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Chinese education — by which we mean education in schools where Standard Chinese or Chinese dialects were the medium of instruction — existed in Singapore for nearly a century. It played an important role in improving the education levels, cultural development, and quality of life of the Chinese.
According to the Census of Population in 1920, for every 1,000 Chinese males in Singapore, Malacca, and Penang combined, only 59 were attending school. This meant that less than 6% of Chinese males at the time had the opportunity to receive an education. The proportion of educated females, as one might expect, was lower.1 This was the situation in the relatively developed areas of the Straits Settlements — education levels in other parts of British Malaya could possibly be much lower.
Fast forward to 1949, and approximately 70% of the more than 100,000 school-aged children in Singapore were enrolled in 319 Chinese-language schools. These schools were run by civilian organisations without any funding from the colonial government.
The hundreds of Chinese-language schools established all over the island offered general education to the masses before the authorities started to provide free primary education in the 1950s. They gave children from average and low-income households the opportunity to receive basic education. In the long interval in history before the government provided compulsory education, these schools took on the social responsibility of educating children.
The general education provided by Chinese-language schools opened up the minds of the local Chinese community, transforming their overall mindset and outlook on life.
In China at the beginning of the 20th century, the confluence of the Vernacular Language Movement (Baihuawen yundong) and the National Language Movement (Guoyu yundong) had an epochal impact. The former was advocating a new, unified written language, while the latter called for a common spoken language. The confluence of the two movements gave rise to the modern language of “I write what I speak”. It became a powerful education and communication tool that children and adults alike could easily master with reasonable effort in learning. The key role modern language played was enabling education for the masses. Widespread education provided everyone with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and immerse themselves in culture, which promoted class mobility and transformed society. Education was no longer limited to the rich and powerful.
Mandarin was the medium of instruction in local Chinese schools. Although the language originated from the northern part of China — and initially had little relation to the vast majority of Chinese in Singapore who were of southern China origin — education in Chinese schools allowed them to master this language, which was rapidly developing into the lingua franca of the Chinese community. Mandarin soon became the language used in the newspapers, magazines and books of the Chinese world to spread ideas and promote learning. Singapore’s local Chinese, who had mastered the language in Chinese schools, were able to absorb knowledge from those publications without difficulty. They could broaden their horizons and develop an understanding of the world — which promoted social mobility and transformed the community.
Moreover, Chinese education reinforced the collective identity of the Chinese community. In Singapore, the Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese and Hakka immigrants formed communities so they might look out for their own — people with whom they shared geographical and blood ties. The colonial authorities’ strategy of “divide and rule” strengthened the clan structures in the Chinese community. However, Chinese schools standardised the medium of instruction, and Mandarin was able to transcend dialectal differences and clannishness to unify the Chinese community. Chinese education, as well as the mode of Chinese language education that followed, allowed the Chinese in Singapore to form a collective unit in society through a common mother tongue. They worked together with the Malays, Indians and Eurasians to make a new country home.
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As a part of Singapore’s Chinese cultural heritage, textbooks of Chinese-medium schools formed a significant aspect of the collective memory of Chinese who grew up during the colonial era and Singapore’s early nation-building years. Those who attended traditional private schools or new types of schools (also known as modern schools, xinshi xuetang) continue to hold deep memories of the early learning or modernised textbooks they studied.
Before new types of schools were founded, Singapore’s Chinese community was primarily educated through various forms of private schools. Located in homes, shops, temples, clan associations, or other rudimentary buildings, these schools did not have a fixed curriculum or clearly defined objectives. They also did not use standardised textbooks, but relied on teachers to decide what to teach. Common teaching content included traditional children’s texts like the Trimetric Classic, A Hundred Family Surnames, and the Thousand Character Classic, along with arithmetic and calligraphy classes. More advanced students had the opportunity to study classics like the Four Books and Five Classics.
The first modern school in Singapore, founded in 1899, was the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School.1 Established by social elites such as Khoo Seok Wan (1874–1941) and Lim Boon Keng (1869–1957), it later evolved into an English-medium educational institution offering a curriculum that included Romanised Malay, Chinese, English, mathematics, history, geography, music, and sewing, and other modern subjects. From the early 20th century, Chinese-medium schools like Yeung Ching School (now Chongzheng Primary School), Kwong Chow School (now Yangzheng Primary School), Yin Sin School, Tuan Mong School, Tao Nan School, and Khee Fatt School (now Qifa Primary School) were established as part of an education system outside of China.2 The curriculum and textbooks used in these modern schools followed the goals and outlines stipulated in the school charter of the Qing government.
These textbooks were mainly produced by The Commercial Press and included texts like the Moral Education and the Chinese Language, along with books on abacus calculation, written calculation, history, geography, ethics, science, arts and crafts, music, and physical education. These textbooks aimed to inculcate various life values in students — such as respect for Confucian values, loyalty to the emperor, and public morality — that aligned with the political requirements of the late Qing government.
In 1912, the Republic of China was established by a Republican government. From the first year of the Republic of China to 1941, China faced both internal and external challenges, resulting in a highly unstable political environment. Major events during this period included the May Fourth Movement, the rebellion of the Northern Warlords, the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists (Kuomintang) and the Communists, and the Japanese invasion, which impacted the educational policies and content of Chinese textbooks.
During this period, Singapore’s Chinese-medium schools primarily adopted textbooks by publishing companies in China that were designed for overseas Chinese-medium schools in Nanyang. As a result, the content of these textbooks was naturally influenced by political events in China and exhibited characteristics unique to their times. Some of the textbooks adopted by Chinese-medium schools were scrutinised and banned by the colonial government for containing anti-Japanese and anti-British content. For example, the British colonial government banned a number of anti-British textbooks in 1928. During the governorship of Cecil Clementi (1875–1947) from 1930 to 1934, the colonial government was even more strict in reviewing and banning textbooks of Chinese-medium schools. Between 1930 and 1935, it announced a list of banned textbooks almost every year. In 1935 alone, the colonial government banned 84 textbooks and teaching reference books from 16 publishers.3
The majority of textbooks used in Chinese-medium schools in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia before World War II were imported from China. These textbooks were primarily written by Chinese intellectuals and educators and published by Chinese publishing houses in Shanghai, such as The Commercial Press, Chung Hwa Book Company, and World Book Company. The textbooks they compiled covered various subjects at the primary, middle, and senior-middle school levels, including Chinese language, moral education, history, geography, general knowledge, civics, health, arithmetic, physics, chemistry, and biology.4 These books were popular throughout Southeast Asia. Books such as the eight-volume Selected Chinese Texts, edited by Song Wenhan (1894–1971) from the Chung Hwa Book Company, and High School Chinese by Song and Zhang Wenzhi (1898–1956) were widely adopted by local Chinese-medium schools and made a significant impact on education here. These textbooks aimed to impart new knowledge in various disciplines and cultivate the character of Chinese nationals, and catered to Chinese students in China. As for Chinese-medium schools outside of China, especially in Southeast Asia, textbooks known as “textbooks suitable for use by overseas Chinese in Nanyang” were mostly modified from those by Shanghai-based publishers, namely the Chung Hwa edition of New Curriculum Standard Textbook and The Commercial Press edition of Reviving Educational Textbook series. The adapted textbooks were similar in content to those used in China.
China’s monopoly on textbooks continued until 1936, when several major bookstores established by local Chinese businessmen, including Nanyang book Company, Chung Hing Publishing Company, Shanghai Book Company, and the World Book Company, began publishing a series of localised textbooks.
In the early post-war period, Chinese-medium schools in Singapore experienced a rapid resurgence, but faced a shortage of textbooks. Civil war and social instability in China from 1946 to 1949 had greatly affected the supply of Chinese-medium books and textbooks to Southeast Asia. To address the shortage,5 Shanghai Book Company in Singapore gathered a group of scholars and educators — who had taken refuge in Southeast Asia during the war and were familiar with the local situation – to compile a series of Nanyang-based Shanghai Modern Series textbooks. The World Book Company also published the World Book Series Nanyang textbooks, while Nanyang Bookstore released Nanyang Series textbooks. With their strong local flavour and rich Southeast Asian content, these textbooks were not only adopted by local schools, but also gained popularity in other regional cities. The books came to be known generally as the Singapore imprints of “Nanyang textbooks”.
The World Book Company and Nanyang Bookstore in Singapore also embarked on the editing and publication of Nanyang textbooks. One notable feature of these textbooks was their stronger emphasis on local content and issues compared with “textbooks suitable for use by overseas Chinese in Nanyang” series.
The political landscape in Singapore and Malaya underwent significant changes in the early post-war years. British Malaya saw developments such as political demands from the Malayan Communist Party, the spread of Malay nationalism, and the formation of the Federation of Malaya. As the focus on politics grew, so did nationalist movements. Beyond the region, the Communist Party of China had come into power, and the ideological Cold War between Eastern and Western political blocs was building up. Consequently, the educational content and textbooks for Chinese-medium schools shifted from ethnic education to local politics, giving rise to a push for the “Malayanisation” of textbooks.
The movement referred to a new education system established by the British colonial government and the transitional autonomous governments to rein in the development of vernacular schools (mainly Chinese-medium schools) and promote English education. This was done through the revision of textbooks for Chinese-medium schools, by reducing or eliminating Chinese nationalist content in pre-war textbooks, and introducing localised content to instil in students a sense of loyalty to their place of residence. In essence, the Malayanisation of textbooks was to exert governmental control over textbook content through a committee responsible for setting subject curriculum standards and overseeing textbook compilation, approval, publication, and adoption.6
In 1951, the Federation of Malaya government invited two educationists, William P. Fenn (1903–1993), an expert in higher education in China, and United Nations official, Wu Teh Yao (1915–1994), to conduct a survey of Chinese education in Malaya. They published a report known as the Fenn-Wu Report on Chinese schools and the education of Chinese Malayans, which initiated the Malayanisation of textbooks.
In 1953, the first set of Malayanised textbooks, the United Publishing House’s Chinese Language (Guoyu), was introduced. Subsequently, until 1956, other versions of Malayanised textbooks appeared on the market, including Shanghai Book Company’s Modern Series, the World Book Company’s World Series, The Commercial Press and Chung Hwa Book Company’s Chung Hwa–Commercial Series, Nanyang Bookstore’s Nanyang Series, and the United Publishing House Series. These textbooks covered various subjects, including language, mathematics, and science, and they were based on the curriculum standards developed by the education ministries of Singapore and Malaya. Their content focused on the fusion of Chinese and Malayan cultures and aimed to foster loyalty to the local political system.
During Singapore’s early independent years, approximately 170,000 students attended Chinese-medium schools. Apart from learning English as a second language, all the other subjects were taught in Chinese. The market for textbooks in Chinese attracted not only the five major publishing houses but also other publishers, resulting in a diverse array of publications. After 1979, when schools from the four language streams were integrated into one unified model with English as the medium of instruction, textbooks in Chinese were reduced to only one: the subject-based Chinese Language (huawen) textbooks. Textbooks, along with the decline of Chinese-medium education, eventually became a part of history.
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In the 19th century, the Chinese in Singapore mainly sent their children to private or free public schools, where they were taught subjects such as the Chinese script, the Four Books and Five Classics, zhusuan (knowledge and practice of performing arithmetic calculations using an abacus) and ethics. Such education aimed to develop their language, communication, life, and business skills, as well as impart and preserve traditional Chinese culture.
In the early 20th century, China experienced massive political changes. After the Republic of China was established, the new government was committed to promoting education and imparting knowledge to the masses. It imported modern educational systems from the West and encouraged intellectuals to compile modern textbooks for various subjects. Publishing houses like The Commercial Press, Chung Hwa Book Company, World Book Company, and Kai Ming Book Company began investing resources and introducing an eclectic variety of new textbooks for various subjects. They provided textbooks for use in secondary and primary schools, both within China and to overseas Chinese-medium schools (qiaoxiao). These textbooks covered a range of subjects, including Chinese language and literature, self-cultivation, history, geography, general knowledge, civics, health, arithmetic, physics, chemistry, and biology.1
In Singapore and Malaysia, seven major libraries have a collection of textbooks adopted by Chinese-medium schools in this region before World War II. These textbooks were compiled in compliance with the course outline and educational purpose issued by China’s Ministry of Education during different periods. They were titled under different series names, such as Republican Textbooks, New System Chinese Textbooks, Newly Edited Chinese Textbooks, New Curriculum Standard Textbooks, and Reviving Textbooks.2 The material selection and teaching objectives of these textbooks under different series were closely linked to the social conditions of different periods in China, and bore the imprint of the times.
From 1912 to 1928, the publication of textbooks in Republican China flourished. Countless members of the Chinese elite and experts devoted themselves to the work of compiling textbooks. Working under the banner of publishing houses like The Commercial Press and Chung Hwa Book Company, they translated or compiled a variety of modern textbooks to promulgate modern knowledge (i.e. science), new ideologies (i.e. freedom, democracy, and human rights), and perspectives on life and the world to students in China and overseas Chinese-medium schools. These textbooks had a profound influence on the students. The May Fourth Movement, an anti-imperialist political movement which swept across China and Southeast Asia in 1919, arose as a direct result of these early learning textbooks.
One of the significant effects of the May Fourth Movement was the adoption of vernacular Chinese (baihuawen) and the inclusion of children’s literature in textbooks from Republican China. One characteristic of the textbooks in the 1920s and 1930s was the use of simple children’s literature as the norm in primary school Chinese textbooks. For example, in the 1930s textbook Primary School Chinese Language Reader, many lesson texts were written in the form of catchy nursery rhymes, fables, jokes, and stories. Not only were they easy to read and remember, they were also full of wit and humour, and were hence deeply imprinted in the minds of students. The following piece titled “Starry Sky”, exemplifies the type of wholesome and engaging content that was included in those textbooks:
Like copper nails on bluestone slabs
Countless they are
Stars in the sky, sparkling bright
Like many fairies blinking
Twinkling until the dawn breaks3
Before World War II, the Chinese community in Singapore and Malaya were deeply influenced by the textbooks they read, which shaped their perspectives on life, worldview, and values. They were taught to be upright individuals who were patriotic towards China and the Chinese people. These textbooks also nurtured a passionate group of young people with strong anti-colonial and anti-imperial sentiments. By the early 1930s, some Chinese textbooks imported from China had already introduced specialised “textbooks suitable for use by overseas Chinese in Nanyang” intended for use in overseas Chinese-medium schools in Southeast Asia, a prelude to the localisation of textbooks.
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Chinese community organisations in Singapore have endured for over 200 years. Over the course of their rich and complex history, they have often been successful at adapting to the times.
The first Chinese junk that came to Singapore directly from Xiamen set sail on 18 February 1821, marking the beginning of mass migration of Chinese from the coastal regions of China to Southeast Asia. From the 1820s, two major groups of Chinese immigrants could be found in Singapore. The group that travelled to Singapore on Chinese junks originated from the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Most of them were labourers or skilled workers such as carpenters. The better-educated ones worked as letter writers, clerks, or taught in private schools. The other group of Chinese immigrants was made up of merchants from Malacca who had ancestral roots in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. They were mostly already well-connected internationally, and had solid economic foundations, giving them an advantage over other scattered immigrants who had come from various places. By the mid-19th century, Singapore’s Chinese community had taken shape with the two waves of immigrants who would eventually influence its development in a profound way.
Since immigrants who had newly arrived were unfamiliar with the island and had no network of their own, they had to rely on fellow clansmen for livelihood-related matters. This led to the formation of clan associations, as it was necessary for people to band together to support each other in order to survive. According to inscriptions on the monument erected for the reconstruction of Ying Fo Kun in 1844, mutual assistance was a priority for those who travelled to a distant country. Having a place to live in was most important when it came to settling down in foreign lands.
However, very few of these immigrants succeeded in making a fortune, and many lived in abject poverty and died in foreign lands. According to the Heng San Teng Tablet of 1830, in order to provide a resting place for those overseas Chinese who had died in a foreign land, See Hoot Kee (1793–1847), a leading figure in the Hokkien community at that time, founded the Heng San Teng, which was mainly responsible for handling the funerals and sacrifices of these overseas Chinese from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, and for managing the cemeteries of the Hokkien community. Heng San Teng not only served the function of a burial ground, but also served other social functions, where formal gatherings and deliberations of the clan were held. It was the most prominent institution of the Hokkien community in the early years of modern Singapore. See Hoot Kee went on to formalise and institutionalise the management of cemeteries, and the rules and regulations created in 1836 during his tenure as chief director had set a precedent for the management of Chinese temples.
Other dialect communities established their own cemeteries too. For example, the Cantonese and Hakka communities founded Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng, while the Teochew community had Tai Shan Ting. During the colonial period when welfare systems were not well-established, the traditional concept of “honouring one’s ancestors” had held the Chinese community together, which shouldered the responsibility of taking care of the disadvantaged members of the community of each dialect group through the management of such communal cemeteries.
As society progressed, Heng San Teng could no longer meet the needs of the times. When Thian Hock Keng Temple was completed in 1842, it replaced Heng San Teng as the leading institution of the Chinese community in Singapore. See Hoot Kee’s role as leader of the Singapore Chinese society was then transferred, without any conflict, to Tan Tock Seng (1798–1850), then-chief director of Thian Hock Keng Temple. Tan, who served the Hokkien community through the temple, was best known for donating 7,000 dollars of his own money for the establishment of Tan Tock Seng Hospital in 1844. The hospital provided medical services to the general public, regardless of race or ethnicity, thus benefiting the entire Singapore society.
Clan associations were established to meet people’s basic material and cultural needs, serve as centres for communication, and unite their clansmen. Other than addressing issues related to employment and accommodation, the associations were involved in caring for the sick, conducting marriage and funeral ceremonies, resolving disputes, maintaining discipline and order, running hospitals and schools, and initiating charitable projects. With the changing of times, these clan associations have developed a high degree of social role, which was reflected more prominently in the played as bastions of culture.
The Chinese community was clearly enthusiastic about education in those early years. Clan associations set up a slew of schools, including Chongwen Ge and Chui Eng Si E (also known as Chui Eng Free School), the first private Chinese schools in Singapore, which were founded by Tan Kim Seng (1805–1864) in 1849 and 1854 respectively; Ying Xin School, by Hakka clan association Ying Fo Fui Kun in 1905; Yock Eng High School, by Kiung Chow Hwee Kuan in 1910; Yeung Ching School (now Yangzheng Primary School), by the Cantonese community in 1905; and Tuan Mong School, by Ngee Ann Kongsi in 1906.
In 1919, members of several communities came together to set up the first Chinese secondary school in Singapore, The Chinese High School. While Chinese education had had a century-long history in Singapore by then, the education system was still incomplete as it comprised only primary and secondary schools, and the wish for access to higher education and deeper culture had yet to be realised. The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya were determined to start a university with Chinese language as the main medium of instruction. In 1955, the Nanyang University was established as Southeast Asia’s first Chinese institution of higher education, after Tan Lark Sye (1897–1972), then-chairman of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, had mooted the idea. The founding of the university marked the pinnacle of Chinese community-run education institutions in Singapore.
The purchase and construction of property has been a common practice throughout the development of Chinese community organisations, laying the economic foundation for their long-term survival.
The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan in Telok Ayer Street is one example. In the 1950s, then- chairman Tan Lark Sye and businessman Lee Kong Chian (1893–1967) each donated 200,000 dollars to build a six-storey building for the association on the land opposite Thian Hock Keng Temple. In 2003, this six-storey property was rebuilt as an eight-storey commercial building, which was then extensively upgraded in 2021 before being opened for leasing.
Another example is the Ee Hoe Hean Club, a heritage building that is strategically located in Chinatown, reflecting the foresight of the pioneers who bought the property.
Over the years, leaders of the Chinese community in Singapore have invested in real estate to finance their community organisations — supporting the development of these associations, and ensuring that they continue to flourish.
The key to the survival of Chinese community organisations over the years is their ability to adapt to the times, making changes to their organisational structures and roles to remain relevant. A seminar on the Chinese clan associations on 2 December 1984, as well as the establishment of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) in the mid-1980s broke the silence that had characterised the clan associations for many years. Today’s Chinese community organisations continue to evolve with the times, transforming themselves into bastions of culture with the mission of preserving Chinese culture.
Under the leadership of SFCCA, Chinese community organisations have kept pace with the times in recent decades, establishing the Chinese Heritage Centre, jointly starting the Chinese Language and Culture Fund, producing television programmes, and creating a comprehensive digital mobile app “SFCCA IMMP”. These initiatives promote Chinese culture, and also help new immigrants to integrate into Singapore society.
Chinese community organisations are a significant social force, and the clan associations that have been revitalised from the transformation will continue to shoulder their historical tasks and become the mainstay of the Singapore Chinese community by adapting to the needs of the times in their future development.
Ini Indexs
The traditional festivals of Singapore’s Chinese population can generally be divided into two categories. The first consists of festivals celebrated collectively by the Chinese community, including the most important eight festivals of the lunar year.
The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations published the Chinese Customs and Festivals in Singapore in 1989, which specifically mentions the Eight Festivals of the Lunar Year, including the Chinese New Year, Qing Ming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Festival), Qixi Festival, Zhong Yuan Festival (Hungry Ghost Festival), Mid-Autumn Festival, Chong Yang Festival (Double Ninth Festival), and Winter Solstice. It notes that “these eight festivals have been selected because of their significance and because they are widely practised by all the dialect groups of the Singapore Chinese community”.1
These traditional Chinese festivals are related to the agricultural cycle of Chinese agrarian society and family rituals. Chinese overseas particularly emphasise festivals related to life and death, as well as expectations for blessings in life and concerns regarding death during the process of settlement and establishment of citizenship.
The Eight Festivals of the Lunar Year are significant both as days for family reunion and as festivals for filial piety towards ancestors. They are also occasions for communities or groups to seek blessings from the gods, ancestors, and forefathers, ensuring prosperity and peace for the groups and the community. Festivals widely valued by the community, such as Chinese New Year, which symbolises the beginning of a new time cycle and the renewal of life, and the Zhong Yuan Festival, which involves redeeming spirits, praying for peace, and warding off misfortune to welcome blessings, typically entail large-scale community celebrations.
The second category of festivals related to traditional Chinese customs are those celebrating the birthdays of deities. The Almanac alone records 147 deity birthdays.2 The term dan (birthdays) refers to celebrating the birthday or enlightenment day of deities, hence it is considered a yang, or bright, festive occasion.
During deity birthdays, individuals and families express gratitude to deities for their blessings and protection, bringing their divine power back to their homes through food, incense, and representations of the deities. By making offerings and showing gratitude, individuals establish a covenant with the deities, hoping for their protection and blessings in the new time cycle. Individuals or families are selective when determining which deity’s birthday to celebrate. On one hand, it is related to the efficacy of the deity, and on the other hand, it is associated with the community they belong to, and the local social environment they live in.
Temples and community organisations may engage ritual experts to conduct ceremonies for purifying the community and celebrating the birthdays of deities. Festivals with large-scale community celebration events are closely related to the dialect groups and industries within the community. For example, in Singapore, the Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, and Hainanese communities all celebrate separately the birth of Mazu, also known as Tianhou. The Lam Ann community celebrates the birth of Guangze zunwang, workers in the construction industry celebrate the birth of Master Lu Ban, and opera troupes celebrate the birth of Emperor Huaguang. Celebrations based on efficacy cross dialect groups, while those based on patronage serve to strengthen community identity.
In 1879, J.D. Vaughan (1825–1891), who had previously served as the Police Magistrate of Singapore in the 1850s, published a book about the customs and habits of the Chinese in the British Straits Settlements.3 As Police Magistrate, Vaughan documented various festivals celebrated by the Chinese in Singapore that he encountered through his work in crowd control, networking, and daily observations. In his book, he categorised the festivals celebrated by the Chinese in Singapore into three types. The first consists of the festivals commonly celebrated by the Chinese community, as mentioned earlier. The second type comprises deity birthdays that are not celebrated by all Chinese, but specific to particular communities or temples. In the book, Vaughan presents a third category of festival celebrations – the annual deity procession from 26th day of the 10th lunar month to 11st lunar month by the Teochew community and the triennial deity procession carried out by the Hokkien community.4
The deity procession, originally a common practice in traditional local societies in China, ceased to be held in Singapore in the early 20th century due to the influence of anti-superstition movements. Despite this, in Singapore, certain community festivals organised in the name of traditional Chinese culture are still observed, hosting celebrations with distinct Singapore characteristics. These festivals include the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the pilgrimage to Kusu Island, and deity processions that connect different Chinese dialect groups, such as the Fire Dragon Dance at the Mun San Fook Tuck Chee Temple.5There are also ceremonies and rituals executed by Teochew charitable organisations, the Kiew Lee Tong Fengjia Pudu organised by the Henghua communities, and the Grand Universal Salvation Ritual at the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, which are large-scale celebrations centred around specific dialect groups.6
Chinese festivals are periodic social events within the community. Their function lies in strengthening the bonds among community members, defining community boundaries, and establishing member identities. From regular festivals, we can predict the time and space of their occurrence, as well as the characteristics of the individuals and groups involved in organising and participating in them.
From festivals, we can also understand the ideology of community groups and their worldview within specific times and spaces.7 The celebration or non-celebration of festivals, at the individual and family level, is related to concepts of “efficacy” and “reciprocity”. At the community level, it is associated with identity recognition and regional boundaries. The former is selective, while the latter is a social responsibility, making it normative and non-random.
In summary, traditional Chinese festivals in Singapore can be divided into two categories and understood at three levels: (1) celebrations commonly observed by the Chinese community, (2) those specific to particular groups, especially dialect groups, and (3) locally-created festivities. The three levels of traditional Chinese festivals in Singapore inherit the broader Chinese tradition and the smaller traditions of regional communities, while also localising Chinese cultural traditions.
Ini Indexs
Before World War II, most Chinese-medium schools in Southeast Asia used textbooks published by The Commercial Press and Chung Hwa Book Company, which were founded in Shanghai. These textbooks were originally created for students in China, with the goal of imparting new knowledge in various subjects and nurturing the character of Chinese nationals. They did not take into account factors such as the climate, local produce, lifestyle habits, customs, and social systems of the places where overseas Chinese lived. It was not until the early 1930s that textbooks specifically designed for students in Southeast Asia were introduced. These were known as “textbooks suitable for use by overseas Chinese in Nanyang” (henceforth “suitable for Nanyang” textbooks).
“Suitable for Nanyang” textbooks were largely adapted from selected texts of the New Curriculum Standard Textbook series published by Chung Hwa Book Company, and the Reviving Educational Textbook series published by The Commercial Press. Most of the content retained the selected texts and illustrations from the textbooks for China, with a small portion of the content or illustrations replaced with depictions of the local culture and customs of Nanyang. This adaptation aimed to align with the educational goals of the overseas Chinese schools (qiaoxiao), which emphasised “cultivating enriched living in Nanyang and improving relations between various ethnic groups”.
Meanwhile, some local publishers such as Chung Hing Publishing Company, Nanyang Book Company, World Book Company, and Shanghai Book Company began participating in the publication of textbooks for the Chinese-medium schools, sharing the market for Southeast Asian Chinese school textbooks with publishers from China. These local publishers expanded their presence by establishing branches in major Southeast Asian cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malacca, and Yangon. They distributed or published Chinese school textbooks that were suitable for their respective local context.
The series of textbooks published in Singapore, known as Singapore imprint of “Nanyang textbooks” included those for Chinese language, general knowledge, and civic education. They were characterised by a Nanyang flavour, incorporating the familiar environment and language context of Malayan students into their content.
Based on research on the collections in the six major libraries in Singapore and Malaysia, it is estimated that there were more than 200 different types of pre-war China-imprint textbooks suitable for overseas Chinese in Nanyang as well as Nanyang-imprint (especially the Singapore imprint) textbooks. These textbooks covered a wide range of subjects, including Chinese language, English language, general knowledge, civic education, nature, natural science, letter writing, applied writing, model writing, composition, arithmetic, abacus, history, geography, and other subjects. The teaching materials included textbooks, teaching methods, teacher preparation books, teaching guides, manuals, assessment books, and materials for exam preparation.
These educational resources were available for various levels of education from kindergarten to high school, ensuring comprehensive coverage of educational needs. Most of these textbooks bore labels such as “Nanyang”, “Nanyang Overseas Chinese” (Nanyang huaqiao), and “Suitable for use by overseas Chinese in Nanyang” (Nanyang qiaoxiao shiyong) on their covers.
The pre-war and early post-war Nanyang textbooks published by both China and local publishers primarily showcased the local Southeast Asian flavour in the content and illustrations of certain texts in the Chinese language (Mandarin), general knowledge, civic education, history, and geography textbooks. For instance, in three lesson texts of Reviving Chinese Language Textbook for lower primary, Book 21 — meant for Nanyang overseas Chinese primary school students and edited by Shen Baiying (1897–1992) and others from The Commercial Press — content such as “harvesting barley” and “willow branches”, was replaced with examples familiar to Nanyang students, such as coconut trees, traveller’s palms, and beans.
Coconut trees, bananas, and traveller’s palms became representative illustrations of Nanyang culture in textbooks from The Commercial Press and the Chung Hwa series. Some of these “Suitable for Nanyang” textbooks retained the content from the original China editions, while incorporating coconut trees as background illustrations.
China-written and Singapore-published Nanyang textbooks (Singapore imprint of Nanyang textbooks) typically exhibit a stronger local character and show greater consideration for local topics compared to the China-imprint textbooks. For example, in one lesson text of the Nanyang Book Company’s Nanyang Civic Education Textbook for lower primary, Book 1,2 there is an illustration featuring both the Chinese and British flags hanging side by side. The accompanying text instructs students to respect the flags.
The upper-primary lesson texts like “The People of Malaya” and “Harmony Among Ethnic Groups” offer more detailed and relevant content to the Nanyang context compared to Chung Hwa’s lesson text on “Malay Residences”.
Similarly, in the Nanyang General Knowledge Textbook,3 the lesson texts discuss local fruits such as bananas, coconuts, and durians, along with references to the indigenous people and animals in the tropical rainforests. These lesson texts also frequently incorporate local vocabulary such as pasar (market) and other terms familiar in Nanyang. For example, in the Shanghai Book Company’s Modern Chinese Language Textbook, Book 3 published in Singapore,4 Lesson 20, “Nanyang is Truly a Wonderful Place”, the lesson text displays the local character of Nanyang with the encouragement “to make Nanyang one’s homeland”.
The text reads, “Singing, singing, listen to my song, Nanyang is truly a wonderful place. The weather is hot all year round. There is no need for extra layers of clothes even in winter. No snow, no frost, trees grow quickly, with plenty of delicious fruits. Chinese in Nanyang, let us make Nanyang our homeland. Singing, singing, listen to my song, Nanyang is truly a wonderful place.”
Whether the Nanyang textbooks were written and published by China publishers or written in China and published locally, the emphasis was generally on a China-centric perspective, as Chinese-medium schools in Nanyang continued to be seen as “overseas Chinese schools”. The inclusion of “Nanyang characteristics” in these textbooks was merely an adjustment to align with the conditions of the places where the overseas Chinese community resided, making the content more relatable to the students and facilitating learning.
It was only in the post-1950s era, when Singapore and Malaya progressed towards autonomy and nationhood, that there was a shift in the focus of textbooks. To foster Chinese students’ loyalty to Malaya as their homeland, textbooks began to emphasise local awareness and incorporate a Malayan aspect into their content.
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Explore the collection of Chinese New Year articles!
Composing festive songs has become an important part of my musical career as I have been deeply influenced by shidaiqu (“songs of the era”) since I was young.
I tried to arrange Chinese New Year songs when I was with the People’s Association (PA) Chinese Orchestra in the 1970s. In 1979, I collaborated with Singing Troupe, a pop music group under the PA Cultural Troupe, for the first time to write and record a medley of Chinese New Year songs consisting of three choral pieces: He Xinnian (New Year Greetings), Dadi huichun (Spring Returns), and Gongxi gongxi (Congratulations). The prelude to the medley was a Chinese orchestral arrangement of Gongxi facai (Wishing You Prosperity).
It was only when I was studying at Australia’s Queensland Conservatorium of Music (now Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University) in the early 1980s that I began to arrange Chinese New Year songs for Chinese orchestra in a systematic way. During my brief return to Singapore on a few occasions, I began to accept invitations from some local record companies to write music. I then arranged a number of oldies with chamber Chinese orchestral music, including Chinese New Year songs that were popular in Shanghai and Hong Kong from the 1940s to the 1960s.
At the time, I helped arrange popular local Chinese New Year songs from the 1950s to the 1980s, such as Gongxi gongxi (Congratulations), He xinnian (New Year Greetings), Ying chunhua (Spring Flowers), Dajia guo ge taiping nian (Wishing All a Peaceful Year), Xiang wang xiao’er bainian (New Year’s Greetings to Wang Xiao’er), Chun (Spring), Gongxi dajia jinnian hao (Wishing You a Happy New Year), Dadi huichun (Spring Returns), Chun zhi chen (Spring Morning), Gongxi facai (Wishing You Prosperity), Bainian (Pay a New Year’s Visit), Huanying xinnian (Welcoming the New Year), and Xiaobainian (New Year Wishes), among others.
Back then, the recordings were released in the form of cassettes and the band was a small group of about 15 members. The albums titled Dabainian (Welcoming the Wonderful New Year), produced by Song Ching record company, and Gongxi gongxi (Congratulations), produced by MTI Private Limited, were works from that period.
Most of the musicians who participated in these recordings were from the PA Chinese Orchestra, including Lum Yan Sing, Goh Ek Meng, Chew Keng How, Goh Kok Boon, Ang Chai Lan, Koh Kim Hue, Tan Lim Lian, Chuan Joon Hee, Khoo Lye Soon, Lee Hoon Piek, Lim Xin Yeo, Lee Khiok Hua, He Shuntao, and Chew King John. Most of them would later become members of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.
In 1989, Hong Kong’s Hugo Production released two albums of the same genre with similar repertoire arranged by me in cassettes, titled Melodies for New Year Greetings and Songs for the Four Seasons respectively. The two albums were then produced in CDs after 1999. The conductor for both albums was the Chinese conductor Xia Fei-yun and the orchestra was The Chinese Orchestra of Shanghai Music Conservatory, bringing about considerable improvements in both performance and recording standards.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the team led by musician Lum Yan Sing, which included arrangers Yeo Puay Hian and Sim Boon Yew, as well as performers Ng Boon Chai and Ang Bok Cheng, were also involved in the recording of Chinese orchestral New Year songs. They had produced similar recordings for local labels such as Jiaya Record Company, White Cloud Record Co, PolyGram Records and Malaysia’s Mastersound Records. The repertoire of Lum Yan Sing’s team includes not only classic Chinese New Year songs, but also chamber Chinese orchestral music familiar to locals, such as Xiqi yangyang (Full of Joy), Xingfunian (Blissful Year), and Chunxiao (Dawn of Spring).
Around the 1990s, it was not easy to find recordings of orchestral arrangements of Chinese New Year music in Singapore and even in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In my opinion, it is meaningful to make artistic enhancements to some oldies that are worth preserving as this would not only make people appreciate formal music more, but also help to pass on the local musical culture. These oldies are also part of my precious childhood memories, which inspires me even more to preserve them.
In 1993, I collaborated with Yellow River Records of K K Productions, a subsidiary of the global brand Naxos Music Group, to co-produce a CD titled Chinese New Year Fantasy featuring orchestral classical Chinese New Year music. An agreement was also reached to record two other CDs — The Best of Chinese Oldies, featuring orchestral classical oldies, and Symphonic Works by Phoon Yew Tien. The conductor of these three CDs was Lim Yau, and the performing ensembles were Shanghai Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus respectively.
Some of the pieces on the three CDs had earlier been arranged for Chinese orchestra, but the symphonic orchestral arrangement seemed closer to the spirit of the original songs, which were accompanied by Western musical instruments. Initially, when I arranged the songs, I relied on my childhood memories to come up with the scores as I could not find recordings of the original songs. After I found the original recordings, it became easier to refer to the original harmony and orchestration. My principle in arranging music is to stay true to the original works, unless there are obvious mistakes in the score or performance. Being faithful to the original works also means preserving the complete “audiovisual image” of the songs as I remember them.
The following local and overseas ensembles have performed the Chinese New Year songs which I arranged: Singapore Symphony Orchestra (1996), Kids’ Philharmonic Orchestra Singapore (2015), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (2022, 2023), Nashville Symphony Orchestra (2022), Pacific Symphony Orchestra (2022), and Malmo Symphony Orchestra (2008).
The choral and solo performances of Chinese New Year songs that I have arranged come with piano accompaniment, Chinese orchestra performance, symphonic orchestral accompaniment or a cappella, and such works were mainly produced around the 2000s.
But as mentioned at the start of this article, I had arranged a Chinese New Year medley of three choral songs as early as in 1979, when I was with the PA Chinese Orchestra. In 1997, the Singapore Youth Choir also commissioned me to arrange two Chinese oldies, one of which was Chun zhi chen (Spring Morning), which was later included in the Asian Choral Works I album.
The album Spring, released in 2003, contains the a cappella choral songs “Spring”, “Spring Morning”, “Spring has Arrived” and “New Year Greetings”, as well as the piano pieces “Spring Flowers”, “Spring Returns”, “Wishing You Prosperity”, “Congratulations”, and “Wishing You a Happy New Year”, among others. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, past and present members of the Foon Yew High School choir in Malaysia came together virtually during Chinese New Year and sang the song “Spring Flowers”, a track from my album Spring. Their performance in the new normal to celebrate the new year attracted much attention.
In 2015, the Kids’ Philharmonic Orchestra Singapore hosted the Best of Chinese Oldies Concert, which featured solo, choral and symphonic orchestral performances of songs from my album, The Best of Chinese Oldies. The vocal section featured Jocelyn Tang leading a choir in performing arranged symphonic orchestral songs such as “Spring Flowers” and Hejia huan (Happy Family), as well as solo performances by Chng Soot Fong singing Qiangwei chuchukai (Roses Blooming Everywhere), Jocelyn Tang singing Yueyuan huahao (Beautiful Night), Louxiang zhi chun (Spring in the Alley) and Zhongshan chun (Spring at Zhongshan), and Ling Ying singing Chunfeng qu (The Song of Spring Breeze), Chun zhi chen (Spring Morning), and Renjian jinshi xin xiwang (There is Always Hope).
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Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the 19th century found themselves in an unfamiliar land, often with no immediate family or local connections. It was in response to this situation that clan associations developed.
From 1890, the British colonial government required all clan associations to register as legal organisations under the Societies Ordinance. These associations were not allowed to engage in any illegal or political activities and were considered non-profit organisations.
Clan associations can be categorised based on bloodline or locality. These two main categories are closely related, but the nature is different. Bloodline-based clan associations refer to groups of extended family members sharing the same surname, or those with closely-related surnames. These associations are relatively small in scale and often have a limited number of members. Their primary purpose is to foster connections among members of the same extended family. The earliest example of such an association is the Cho Kah Koon (Sing Chow Chiu Kwok Thong Cho Kah Koon in full), established in 1819.
Locality-based clan associations are grouped around geographical regions — such as provinces, prefectures, counties, towns, or villages — and primarily focus on the welfare and mutual support of people who originated from the same area. The earliest example of this is Ning Yeung Wui Kuan, which was established by the Cantonese in 1822. Later that year, the Ying Fo Fui Kun was set up by Hakka from the five districts of Kar Yeng, namely Meixian, Jiaoling, Wuhua, Xingning, and Pingyuan. Some examples of the larger locality-based associations are the Hokkien Huay Kuan, Kiung Chow Hwee Kuan (now Hainan Hwee Kuan) and Kwangtung Hui Kuan. The smaller ones, such as Koh Leng Association, Song Heng Association, and Geok Shee Association, often indicated in their names that their members were from the same villages.
According to Wu Hua’s Records of Chinese Associations in Singapore (Volume 1), more than 200 bloodline-based clan associations were established between the early 19th century and Singapore’s independence in 1965. During the same period, there were 133 locality-based clan associations.
As of 2022, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations had 244 member organisations, including 229 clan associations and 15 associate members (including cultural and arts organisations, alumni associations, and other Chinese community groups). Among these member associations, seven organisations had fewer than 50 members.
As times change, clan associations have adapted and evolved in terms of their structure and functions. However, they have also faced numerous challenges. An article in Lianhe Zaobao on 20 July 2020 reported that local clan associations were grappling with the issue of an ageing membership. Active members were predominantly seniors in their 60s and 70s, although some associations had members from two different generations. This implied that on top of preserving tradition, clan associations must keep up with the times to avoid generational gaps and ensure their continued existence.
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After the founding of modern Singapore in 1819, the island attracted a significant influx of Chinese immigrants who travelled south from China in search of better opportunities and livelihoods. The Chinese community in Singapore gradually took shape. These immigrants were further divided into distinct subgroups based on their ancestral home and regional origins, forming respective dialect group identities.
In the early days of Chinese immigration to Singapore, many of these newcomers came from different parts of southern China. They were divided into five major dialect groups known generally as bang. These communities were the Min bang (Hokkiens) comprising immigrants from Fujian, the Guang bang (Cantonese) comprising immigrants from Guangdong, the Ke bang (Hakkas) made up of Hakka immigrants, the Chao bang (Teochews) comprising immigrants from Chaozhou, and the Qiong bang (Hainanese), made up of immigrants from Hainan.
Among the five communities, the Hokkien community had the largest population and the most significant influence, holding a dominant position in early community politics. The Hokkien-speaking people from Fujian arrived in Singapore relatively early. The earliest Hokkien cemetery, Heng San Teng, was established in 1828, just 9 years after Sir Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore in 1819. One of the distinctive features of the Hokkien community was its leadership structure, primarily dominated by prominent Chinese families from Malacca. These families had migrated to Singapore as a group at an earlier time, where they established a Hokkien community and created a second home there.
See Hoot Kee (1793–1847), Tan Tock Seng (1798–1850), and Tan Kim Seng (1805–1864) belonged to important Hokkien families who had their origins in Malacca, and held significant influence and prestige in the Chinese communities in Malacca and Singapore. See Hoot Kee was Heng San Teng’s highest leader, serving as the Director. Tan Tock Seng founded Thian Hock Keng Temple in 1840 — one of the oldest temples in Singapore — which replaced Heng San Teng as the leading institution for the Hokkien community. Tan became an important leader in the Hokkien community as a result.
Tan Kim Seng and other leaders of the Hokkien community established Chongwen Ge in 1849 and Chui Eng Si E in 1854. These are among the earliest documented private schools in Singapore.
After the Hokkiens, the Teochew community in Singapore was the second-largest dialect group in terms of population. The Teochews, too, had migrated to Singapore very early on. The oldest Teochew temple, Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Wak Hai Cheng Bio), existed as early as 1826, and its founding year can even be traced further back, making it older than the Hokkien community’s Thian Hock Keng Temple and Heng San Teng.
Yueh Hai Ching Temple was initially the main institution representing the Teochew community. In 1845, it was replaced by the Ngee Ann Kongsi, an organisation founded by wealthy Teochew leader and merchant Seah Eu Chin (1805–1883). That same year, the Ngee Ann Kongsi purchased Tai Shan Ting, which became the first major Teochew cemetery in Singapore. Under the leadership of the Seah family, the Ngee Ann Kongsi continued to serve as the leading institution for the Teochew community. Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan was established in 1929 and became another leading institution of the Teochew community.
The Seah family’s prolonged leadership of the Teochew community was due to their ownership of extensive land used for pepper and gambier cultivation. Socio-economically speaking, the early Teochew community was relatively homogeneous, with the majority of immigrants engaged in labour-intensive activities like pepper and gambier cultivation. This made it easier for major landowners like the Seah family to maintain control over the community.
Teochews were also active in cultural and educational development, with Teochew leaders collectively funding the establishment of Tuan Mong School in 1906, one of the modern schools at the time. Later, in 1940, they established the Ngee Ann Girls’ School (now Ngee Ann Primary School). Both schools were managed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi.
The Cantonese and Hakka communities were smaller than the Hokkien and Teochew communities in terms of population, though their history of migration to Singapore was not significantly later. Existing textual records indicate that the Cantonese and Hakka communities jointly managed two cemeteries, Cheng San Teng and Loke Yah Teng. The history of Cheng San Teng can be traced back to as early as the 1820s, and it is possible that it was established when Sir Stamford Raffles founded modern Singapore in 1819.
As the Cantonese and Hakka communities were smaller in number, and enjoyed geographical proximity in China, they were willing to cooperate and jointly establish cemeteries — a unique feature not observed in other dialect groups. Though the two communities had fewer members, they could still be further divided into three major subgroups: Kwong Wai Shiu, Fong Yun Thai, and Kar Yeng. Kar Yeng and Fong Yun Thai belonged to the Hakka community, while Kwong Wai Shiu was a combination of the Hakka people from Huizhou and the Cantonese from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing. Apart from jointly managing cemeteries, these three major subgroups also collaborated in the management of the Fuk Tak Chi Temple, a temple that once represented the Cantonese and Hakka communities. However, by the late 19th century, the three subgroups had experienced ongoing conflicts and decided to separate and develop independently, and they each established their own community cemeteries. In the early 20th century, a period when the tradition of building schools was flourishing in the Singapore Chinese community, the Kwong Wai Shiu community established Yeung Ching School (now Yangzheng Primary School), while the Hakka community established Yin Sin School.
Compared to the other four major dialect groups, the Hainanese arrived in Singapore at a later date and had a smaller population. It was not until as late as 1857 that Hainanese pioneers purchased land to establish their exclusive temple, the Tin Hou Kong. Simultaneously, they founded the Kiung Chow Hwee Kuan (now Singapore Hainan Hwee Kuan) within the temple’s premises, serving as the leadership organisation for the Hainanese community.
The majority of the Hainanese were devout followers of the Heavenly Empress (Tianhou), and during the early period, the Kiung Chow Hwee Kuan and Tin Hou Kong shared the same space, essentially becoming one entity. Hainanese pioneers purchased Yu Shan Ting as their community’s ancestral burial ground only in the mid-19th century and expanded the area in 1890 to establish the new Yu Shan Ting. Later, the Hainanese community founded Yock Eng High School (now Yuying Secondary School) in Prinsep Street in 1910, which also came into existence somewhat later compared to the schools of other dialect groups.
To sum up, the dialect group of the 19th century played a significant role in driving the development of the Singapore Chinese community. Against a backdrop of British colonial policies that often employed a “divide and rule” strategy and prioritised imperial interests, these dialect groups of Chinese immigrants sought to unite and mobilise their people by constructing burial grounds, temples, schools, and various community facilities to care for their community members’ needs, from birth to death. This ensured that the Chinese immigrant community could continue to build a home in Singapore on a strong foundation.
In the 19th century, most Chinese people were active in their respective dialect communities or bang and had limited interactions with other dialect groups. This division often led to conflicts and tensions within the Chinese community due to power struggles between groups. However, leaders from different dialect groups would interact and cooperate with one another. For instance, prominent leaders such as Tan Tock Seng of the Hokkien community, Seah Eu Chin of the Teochew community, and Hoo Ah Kay (1816–1880) of the Cantonese community were appointed as Justices of the Peace by the colonial government in the mid-19th century, serving as leaders within the Chinese community. They often worked together to resolve disputes and conflicts between dialect groups.
Towards the end of the 19th century, and the impending collapse of the Qing dynasty, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao’s royalist ideology and Sun Yat-sen’s nationalistic revolutionary activities swept across Singapore and Malaya. These movements impacted the security and business interests of the Chinese community in Singapore. In response, the colonial government tightened its control over the Chinese community, including those on the Malay Peninsula, and worked to weaken the factional powers of the different dialect groups. As a result, there was a growing need for inter-dialect group activities and collaboration across the Chinese community.
After the turn of the 20th century, the influence of nationalist movements from China further diminished the factional consciousness within the Chinese community. The focus shifted from dialect group affiliations to a more overarching sense of patriotism towards China, emphasising the development of a larger Chinese community. After Singapore gained independence, and with the efforts of the post-independence government, there was a significant push to shape a national identity that transcended dialect group affiliations. The factional identity within the Chinese community gradually faded in Singapore.
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In the early days of modern Singapore,1 the Chinese population was made up primarily of immigrants who had arrived from various coastal regions of China and Malacca. The Hokkien merchants who came from Malacca were mainly Straits Chinese. Many of these Chinese had been educated at the Anglo-Chinese College in Malacca, established by the missionary Robert Morrison (1782–1834).2As a result, they had a good command of English and often had the opportunity to work in the offices of European merchants, allowing them to interact with European expatriates who held significant influence over local affairs. In the burgeoning city of Singapore, they formed the upper class of early Singapore Chinese community.
The Chinese immigrants from China primarily came from the Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The main dialect groups were Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese. While there were individuals engaged in trade, the majority of these groups were labourers, common folks, and scholars who were dispersed throughout Singapore. They formed the middle and lower classes of early Singapore Chinese community.
Chinese immigrants in the 19th century embarked on arduous journeys, leaving their homeland behind to come to Singapore in search of livelihood and settlement. The driving forces behind this migration included both push and pull factors. Push factors stemmed from the unstable domestic situation in China, characterised by incessant internal conflicts and social unrest, and often exacerbated by oppressive rule. Later, after the First Opium War (1839–1842), China signed the Treaty of Nanking and opened five treaty ports for foreign trade. The relaxation of China’s maritime restrictions led many people to seek opportunities abroad. In addition, China experienced frequent natural disasters, including severe droughts and floods, as well as typhoons and earthquakes. During the Qing dynasty, which spanned 267 years, there were 92 years of severe drought and 190 instances of flooding. China was also prone to catastrophic events such as epidemics and famines. These disasters left many regions in dire circumstances, intensifying the wave of emigration.
Pull factors include the fact that after 1870, Western colonial powers accelerated their economic development of Southeast Asia’s colonies. They required a significant labour force not only for the construction of urban ports and land development, but also for crop cultivation and mining activities. In an effort to develop Singapore into a prosperous commercial port, the British colonial government actively sought a substantial labour force, and the Chinese population became a major source of workers. The colonial government actively encouraged immigration and adopted policies of free trade, successfully attracting a large influx of immigrants to Singapore. On the surface, the Chinese labour force that came to work in Nanyang (Southeast Asia) were known as “contract coolies” under the legal system. In reality, it was a tragic social phenomenon, as many of them were actually victims of human trafficking and subjected to harsh conditions. Singapore’s growth owes a significant debt to the contributions of these Chinese labourers.