manager of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. Au Min Tong, Chan Chan Phang, and Lum Mun Tin were meanwhile board members and estate trustees of the hospital. These people also served in various other charity organisations, clan associations and schools.
A flagship Peck San Theng event is the “Grand Universal Salvation Ritual”. Notably, it was held during World War II in 1943, and after the explosion of the oil tanker Spyros at Jurong Shipyard in 1978, to offer salvation rituals for the deceased victims.7
When the cemetery had to be cleared in the 1980s, Peck San Theng retained eight acres of its land, the size of about five football fields, and became a columbarium for people of all races and dialect groups. A heritage gallery was established in 2018 to preserve the history of the Bishan and Cantonese cemeteries.8
Ini Indexs
Organisations dealing with the cemeteries of Chinese immigrants had existed since the early days of modern Singapore. They played a significant role in unifying and leading their respective communities. The Hokkiens were served by Heng San Teng, while the Teochews had Tai Shan Ting. The Cantonese and Hakka communities, however, chose to collaborate instead of setting up separate cemeteries. This was likely because the two groups were smaller than the Hokkien and Teochew dialect groups and had limited resources. The cemeteries were managed by Fuk Tak Chi Temple, which had been built in Telok Ayer Street by the Cantonese and Hakkas in the 1820s.
Historical documents, including stone tablets and account books that have survived, indicate that Cantonese and Hakka communities in the early 19th century were made up of immigrants from the Kwong Wai Siew community (Guangzhou, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing), the Fong Yun Thai community (Fengshun, Dabu, and Yongding), and Kar Yeng Five Districts (Meixian, Jiaoling, Pingyuan, Wuhua, and Xingning). They established the cemeteries Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng together. Less is known about Cheng San Teng, as the available historical records focus predominantly on Lok Yah Teng.
Cheng San Teng was built before Loke Yah Teng, but the specific date of its construction remains unclear. For instance, a monument erected by the Kwong Wai Siew, Fong Yun Thai, and Kar Yeng communities in 1840 merely mentioned “a shared cemetery from previous years”. In the Fudeci lüyeting yan’geshi jinian tekan [Commemorative Issue of the Development of Hok Tek Chi Loke Yah Teng Association] (1963), Tao Gongzhu (birth and death years unknown) and other founding members clarified that this “shared cemetery” referred to Cheng San Teng, and that it had been fully occupied before Loke Yah Teng was established. They explained that Cheng San Teng had existed “before the Year of Wu Xu” — in other words, likely before 1838 — and that it was located in the coastal area to the east of Ann Siang Hill and west of the present Peck Seah Street. The cemetery was established as members of the community did not have the heart to leave the unclaimed bodies of deceased immigrants unattended. It was named Cheng San Teng (literally “green hills” in Chinese), after the area’s luxuriant green landscape.
Sporadic records from account books of Loke Yah Teng during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor reveal further details about Cheng San Teng. For example, the combined accounting records of Fuk Tak Chi Temple and Loke Yah Teng between 1887 and 1933 included the financial dealings of Cheng San Teng in 1905, and noted that it had last carried out repairs in 1906 and 1907. An entry of 50 dollars spent on exhumation in the “fifth month of the Year of Ding Wei during the Guangxu period” showed that the relocation of Cheng San Teng had begun in 1907. In addition, there is a monument sitting in the ancestral temple of Singapore’s oldest Hakka clan association, Ying Fo Fui Kun in Shuang Long Shan cemetery, which had been was erected on the “first day of the 11th month in the 33rd year of the reign of Guangxu” (1907) for the combined ashes exhumed from Cheng San Teng. This confirms that the cemetery was officially relocated at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1838, when Cheng San Teng had run out of burial space, leaders of the Cantonese and Hakka communities applied to the colonial government to build a new cemetery. Two years later, they were assigned a 32-acre piece of land between Tiong Bahru and Havelock Road, with a lease term of 999 years. The new cemetery was named Loke Yah Teng (meaning “green fields” in Chinese) to match Cheng San Teng. A stone tablet was later erected to mark the cemetery’s establishment.
Historical inscriptions and documents suggest that Loke Yah Teng was affected by the linguistic and ancestral differences between the Cantonese and Hakka communities from the early 1800s to 1900s. Relationships and issues of identity within the organisation were much more complex and diverse than those faced by the Hokkien community’s Heng San Teng and the Teochew community’s Tai Shan Ting. At the same time, the role of Fuk Tak Chi Temple was limited. It was mainly a place for ancestral and religious worship that also provided basic funeral and burial services. This was unlike its Hokkien, Teochew, and Hainanese counterparts, which had played the wider role of community leadership.
The original sites of Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng were later acquired by the government. Only the latter was relocated to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery. There was a total of 11,518 graves, of which 4,341 were named and 7,177 unidentified. Most of the rest of the kinship or geography-based collective tombs found their separate ways to places run by Cantonese or Hakka communities, namely Peck San Theng (the Kwong Wai Siew community), Shuang Long Shan Wu Shu Ancestral Hall of Ying Fo Fui Kun (Kar Yeng community), and Fong Yun Thai Association (Fong Yun Thai community).
Ini Indexs
Charitable healthcare services provided by the Cantonese community in Singapore date back to 1867, with the establishment of Thong Chai Yee Say by seven Cantonese merchants.1 It provided free medical consultations to the poor and needy, regardless of their place of origin, who lived in the Chinese-dominant area near the Singapore River. Philanthropists helped with donations and joint management to develop this inter-dialect groups, community-led medical institution.
Thong Chai Yee Say was officially registered in 1885. In 1892, it relocated from North Canal Road to Wayang Street, known today as Eu Tong Sen Street, under the name of Thong Chai Medical Institution. There they continued their original mission of providing medical treatment and medicine.2 It was a medical institution that provided outpatient services and also engaged in medical research. Before the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce (now Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry) was officially established in 1906, the institution was also a place where merchants would hold meetings and host dignitaries, briefly serving as a temporary office for the Association.
As the number of immigrants grew in the 20th century, the philanthropic healthcare initiatives that the Chinese community established were extended to people of different dialect groups and races. These included not only Thong Chai Medical Institution, but also Sian Chay Medical Institution, Char Yong Fei Choon Free Hospital (now defunct), Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, Chung Hwa Medical Institution, Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, and Ngee Ann Traditional Chinese Medical Centre, among others.
The Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital, established in 1910, was the only large-scale community-led charity hospital in 20th century Singapore that allowed patients to be hospitalised. Initially known as the Kwong Wai Shiu Free Hospital, it became a landmark on Serangoon Road.3 Some also referred to it as the “Cantonese Free Hospital” or rumah miskin (Malay for “house of the poor”).
The founding of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital was related to shifting political tides in China. Towards the end of the Qing dynasty, Singapore received a significant influx of immigrants from China. The public healthcare system could not cope with the increased pressure. During that time, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir John Anderson (1858–1918), requested the help of local Cantonese businessmen to provide welfare for the rapidly growing community from Guangdong. In 1910, individuals such as Wong Ah Fook (1837–1918), Leong Man Sau (1866–1916), Yow Ngan Pan (1863–1930), Ng Sing Phang (1873–1952), Look Yan Kit (1849–1933), Choo Sun Meng, Tan Qingyun, Lam Wei Fong and Li Xingnan brought together prominent individuals4 from the Guangzhou, Huizhou and Zhaoqing communities to raise funds. They modelled Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital after a free hospital in Guangzhou. They then purchased the property left behind when Tan Tock Seng Hospital relocated away from Serangoon Road, and converted it into Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. The hospital’s founding chairman, Wong Ah Fook, signed a 99-year contract with the government charging an annual token fee of one dollar until 2010. Kwong Wai Shiu Free Hospital officially opened in 1911, and for a century relied completely on private donations to fund its services.5
When Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital was established, it operated according to the laws of the time. The hospital was able to hire traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and prescribe Chinese herbal medicines. However, it also had to hire Western medical practitioners — creating a local precedent for a system where Chinese and Western medical techniques were integrated. Additionally, the hospital had to provide free childbirth services to pregnant women of Cantonese origin, and outpatient services were open to all people, regardless of origin.6
During World War II, when parts of the hospital were damaged by bombing and nearby residences were destroyed, the open spaces on the hospital grounds became a temporary graveyard. The Municipal Administration and the Department of Health allowed the hospital to continue running during the war, with Ching Kee Sun (circa 1881–1972) and Woo Mon Chew (1887–1958) serving as its chairman and vice-chairman respectively. They gradually hired more doctors and nurses, all of whom lived on the hospital premises. The Department of Health provided medicine, and funds raised by the board were used to purchase food. At that time, half of the patients in the hospital suffered from beriberi and oedema — the result of excessive consumption of tapioca while other foods were in short supply.
On 15 June 1974, Kwong Wai Shiu Free Hospital was renamed Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. It became a community-funded hospital that was open to all. The law stipulating that only those hailing from Guangzhou, Huizhou and Zhaoqing could be hospitalised there was abolished, and from then on, the hospital admitted inpatients from every ethnic background. In 2010, when its 99-year lease was up, the hospital was allowed to continue operating in its original location as a community care hospital.7
Ini Indexs
There is currently no consensus on when Hakka immigrants first arrived in Singapore, but what is certain is that many of them came to the island to partake in its development shortly after Stamford Raffles (1781–1826) landed in 1819. The communities from Kar Yeng and Huizhou established Ying Fo Fui Kun and Wui Chiu Fui Kun respectively in 1822 to take care of the welfare of their fellow clansmen, and they were the earliest groups to set up clan associations based on geographical location. Since then, the Hakka community has become an important group in Singapore’s Chinese community.
The size of the Hakka community in Singapore is not very large. According to statistics, there were more than 6,000 Hakka people in 1881, which rose to around 40,000 by 1947. Currently, the local Hakka population is approximately 200,000. Since the 19th century, the Hakka community has accounted for between 5% and 8% of the total Chinese population in Singapore, and its people are mostly from Guangdong province’s Dabu, Jiaying, Huizhou, and Fengshun, and Fujian province’s Yongding. Some others are from Guangxi province’s Bobai and Rongxian.
Formed by these larger groups of Hakkas, the major Hakka clan associations in Singapore, in chronological order, are Ying Fo Fui Kun (1822), Wui Chiu Fui Kun (1822), Char Yong (Dabu) Association (1858), Foong Shoon Fui Kuan (1873), and Eng Teng Association (1918). There are also surname-based organisations such as Hakka Wong Association and Hakka Chong’s Association. There are 19 different Hakka organisations listed under the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations. The Nanyang Khek Community Guild (renamed Nanyang Hakka Federation in 2020), established in 1929 by wealthy Hakka merchant Aw Boon Haw (1882–1954) to unite the Hakkas, acts as a joint body for the Hakka community.
Before Singapore’s independence, the functions of Hakka clan associations were similar to those of other dialect groups in that they mainly took care of the needs and welfare of their members — from practical necessities such as work and accommodation, to less tangible aspects such as education and religion. Apart from manual labour work, early Hakka immigrants were also engaged in commerce, and had monopolised industries including pawnbroking, traditional Chinese medicine, tailoring, and eyewear. This had to do with the skills they possessed, as well as referrals by the clan associations.
Generally speaking, however, the Hakka community was economically disadvantaged and thus unable to compete with the Hokkien and Teochew communities who controlled the financial and trade industries. As a result, fewer Hakkas made it into leadership positions in the Chinese community in Singapore, since wealth was the basic criterion for ascending the social ladder at that time.
When it came to education, the Hakkas did not allow themselves to lag behind. In the early 20th century, the Chinese community in Singapore began transiting from private schools to modern schools due to the influence of education development in China. The Hakka community was one of the first dialect groups to set up modern schools — Ying Fo Fui Kun founded Yin Sin School in 1905 , while Char Yong Association followed with Khee Fatt School in 1906. The two schools were part of the earliest batch of modern schools to be established on the island, which could be considered the beginning of Chinese education in Singapore.
Besides schools, the Hakka community built temples and cemeteries to fulfil the religious and burial needs of its people. Hock Teck See Temple, a temple by the sea dedicated to Tua Pek Kong, was constructed in 1844. The major Hakka clan associations elect members to serve as its directors and appointed temple keepers. By the mid-19th century, the community had also set up Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng to use as communal burial grounds for Hakka immigrants who had died on the island, away from home. The Cantonese community played a part in establishing Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng as well.
When the community outgrew the two cemeteries, Hakkas from Fengshun, Yongding, and Dabu came together to form the Fong Yun Thai Association and built a new cemetery, Yu Shan Teng, in 1882 which housed the Fong Yun Thai ancestral hall, while Ying Fo Fui Kun acquired Shuang Long Shan cemetery in 1887, which also housed an ancestral hall for the five districts of Kar Yeng community.
After Singapore became independent in 1965, Hakka clan associations found, as all other clan associations did, that the government had taken over many of the basic social functions that they used to serve during colonial times. It was necessary to reinvent themselves to adapt to the needs of the country’s economic development and evolution of national identity. For example, schools founded by the Hakka community have now become government schools where English is taught as a first language. Clan association activities now focus on promoting Chinese culture and preserving Hakka traditions, with a scope that has gone global in response to trends of a new era. Many of these associations now also organise overseas activities that include networking and collaboration opportunities, business visits, cultural exchanges, and attending World Hakka Conferences.
Ini Indexs
The descendants of Chinese immigrants make up over 70% of Singapore’s population today. As early as the 15th century, these immigrants began making their way across the ocean from China to settle in Malaysia and Singapore. Most of the earlier settlers, who belonged to various ethnic groups and spoke different dialects, came from southern China.
Among them were the Hainanese, whose numbers have grown over the last 600 years. According to the Singapore Census of Population 2020, there are around 183,000 Hainanese people living in Singapore,1 and they form the fifth-largest Chinese dialect group here. Like many close-knit Chinese immigrant communities, the Hainanese set up their own clan associations. These organisations were responsible for the general well-being of their members, helping them to settle down, find jobs, send money back to their loved ones in Hainan, as well as with other daily needs.
Examples of these clan groups include the Hainan Hwee Kuan — established in 1854 — and the Singapore Hainan Society, which was set up in 1956. These associations played an important role and became centres for Hainanese musicians, who went on to develop and promote Hainanese music in Singapore. Today, Hainanese music generally falls under three categories: folk songs, bayin (instrumental music based on eight instruments), and Hainan opera.
Hainanese folk songs, too, can be divided into three groups — mountain songs, fishing songs, and children’s songs. These songs are passed down from generation to generation by oral tradition. Well-known folk songs that are still being sung among the Hainanese today include Wuzhi shange (Wuzhi Mountain Song), Zhanzai shanding chang shange (Singing Mountain Song on the Mountain Top), and Ritou chuchu yu xiaxia (Raining on a Sunny Day).
The eight instruments of Hainan bayin can be split into two groups: melodic instruments — such as the suona, yueqin, yangqin, dizi, and diaoxian (a kind of erhu used in Hainanese opera) — and percussion instruments like drums, cymbals, and gongs. In the modern bayin ensemble, the array of instruments can be more flexibly adjusted to suit different performing needs. Bayin ensembles typically perform at festive events, such as weddings and celebrations for deities’ birthdays.
While folk songs and bayin provide the soundtrack to daily life, Hainan opera is considered a higher artistic form. Over its long history, it has developed a set of standardised rules that are followed rigorously. Hainan opera can be divided into historical drama and modern stage play. A historical drama tells a story about past events, while a modern stage play presents a contemporary story, and so acts as a mirror to society. The main instrumental accompaniment to Hainan opera is led by string instruments diaoxian, and accompanied by instruments such as the suona, yangqin, yueqin, daruan, dahu, drum, gong, and cymbal.
Hainan opera troupes were usually founded by famous opera stars, who formed associations with the goal of teaching the locals to perform professionally. One famous example was the now-defunct Singapore Opera Company, which was set up by renowned male performer Qing Shoulan (1808–1895) in 1859.2 Some of the most important associations which are still in operation were formed later. They include the Kheng Chew Junior Association (1956), Heng Nam Drama Association (1957, now Tien Heng Kang Heng Nam Drama Association), the Singapore Hymn Rhyme Seng Opera Club (1957), and the Lu Nam Ke Huan (1966), which all played an important role in the development of Hainan opera in Singapore.3
Works from Hainan opera troupes gained popularity through record sales, which made the music available to a much wider audience than before. Some of the most well-loved adaptations preserved on records are Hongye tishi (Poem on Autumn Leaves), Zhang Wenxiu (The Top Scholar Zhang Wenxiu), Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai (The Butterfly Lovers), and Aiqing yu huangjin (Romance and Gold). The popularity of Hainan opera led to the rise of local opera stars such as Goh Tok Boey, Foo Soon Lee, and Foo See Too; and musicians such as Foo Tiang Soon (1904–1989) and Han Yin Juan, all of whom are still remembered today for their artistic talents.
Singapore’s rich heritage today is a reflection of the diverse cultures of its immigrants, whose traditions have been woven into its social fabric. Among these, the musical heritage of the Hainanese immigrants holds its own special place, having been influenced initially by Teochew culture and then later by Cantonese cultural elements.
Thanks to the strength and support of Hainanese clan associations, Hainan music has endured in both form and popularity to become a cultural asset of Singapore.
Ini Indexs
In 1934, Singapore’s first Chinese musical group, Mayfair Musical Party (later renamed Mayfair Musical and Dramatic Association), was established. This happened against the backdrop of the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Chinese in the Nanyang region were exposed to dramas, paintings, and songs with anti-Japanese and anti-war sentiments, which included plays such as Huichunzhiqu (Melody of Returning Spring), Fangxia nide bianzi (Put Down Your Whip), paintings such as Xu Beihong’s (1895–1953) Tianheng wubaishi (Five Hundred Warriors of Tianheng) and Fangxia nide bianzi (Put Down Your Whip), as well as songs such as Nie Er’s (1912–1935) Tietixia de genü (Songstress Under the Iron Hooves), Yiyongjun jinxingqu (March of the Volunteers) and Xian Xinghai’s (1905–1945) Huanghe dahechang (Yellow River Cantata).
During those years, immigrants from Southern China still felt strongly attached to their former homeland, which was why cultural elements from China, including nationalistic songs reflecting anti-Japanese sentiments, were widely popular. Though the local conditions then were still unconducive to creating music, these songs nourished young people’s souls and sowed the seeds for local music composition.
Amid this climate, and encouraged by the visiting Wuhan Chorus’ fund-raising concerts in Singapore and Malaya, Singapore’s first Chinese choir, Tong Luo Choral Group (now defunct), was formed in 1939, paving the first step to local songwriting.
Influenced by anti-Japanese songs from China, works by local songwriters in 1930s to 1940s were closely linked to the everyday life and political climate of the times in terms of style and content, reflecting the zeitgeist of the era. A prominent songwriter/lyricist of that period was Ye Litian (1921–1943), a core member of the Tong Luo Choral Group, known for songs like the Tongluo hechangtuan tuange (Tong Luo Choral Group Anthem), Xinjiapo he (Singapore River), Xue zhige (Song of Snow), and Chidao zhige (The Equator Song). The English-educated pioneer songwriter, originally from Meixian, Guangdong, was unfortunately arrested and hanged by the Japanese military police due to his politically subversive works in 1943. He was barely 22 when his life came to a tragic and untimely end.
Besides Ye, another important songwriter was Yang Li (1919–1942), who also died in his prime. His works included Bieli (Parting), Baowei Malaiya (Defending Malaya), Tiesiwang (Barbed Wire Fence) and more.
Other significant songs of the period included:1
Besides wartime songs, popular songs from Shanghai in the 1940s, or shidaiqu (songs of the era), also spread from China to Singapore. Though some of these pop songs mainly appealed to the man in the street, many others expressed concerns and anxieties about the state of the country and the common people. The latter were seen as professional creative works that reflected the realities of life back then, including:
During the 1940s, some important songwriters also spent a brief sojourn in Singapore, such as Ren Guang, who wrote Yuguang qu (Fishermen’s Song) and Caiyun zhuiyue (Colour Clouds Chasing the Moon), and An E, who wrote the lyrics to “Fishermen’s Song”.
Shortly after the Japanese occupation of Singapore ended, there were still not many formally trained songwriters of local Chinese music. However, Chinese choirs were soon successively established, including the Lee Howe Choral Society in 1952, Rediffusion Youth Choir in 1953, Metro Philharmonic Choir in 1959, and Herald’s Choral Society in 1961. Their repertoire consisted mainly of arrangements of art and folk songs from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even the western world, and those which could be considered as local compositions were still works that reflected the political struggles and living conditions of the time.
The local style of Chinese songs written during the 1950s also became increasingly distinct and technically mature. For instance, the song Jiaolin, women de muqin (Rubber Plantation, Our Mother), written and adapted by Boh Chit Hee (1935–2009) from Yu Zhou’s (birth and death years unknown) poem Wo manbu zai jiaolin li (I Am Taking a Walk in a Rubber Plantation), was widely popular. Written in a lyrical style, it spoke of the hardships experienced by rubber tappers and the love they felt for the land, and was considered an iconic song of that era.
Other representative works from the 1950s included:2
In summary, local musical activities between the 1930s and 1950s predominantly revolved around anti-war themes. Pop songs which became in vogue in the 1940s were of a different musical style and also gained a considerable following in Singapore and Malaysia. Subsequently, in the post-war 1950s, the establishment of various mainstream Chinese choral groups played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for the continued development of original Chinese music creation in Singapore.
Ini Indexs
As Singapore society stabilised in the 1960s, the style of local Chinese songs evolved accordingly. While some of the songs written at this time still bore a “leftist” flavour, portraying an anti-colonial stance and extolling the working class, others clearly differed in style, and was filled with a sense of vitality towards building a new nation. Important composers of this period included Ma Ren (Wu Dingfeng, 1930–2019), Li Xuexun (also known by pen names Li Ying, Li Hua, and Qiu Ying, 1932–1991), Tien Ming Ern (1918–1994), Leong Yoon Pin (1931–2011), Ke Si (also known as Lee Khoon Choy, 1924–2016), Lee Yuk Chuan, and more.
Representative local Chinese songs written during the 1960s
In 1962, the first version (revised in 1993) of Singapore’s first oratorio was published. The piece titled Kongque dongnan fei (The Peacock Flies Southeast) by composer Leong Yoon Pin made a grand and refreshing debut, distinguishing itself from other Chinese vocal works in terms of musical style, creativity, and quality.
The 1970s marked a period when local private Chinese arts groups became more active. Creative arts productions, including theatre and dance, placed emphasis on the experience of labour in life, resulting in many songs of the same nature. Chew Seok Kwee (1954–2013), a former music instructor at the Singapore Performing Arts School (now known as The Theatre Practice) who later went to the United States for further studies, was one of the most prolific composers of that time. She was known for works such as Yucun zuge (Fishing Village Suite),1 Huangliyuan zuge (Pineapple Plantation Suite),2 and Linming zuge (Sungai Lembing Suite).3
Other pieces from the same period included the Southern Arts Society’s Yingchun (Welcoming Spring), Buwang4 (Mending the Net) (lyrics by a group, music by Zhu Ye), as well as more than 200 collectively- and anonymously- written songs of a similar style.5
During the mid- to late 1970s, both private and government organisations organised a series of songwriting competitions, catalysing the development of local compositions. Notable competitions included the “Our Songs” Songwriting Competition, jointly organised by the National Theatre Trust and Radio and Television Singapore in 1977, the “Song for Workers Competition”, jointly organised by Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation and Pioneer Industries Employees’ Union in 1978 and 1979, as well as the Nantah School Songwriting Competition organised by Nanyang University in 1979.
Local Chinese songs that came from songwriting competitions during the 1970s
Stylistically speaking, 1979 was a watershed year for local Chinese songwriting, with the creation of Leong Yoon Pin’s choral suite Libai shi sishou (“Four Poems of Li Bai”) which was unprecedented in its use of modern musical language in his attempt to reinterpret Chinese classical poetry.6Before this, songs written by amateurs and professionals alike tended to be more traditional and conservative in both technique and style. Leong’s epoch-making work differed entirely from its counterparts thus far, and was a testament to the growing maturity of local Chinese songwriting.