Ini Indexs
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, honours the cherished theme of reunion. It stands alongside Chinese New Year as one of the most significant festivals for the Chinese Singaporean community.
In the past, Chinese Singaporean families keenly observed the custom of praying to the moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Each household would lay out a delectable spread of food offerings comprising mooncakes, yam, water caltrop, pomelo, and steaming cups of Chinese tea. Excitement filled the air as children weaved through the streets with lanterns in their hands. These lanterns typically depicted animal characters — specifically the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. The lanterns came in various forms: some were crafted from paper while others were structured from bamboo and wire frames, then wrapped with vibrant cellophane sheets. The traditional art of handcrafting these lanterns, however, is vanishing in Singapore today.
In Chinese culture, the pomelo symbolises reunion. It also carries a highly auspicious meaning — that of safeguarding one’s offspring. This stems from the similarities, in Mandarin, between the fruit’s name and the phrase “protecting one’s child”. The fragrant, succulent pomelos from Ipoh, Malaysia are especially popular among Singaporeans. Creating a pomelo lantern is a great way to celebrate the festival. Simply start by carefully peeling the pomelo to ensure the rind does not fall apart. Next, carve a few slits in the rind to allow oxygen to reach the flame. Place a small candle in the centre of the rind. Form small holes near the edges of the rind, then thread a thin rope through them to fashion a handle. Your pomelo lantern is ready to light the night.
With Singapore’s urban development transforming traditional villages into modern, high-rise buildings, the time-honoured ritual of praying to the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival has waned. However, cosy gatherings among family and friends have since emerged and formed the core of today’s celebrations.
The celebrations of the 1980s were marked by grand displays of lanterns and light installations at the Chinese Garden. Today, this festive spirit has spread across the island, with central town areas being the primary hotspots. Their convenient access beckons both residents and tourists to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Gardens by the Bay is one such venue where crowds can marvel at the massive lanterns and illuminated sculptures. Equally fascinating is the festival light-up and opening ceremony in Chinatown. Traditional clan associations, or huiguan, also hold their own Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Likewise, the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall hosts the Wan Qing Mid-Autumn Festival, adding a touch of festive charm to the neighbourhood celebrations.
The Mid-Autumn Festival as we know it today has seen various transformations throughout history. The term “mid-autumn” can be traced to the Chinese classic the Rites of Zhou. This ancient Chinese text documents that emperors once worshipped the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The Book of Tang’s “Chronicle of Taizong”, further details the moon rituals held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. During the reign of the inaugural Tang Emperor Taizong, an era marked by peace and prosperity, the practice of praying to the moon flourished among the masses. A poignant verse by Tang poet Li Shangyin brings to life the tale of Chang’e, the lady of the moon. For stealing her husband Hou Yi’s elixir, Chang’e is condemned to an eternity of solitude in the moonlit night. By the Tang dynasty (618–907), this legend had firmly anchored itself in the collective imagination of the populace.
Mooncakes, which are central to the Mid-Autumn Festival, boast numerous origin tales. One such story recounts that on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, Emperor Gaozu of Tang held a round cake towards the sky as he admired the moon’s beauty. Another narrative, from the zenith of the Tang dynasty, describes Emperor Xuanzong and his beloved consort, Yang Guifei, revelling in the moonlight while savouring cakes. Yang Guifei casually dubbed the cake a “mooncake”. Then, as if by magic, the term quickly spread throughout the realm.
Another narrative tracing the origins of mooncakes dates back to the waning years of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The tale centres on Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s strategic moves to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and lay the foundation for the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). According to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang had scheduled the rebellion for the 15th day of the eighth month. To communicate the plan discreetly, messages were ingeniously concealed within mooncakes and then distributed throughout the country. When the appointed day arrived, the rebels successfully toppled the Yuan dynasty. To commemorate this monumental victory, the tradition of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival took root and served as an enduring reminder of that pivotal moment in history.
By the late 1970s, the southern region of the Singapore River (known as Dapo1 or present-day South Bridge Road) had garnered fame for its mooncakes. Crowd favourites include the mooncakes by Tai Thong and Tai Chong Kok cake shops, as well as Tai Tong and Nam Tong restaurants. So popular was the demand that Tai Tong and Nam Tong had to suspend their Cantonese-style breakfast and lunch services a month ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival to channel their full energies into mooncake production. During this period, the main flavours were white lotus paste and salted egg yolk. There were also varieties such as red bean paste and mixed nut mooncakes. The latter featured a blend of five nuts: almonds, walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, and melon seeds.
During the economic boom of the 1980s, the number of businesses in mooncake production increased, thus providing consumers with a wider array of choices. Intense market competition in the mooncake industry prompted hotels, restaurants, and eateries to enhance their marketing strategies by introducing exquisite mooncake gift boxes. Notably, certain restaurants launched the “Seven Stars with the Moon” premium gift box, featuring a central mooncake surrounded by seven smaller ones, mirroring the arrangement of stars encircling the full moon during mid-autumn.
Today’s consumers find themselves spoilt for choice amid the dazzling array of mooncake brands and flavours. Beyond the traditional baked mooncakes and delicate snow skin variants, a broad spectrum of flavours has captivated the market. These range from the rich taste of durian, the sweetness of red dates, and the creamy texture of yam to the nutty fragrances of mung bean and black sesame. Some mooncakes even feature premium ingredients such as dried scallops, dry-cured ham and barbecued pork. This expansive range of flavours is especially a hit with the younger demographic.
Amid labour shortages and rising business costs, a significant portion of the mooncakes on the market today are mass-produced. Every year, factories churn out and package hundreds of thousands of mooncakes according to the specifications provided by mooncake businesses.2 However, there remains a dedicated clientele for handmade mooncakes. There are old-school cake shops and confectioneries which remain committed to offering these artisanal treats, and their reach has been significantly widened by online sales and marketing. One notable initiative is the Yellow Ribbon Bakery in Changi Prison. This bakery not only imparts baking skills to ex-offenders, but also offers them a chance to produce mooncakes and other items for sale. It plays a crucial role in helping them reintegrate into society.3
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The Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) was established in 1949 as an umbrella body to represent the Buddhist community in Singapore, and serve as a bridge between colonial authorities and various Buddhist institutions.1 On 31 July 1949, Lee Choon Seng (1888–1966), a prominent lay Buddhist and leader of the Chinese community, invited leaders from Buddhist temples in Singapore to discuss the formation of a federation to unite the Buddhist community. A few months later, on 30 October, the SBF was officially registered, starting with a management committee consisting of five monastics and five lay members. Lee was appointed the President, and Venerable Hong Choon (1907–1990), a prominent monk and abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, was elected the Vice-President of the federation.2 At the inaugural meeting of the SBF on 12 February 1950 at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, Lee highlighted five guiding objectives of the SBF — to promote world peace, propagate the Dharma, expand Buddhist education, carry out welfare activities, and improve the quality of the Sangha.3
During Lee Choon Seng’s tenure as the President of the SBF from 1950 to 1964, the federation worked with the British colonial authorities to advocate the interests of the Chinese Buddhist community. The most significant achievement of SBF-led activism was to lobby for Vesak Day to be gazetted as a public holiday in Singapore. After several failed attempts by the federation, on 15 June 1955, David Marshall’s (1908–1995) Labour Front government declared Vesak Day a public holiday in place of Whit Monday.4
The SBF also lobbied the colonial government for approval to set up cemeteries for the Chinese Buddhist community. In September 1955 and February 1959, the federation petitioned the authorities to establish a Buddhist cemetery of 110 acres at 16 milestones along Choa Chu Kang Road. The SBF was permitted to set up the cemetery, as well as construct bridges, drains, roads, a Buddhist shrine, and a dining hall in the vicinity.5
During Singapore’s post-independence period (1965–present), the SBF began to adopt a different approach to Buddhist activism and Dharma activities. This shift can be attributed to two factors.
First, the change in leadership. Lee Choon Seng was the first and the last layperson to serve as the President of the SBF. After he completed his eighth term and retired in 1964, all the subsequent Presidents were Chinese monks from the Mahayana tradition — Hong Choon (served from 1964–1986), Kong Hiap (1986–1988), Siong Khye (1988–1990), Yiu Tam (1990–1992), Beow Teng (1992–1994), Long Gen (1994–2004), Wai Yim (2004–2006), Kwang Sheng (2006–2014), and Kwang Phing (2014–present).6
The second factor contributing to the SBF’s change in approach to Buddhist activism and Dharma activities was the emergence of “Reformist Buddhism” in Singapore. The changing socio-political and economic environment since the 1970s required Buddhism to cater to the modern needs of Buddhists, society, and the state.7 The rise of Reformist Buddhism, with its emphasis on promoting scriptural knowledge to the public, increasing participation, and proselytising the faith, resulted in members of the SBF becoming increasingly involved in propagating the Dharma, and promoting education in post-independence Singapore.
The SBF has always emphasised education. After it was established in 1949, the federation founded Maha Bodhi School, which became the first Buddhist primary school in Singapore. In 1990, Maha Bodhi School was accorded Special Assistance Plan status by the Ministry of Education. Then, in 1982, the SBF founded Manjusri Secondary School — the first and only Buddhist secondary school in Singapore. Both Maha Bodhi School and Manjusri Secondary School are currently government-aided schools, where funding is largely provided by the state, and the SBF helps the schools to raise additional funds for supplementary school activities and campus facilities.
The SBF also played a role in fostering Buddhist exchanges between Singapore and China in the period before the official establishment of diplomatic ties between both countries in 1990. The second President of the SBF, Venerable Hong Choon, made eight visits to China between 1982 and 1990, where he met with national leaders such as China’s Vice President Ulanfu (1906–1988), as well as with Buddhist leaders from the Buddhist Association of China. During these visits to China, Hong Choon also made pilgrimages to sacred Buddhist sites, helped restore the monasteries associated with his master Venerable Huiquan (1874–1942), and officiated at religious ceremonies at numerous monasteries.8 Buddhist relations between the two countries have survived the death of Venerable Hong Choon, and have in recent decades continued to flourish.
The SBF today remains an important national association in representing the Singaporean Buddhist community. It also promotes education and international religious exchanges, and fosters dialogue between Buddhists and other faiths in Singapore.
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The anglicised name of Singapore was standardised as early as the 19th century. Its Chinese translations had varied and some coexisted till the 1970s. Among them, the most common ones are 新嘉坡 and 新加坡. They are both pronounced as Xinjiapo, but have different Chinese characters representing the character “jia”.
The name 新嘉坡 first appeared in 1835, 16 years after the founding of modern Singapore. In 1834, Ira Tracy (1806–1875), a missionary from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, established the American Mission Press in Singapore. The following year, the Press printed the first booklet written by Tracy, which was titled Yapian su gai wen (Incentives to abandon opium) and had the words 新嘉坡书院藏板 (Xinjiapo shuyuan cang ban, or “printed by Singapore College Press”) on the title page. This is the earliest documented evidence of the Chinese term 新嘉坡 for Singapore.1 After 1836, the title page of the Press’s publications printed 新嘉坡坚夏书院藏板 (Xinjiapo jian xia shuyuan cang ban, or “printed by Singapore American Mission Press”) instead.
According to Han dynasty scholar Xu Shen’s Shuowen jiezi (Explaining graphs and analysing charcaters), 嘉 (jia) means “beautiful” or “excellent”. The word 坡 (po), according to Southeast Asian historian Hsu Yun Tsiao (1905–1981), is considered a misinterpretation of 埠 (bu), which means port. Therefore, 新嘉坡 can be interpreted as “New Beautiful Port”, an elegant translation that reflects the significance of the founding of Singapore as a port city.
Due to the widespread distribution of books and publications by missionaries, the name 新嘉坡 quickly became popular locally. For about half a century afterwards, this translated name dominated. In official notices, monumental inscriptions,2 and announcements in Chinese newspapers, the colonial authorities used it as the name for Singapore.
From 1850, the Chinese community also mostly continued to use 新嘉坡 as the name for Singapore, including for inscriptions on temples and association plaques, petitions submitted to the government, and in newspapers.
Around the same year that the translated name 新嘉坡 emerged, the name 新加坡 appeared in China. Ye Zhongjin3, a resident of Guangzhou, wrote Yingjili guo yiqing jilue (Brief record of occurrences relating to English barbarians). When discussing the establishment of trading posts by the British East India Company in India and Southeast Asia, he said this of the company:
When opportunities arose, it stationed warships armed with cannons at strategic locations, appointing foreigners as supervisors and collecting import and export duties. It successively acquired places such as Menglajia 孟剌甲 (Malacca), Xindipo 新地坡 (a transliteration of “Singapore”), and Xinjiapo (Singapore).4
As Chinese books and publications from the Singapore American Mission Press circulated in China, the name 新嘉坡 travelled across the seas to China. In 1841, when Qing dynasty scholar Wei Yuan (1794–1857) compiled the Haiguo tuzhi (Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms), there were books from the American Mission Press and works by Ye Zhongjin on his desk. He thus used the term 新嘉坡 from the American Mission Press’s title page in his book, along with the term 新加坡 from Ye Zhongjin’s writings. As a result, these two translated names began to circulate in China. Qing dynasty officials’ reports to the throne, imperial decrees, and the works of scholars and the literati sometimes adopted 新嘉坡, and at other times used 新加坡.
In the late 1880s, due to visits by Qing dynasty officials and Chinese scholars to Singapore, the term 新加坡 was brought to Singapore from China. It was accepted by the local Chinese community and gradually began to appear in inscriptions and newspapers.5
Having multiple translated names for one place is not an uncommon occurrence. In the 1920s and 30s, The Commercial Press and Chung Hwa Book Company in Shanghai published dictionaries of place and person names. They standardised the translated name for Singapore as 新加坡, thus removing the use of 新嘉坡. However, these two translated names continued to coexist and were commonly used for more than 90 years in Singapore.
It was not until 25 April 1972 that the Committee on the Standardisation of Chinese Translations of Names of Government Departments and Statutory Bodies established by the Ministry of Culture in Singapore decided to officially adopt 新加坡 as the standardised Chinese name for the country.6 From then onwards, 新嘉坡, which had been used for more than 130 years, gradually faded and became a historical name.
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Singapore’s two earliest television channels, Channel 5 and Channel 8, started broadcasting on a regular basis in April and November 1963 respectively. They ran programmes in the four official languages: Malay (20%), Chinese (including dialects) (35%), English (35%), and Tamil (10%).1 In 1973, Channel 5 started to broadcast programmes in English and Malay, while Channel 8 carried programmes in Chinese and Tamil. The programmes in different languages scheduled by Radio and Television Singapore (RTS) reflected Singapore’s multilingual and multi-racial society.2
On 17 July 1963, Channel 5 aired a three-act play lasting about one-and-a-half hours titled The Imposters: A Chinese Comedy. It was broadcast at 9:35 pm,4 after having been pre-recorded that afternoon by the Singapore Television Drama Society. This was the first Chinese television drama produced in Singapore. Another breakthrough came on 18 September 1968. Starting that evening, Channel 8 aired the drama Affection over four consecutive Wednesdays. This was RTS’ attempt “to shoot a production applying television drama serial methods and techniques”.4
October 1969 saw the premiere of My Neighbours, Singapore’s first television anthology series based on HDB life.5 In late 1971, The Spice of Life, another anthology series drawing on local life, was aired on television.6 In May 1974, the serial The Orchid by the Riverbank was launched in the same slot as The Spice of Life. This was followed by a 10-episode serial titled The Return, the second locally-produced serial,7 in March 1976.
While it developed television serials, RTS also launched Chinese children’s television drama serials starting from 1973.8 After Brother and Sister (1973)9, Young Neighbour (1974)10, Schoolmates (1974)11, The Young Ones (1975)12, Happy Families (1976)13, Toa Payoh, My Hometown (1977)14, The More We Get Together (1977)15, With Loving Care (1978)16 and others were aired. The 26-episode Toa Payoh, My Hometown, written by Marcus Chin and directed by Li Mingfen, is still talked about and remembered by many people who grew up in the 1970s.
In addition to Chinese dramas, locally-produced programmes had two other major highlights. The first — launched by the Central Production Unit, a department that publicised state policies for the government — was a series of Chinese television debate shows that began in 1968. It sparked debate fever in the local Chinese community for about 20 years.
The second was variety shows, launched at the end of the 1960s, which featured mainly singing, dancing and comedy skits. Huayue Liangxiao (A Beautiful Evening) and Sharp Night were among the most talked-about programmes. Variety shows gave talented local singers such as Lena Lim, Chang Siao Ying, and Sakura Teng, as well as beloved dialect comedians Wang Sha (1925–1998) and Ye Feng (1932–1995), the opportunity to perform outside of usual venues such as getai or nightclubs and be recognised by a wider audience in Singapore.
Although RTS managed to produce the above programmes, resources invested in local productions were limited. Drama serials were still in black and white, even though RTS had started colour broadcasting in 1974. Among industry practitioners — director and assistant director excepted — actors and scriptwriters took part in the scene on an amateur basis. Thus began the first generation of local television actors. Many of them later became professional television personalities: Chen Shucheng, Steven Woon, Lee Eng Choo, Marcus Chin, Xiang Yun, and Jack Neo.17
The majority of programmes targeted at the Chinese community during this period were thus films or television shows from Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were often in Cantonese and Hokkien. In 1979, in response to the Speak Mandarin Campaign, RTS, as a government department, set a schedule for its programmes to be “completely dialect-free”.18 This set the language direction for Singapore’s next big push for locally-produced programmes.
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Singapore Chinese literature has developed through several periods in Singapore’s history, including when the island was a British colony, and then a part of Malaysia, before finally gaining independence in 1965. The earliest Chinese literature in Singapore can be traced back to the late 19th century when envoys, educators, and journalists from the Qing government in China arrived in Singapore, establishing Chinese schools and newspapers (such as the first daily newspaper, Lat Pau, in 1881).
The most famous writers among them were Huang Tsun-hsien (1848–1905) and Khoo Seok Wan (1874–1941). Huang, who was appointed consul-general by the Qing government to serve in Singapore from 1891 to 1894, created local multicultural classical poetry, while Khoo, who arrived in Singapore in 1881, wrote 1,400 classical poems, becoming the most important pioneering poet in the local scene.
The emergence of vernacular literature in Singapore is closely related to the 1917 New Culture Movement in China. At that time, information exchange between China and Singapore saw an improvement, and more Chinese literati began arriving in Singapore from the 1910s onwards. Significant events in China, such as the May Fourth Movement, had an impact on Singapore Chinese literature, inspiring literary forms such as “New Fiction” and “New Poetry” which were written in vernacular Chinese and influenced by Western literary styles. The literary supplement of the Sin Kuo Min Jit Poh, Sin Kuo Min Magazine, became the first newspaper advocating for vernacular literature in 1919, and published literary works imitating Chinese New Literature classics.
During the late 1920s, there were signs of a thematic shift in Singapore Chinese literature. Immigrant literature became local literature, with themes such as zhuzai — which refers to people who were sold to become labourers between the end of the Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China — and local education beginning to emerge. Chinese newspaper editors began advocating literature with local flavour, with newspaper supplements such as Huangdao (Wasteland), founded in 1927, particularly emphasising Southeast Asian influences, and Yelin (Coconut Grove), adhering to an editorial policy of “limiting all descriptions to life and scenery in Southeast Asia”.
During World War II, “Resistance Literature”, characterised by realism, dominated the literary scene in both China and Singapore. After the end of the war, anti-colonial sentiments began to take root. Singapore Chinese writers who were gradually settling down found their footing by writing about local life, and accepted Singapore as their permanent home. Miao Xiu (1920–1980) used Cantonese in his novel Xinjiapo wuding xia (Under Singapore’s Roof), involving coconut groves, palm trees, coolies, and rubber workers, which were vastly different from the earlier “immigrant literature”. Zhao Rong (1920–1988), on the other hand, incorporated dialects and Malay into his novel Ah Zai de gushi (Ah Zai’s Story), which became a characteristic feature of Singapore Chinese literature, inspiring the key term “uniqueness of Malayan Chinese literature” after World War II.
After Singapore’s independence in 1965, the term “Singapore Chinese Literature” was coined by Wong Meng Voon in 1970. In the late 1960s, the trend was modernist writing. The first generation of post-independence writers such as Lin Fang, Wong Meng Voon, Wong Yoon Wah, Dan Ying, Zhang Hui, Tan Swie Hian (whose pen name was Mu Ling Nu), and Yeng Pway Ngon (1947–2021) were influenced by the modernist movement in Taiwan, especially due to the difficulty of importing books from China after the Cultural Revolution. With the enthusiastic participation of writers, journalists, and readers, Singapore Chinese literature flourished in the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, there were over 50 Chinese literary journals and dozens of literary supplements.
The second generation of writers, such as You Jin, Soon Ai Ling, Lin Gao, Quek Yong Siu, Ai Yu, Xi Ni Er, and Chia Joo Ming, were mainly born in the 1950s and can be characterised by their involvement in various literary genres. Apart from playing with highly experimental forms and structures, these writers, who lived in the rapidly developing society of the 1970s and 1980s, emphasised humanistic care.
During this time, two of the most important Chinese literary groups emerged: the Singapore Association of Writers (founded in 1970) and the Singapore Literature Society (founded in 1980). Both are still active today.
The third generation of writers, born around 1965, such as Liang Wern Fook, Chua Chim Kang, Denon Lim Denan, Wu Yeow Chong, Chow Teck Seng, Tan Chee Lay, and Wong Koi Tet, received bilingual education or worked in bilingual environments. Consequently, their works were influenced by multiculturalism, including Chinese classical literature, Taiwanese folk songs, Western classics, and traditional Southeast Asian arts.
From the 1980s, micro-fiction became popular in the fast-paced Singapore society, with highly experimental language and forms, such as Wong Meng Voon’s An le wo (Nest of Bliss) and Zhang Hui’s 45.45 Huiyi jimi (45.45 Conference Confidential), attracting the attention of international critics and even becoming a focus of research.
After the 21st century, younger writers such as Lin Rongchan and Chen Weibiao have been using online platforms to publish their works. New literary groups, including the Hetero Poetry Club, TrendLit Society, Society of Literature Writing, and Sgwritings, have also attracted new immigrants from China, injecting vitality into the Singapore Chinese literary scene. Looking ahead, there is still plenty of room for development in Singapore Chinese literature, which will further highlight its multicultural linguistic characteristics.
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The term “Cantonese music” originally encompassed Cantonese opera music, traditional narrative singing such as Namyaam, and in its narrow sense, Chinese instrumental music originated from Guangdong province.1 In a broader sense, however, it can refer to music from the Guangdong province of China — including Cantonese music, Teochew music and Hakka music.2 When discussing instrumental music, the terms “Cantonese music” (yue yue 粤乐) and “Guangdong music” (Guangdong yinyue 广东音乐) are largely interchangeable.
Cantonese opera music, tunes (xiaoqu) and pop songs incorporated many popular shidaiqu — “songs of the era” which had originated in Shanghai from the 1930s to 1950s.3 A key example would be Lovesick Tears, a 1972 pop song by Singaporean singer Lisa Wong. Its melody came from Four Seasons of Lovesickness (1940), a shidaiqu sung by Zhou Xuan (1920–1957).4 The lyrics of Wong’s song were written by Malaysian singer Kok Peng Kin (1933–2015). They were direct and accessible, and made use of old Cantonese colloquialisms (“You left with no explanation for the betrayal…Why did you not write any letters?”) that gave it a flavour reminiscent of the earlier decades of the 20th century.
Although the shidaiqu Four Seasons of Lovesickness was sung in Mandarin, the accompaniment featured mainly instruments that were commonly used in Cantonese music — including the stringed gaohu, and woodwinds such as houguan, dizi, and saxophone. The musicians also performed in the style of Cantonese music,5with the gaohu sounding like it could have been played by famous musician Lü Wencheng (1898–1981).6
In contrast, Wong’s Lovesick Tears used only Western instruments such as the electric guitar, electronic keyboard, and jazz drums. Wong did not employ the falsetto used in Cantonese opera or operatic songs, but chose to sing in the style of general pop songs. She also used vibrato, a technique popular among Taiwanese Chinese singers then, while sustaining long notes. Only her pronunciation and tone of voice were closer to Cantonese music.
Neither Kok, Cheng Kam Cheong (1941–2019), nor the numerous female singers who later covered Lovesick Tears had as far-reaching an impact as Wong did in her 1972 version.7
The Cantonese spoken by the Chinese community in Southeast Asia in the 1970s was similar to what was used two generations ago in Hong Kong, as heard in Cantonese movies from the 1940s and 1950s. Wong had learned her Cantonese lyrics using English phonetics,8 and her pronunciation was somewhat exaggerated and weepy in diction. Her accent, tone, and vocalisations, as well as Kok’s lyrics, created a Cantonese flavour that allowed listeners to reminisce and reimagine a soundscape of oldies — as well as an older form of spoken Cantonese — from two generations ago. It evoked memories of the early 1900s.
The success of Wong’s Lovesick Tears came after Singapore artiste Seong Koon Low Won’s (1922–2002) hit song Can’t Buy Me Love from the 1960s, whose melody came from the Beatles song of the same name. They are examples of Nanyang Cantonese pop songs which made waves in the Hong Kong music scene — reflecting how the Cantonese cultures of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia were closely related and influenced one another after 1949 and into the early 1970s.
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Singapore’s Hakkas have been active in community and cultural activities since the early years of modern Singapore. According to research by Hakka studies scholar Li Xiaoyan, before 1819, there were relatively few Chinese residents on the island. It was only after the British initiated development and construction that a large number of Chinese labourers began to migrate to Singapore from neighbouring regions. Li notes that in 1822, the Ying Fo Fui Kun and the Wui Chiu Fui Kun clan associations were established by the Hakkas in Singapore, which indicates that there were already a significant number of Hakka immigrants then.
From the mid-19th century onwards, more Hakka clan associations, and community-based organisations were established.
Although the Hakkas make up just one-tenth of Singapore’s total Chinese population, their rich culture stands out. Hakka folk songs and traditional operas are the most well-known musical activities of the Hakkas. In the 1930s, many Hakka farmers on Pulau Tekong would often entertain themselves with mountain songs. Such scenes are depicted in the novel Liannian degang qing (Fond memories of Tekong), written by Chong Han (Choo See Kau).1Additionally, in the 1950s, Singapore amusement parks such as Happy World (renamed Gay World after 1966) hosted Hakka mountain song events, which reportedly drew enthusiastic participation from many members of the public.2
Based on research conducted by the author, in the 1940s and 1950s, local Hakka community organisations and record companies in Singapore released Hakka folk songs and traditional opera records. For example, in the 1940s, the Nanyang Hakka Federation’s Chinese traditional music ensemble (now Han Music Ensemble) released records of Waijiang Opera (later known as Guangdong Han Opera), such as Yeyi shenzhou (Remembering China at Night), Yetang chun (Spring Night in the Hall), and Wutai shan (Mount Wutai).
In addition, in the 1950s, Horse Brand Records released Hakka operas in albums such as Zhu yingtai chushi, liangzhu aishi (The Birth of Zhu Ying Tai, The Tragic Love Story of Zhu Ying Tai and Liang Shan Bo) and Yingtai ruxue (Ying Tai Goes to School), as well as Hakka folk songs records like Fa da cai (Making a Fortune), Mofan fuqi (Model Couple), Songlang guofan ge (Seeing My Darling Off to Overseas), and The Emei yue (Emei Moon).
According to Lian Yoong Ser, advisor to the Nanyang Hakka Federation Chinese Orchestra, the Hakka community in the 1950s regularly organised traditional opera events. During the Lunar New Year, Han musical groups visited the homes of the elderly to play stringed instruments and sing Han operas as part of the celebrations. Ying Fo Fui Kun also hired ensembles to perform during spring and autumn’s collective ancestral worship.
With the introduction of dialect radio programmes in Singapore in the mid-20th century, Hakka folk songs and operas began to appear in the mass media. In the 1960s, cable radio station Rediffusion, and Radio Singapore’s Chinese stations, both broadcast Hakka folk songs. The former also featured Hakka storytelling programmes.3
From the 1970s, the Singapore government initiated a bilingual policy with a focus on English and Mandarin. This resulted in restrictions on the use of Chinese dialects and music performances in public domains. The rise of new forms of entertainment such as television and movies also resulted in the decline of traditional Hakka folk songs and operas in the community.
In 1980, the government began to emphasise cultural development, with a focus on various art forms including Chinese orchestra and Western classical music. The Nanyang Hakka Federation adapted to this trend, and in 1982, a Chinese orchestra was jointly founded by Zhang Bingzhao, Lian Yoong Ser, and Yap Yew Kei. In 1987, a choir was established by Ko Gim Poh. Since 2000, influenced by interactions with other Hakka cultural groups from different regions, such as the Guangdong Han Opera Troupe, the Han opera music enthusiasts in Singapore began experimenting with ethnic instruments to perform traditional Han opera music. In 2012, they came together to form the Nanyang Hakka Federation Han Music Ensemble.
Starting in the early years of the 21st century, interactions between Singapore’s Hakka song groups and professional performers from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia inspired Hakka associations in Singapore to establish their own singing groups. In 2002, initiated by Liang Zhaohui and Chong Chow Yin, the Ying Fo Fui Kun formed a mountain song class. In 2004, Chia Sei Kong established the Char Yong (Dabu) Association Hakka Singing Class, which later evolved into the Char Yong Hakka Choir in 2013. More groups would follow — the Foong Shoon Fui Kuan Hakka Singing Class (founded in 2007 by Chong Chin Hin); Hakka singing class of the Hakka Wong Association’s (founded in 2007 by Wong Chee Keong); Nanyang Hakka Federation Folk Song Group (founded in 2008 by Ko Gim Poh); the Chia (Pow Soo) Hakka Clan Association’s Hakka Singing Group (founded in 2012 by Chia Sei Kong); Char Yong (Dabu) Hakka Singing Group (founded in 2013 by Lee Yong Tick); Bukit Panjang Khek Community Guild Hakka Singing Class (founded in 2014 by Richard Kok); and a new singing group co-organised by members of the Hopo Corporation and the Hakka Wong Association in 2022.
These associations and singing groups not only passed on Hakka songs from various regions through their own activities, but also encouraged new local compositions. They have also collaborated in organising Hakka song appreciation events which started in 2004 and was in its 13th edition as of 2023.
Hakka Christians in Singapore have incorporated Hakka language into their church services and hymns and gospel songs. For example, since its establishment in 2006, the Singapore Hakka Methodist Church’s Hakka Choir translated traditional hymns and worship songs into Hakka. They also sang newly-composed hymns and gospel songs with Hakka lyrics as well as popular songs which resonated with the congregation, such as Gongjian meihao xinjiayuan (Building a Beautiful New Home Together).4
In summary, music serves not only as a significant means for Singapore’s Hakka community to express its cultural distinctiveness, but also as a vital medium for responding to life experiences and showcasing creative expression. From mountain songs, traditional operas, and instrumental music to hymns and gospel songs, the musical activities of Singapore’s Hakka community exhibit the uniqueness of the local cultural context. They also reflect the life journey of the Hakkas people, characterised by interethnic, interregional, and intercultural exchanges.
Ini Indexs
Yueh Hai Ching Temple (or Wak Hai Cheng Bio) in Phillip Street is the oldest and most representative of Singapore’s many Teochew temples. Built by Teochew immigrants from South China who had sailed to Singapore for business, the ancient temple started out as a shrine to the sea goddess Mazu. The exact year the shrine was founded is unknown, although inscriptions on lintels inside the temple suggest it was built before 1826.
After Teochew immigrants reached Singapore, they usually visited the temple to thank Mazu for a safe journey, as well as pray for blessings and protection. Besides Mazu, the temple is also dedicated to the deity Xuan Tian Shang Di (Highest Heavenly Deity), whom the Teochews address reverently as Tua Lao Ya (The Great Lord).1
Yueh Hai Ching Temple quickly became the centre of faith for the local Teochews. It was managed by Ngee Ann Kongsi from 1845 onwards and rebuilt from 1852 to 1855 with funds from the Teochews in Singapore. The temple, which was gazetted as a national monument in 1996, has gone through several renovations over the years. In 2014, it won the Award of Merit in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The building reflects traditional Teochew architectural features. For example, its roof features colourful ceramic figurines — of dragons and Chinese legendary figures — adorned with porcelain shards using a method known as jian nian (“cut and paste”). The temple also houses many cultural relics of historical value, including incense burners, couplets, plaques, decorative clappers, bronze copper bells, honour guard plaques, and stone tablets. A gilded plaque bestowed by the Qing dynasty’s Guangxu Emperor in 1896, with the words shu hai xiang yun (“auspicious cloud above the sea at dawn”), is a particularly treasured item.
The third day of the third month on the lunar calendar is the birthday of Tua Lao Ya, and the 23rd day of that month is the birthday of Mazu. Yueh Hai Ching Temple celebrates these occasions with theatrical performances and festivities. In the early days, the deities’ procession (yah lao ya) and festivities from the 10th to 12th months of the lunar calendar were the most important religious activities of the ancient temple, and the area around the temple would be packed with people. Besides Teochew devotees, other dialect groups like the Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese also participated in this grand event. The Teochew community dedicated significant labour and resources to turn the annual deities’ procession into a community festival that was celebrated by everyone. This met the religious and spiritual needs of many immigrants.
As the number of Teochew immigrants increased, Yueh Hai Ching Temple grew increasingly popular. From 1912, the temple contributed its surplus funds from offerings to the Tuan Mong school set up by the Teochew community, extending the ancient temple’s social role to educational causes.
The Teochew community also used the temple festivities and gatherings as opportunities to strengthen their bonds, foster a sense of unity, exchange employment information, and facilitate business connections. The ancient temple became a hub for activities within the Teochew community and a symbol of the spirit of unity and mutual assistance among the Teochew people in Singapore.
Even though it belonged to the Teochew people, Yueh Hai Ching Temple transcended clan boundaries from the very start, opening its doors to devotees of different backgrounds. The temple still displays plaques which were dedicated by individuals from various dialect groups such as Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese in the early years.
Before the Teochews established their clan associations, Yueh Hai Ching Temple was the Teochew community’s institution for arbitration. Additionally, before the establishment of the Singapore Kwangtung Hui Kuan, if a significant incident happened within the Chinese community, leaders in the overseas Chinese community usually convened meetings under the banner of Yueh Hai Ching Temple, gathering representatives from various counties of the Guangdong province. These gatherings would address external affairs related to the regions.
Yueh Hai Ching Temple, with the strong backing of Teochew clans, played a significant role in connecting, uniting, and leading Guangdong province-associated clans in the early years of Chinese immigration to Singapore. The temple served as a unifying force among those clans, contributing in a way to the integration and coordination of different dialects groups from the Guangdong region.
Today, Yueh Hai Ching Temple continues to attract many visitors and devotees. Annual celebrations such as Tua Lao Ya’s Birthday, Mazu’s Birthday, and traditional festivals like Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival draw crowds of people who offer prayers and seek blessings for peace and prosperity. The ancient temple continues to fulfil its role as a place of worship and remains a landmark for Singapore’s Teochew community today.
Ini Indexs
In the early years, most of the Teochew immigrants who had settled in Singapore were labourers who had travelled to the country alone to seek a living. Faced with harsh living conditions, they often had to confront the threats of illness and death. Many of these impoverished immigrants had little hope of returning to their hometown to spend their final days. As there were very few public cemeteries for Teochews in Singapore at the time, and many burial sites and communal cemeteries were owned by Christian or Muslim organisations, the issue of ensuring a proper burial in a foreign land was a pressing concern for many early Teochew immigrants.
In around 1830, wealthy Teochew businessman Seah Eu Chin (1805–1883) rallied representatives of the 12 major surname groups from the Teochew community to donate money to establish Ngee Ann Kun (later renamed Ngee Ann Kongsi). The association was tasked with raising funds to purchase land for Teochew immigrants to use as burial grounds.
Ngee Ann Kongsi first bought a 70-acre piece of land between Orchard Road, Paterson Road, and Grange Road from the British East India Company in 1845 for that purpose. The site — where the Ngee Ann City shopping and office complex now sits — was originally a pepper and gambier plantation belonging to a Teochew man named Lin Taishan (birth and death years unknown). The cemetery was thus named Tai Shan Ting.
After that, the Kongsi went on to acquire more land to use as cemeteries for the Teochews. These included Kwong Eng Suah (about 45 acres) between Balestier Road and Thomson Road, Kwong Yik Suah (about 45 acres) at Upper Serangoon Road, Kwong Hou Suah (36 acres) at Bukit Panjang Road, Kwong Siu Suah (99 acres) at Bukit Timah Road where Ngee Ann Polytechnic now sits, and Kwong Ying Suah (about one acre) at Mata Ikan in Changi. In 1933, the government also handed over the management of the Teochew cemetery Kwong Teck Suah (about 79 acres) at Sembawang Road to Ngee Ann Kongsi. In 1961, the Kongsi established a Teochew funeral parlour at Upper Serangoon Road near Kwong Yik Suah.
Starting from the 1950s, due to urban redevelopment and housing development plans, these cemeteries and the funeral parlour were requisitioned by the government for the construction of highways, housing, schools, hospitals, MRT stations, and other community facilities. There were about 34,000 remains that had been removed from the various burial sites and left unclaimed. Ngee Ann Kongsi then leased a 6ha plot of land from the government for the long term at the former site of Kwong Teck Suah, and built a Teochew communal cemetery (now Teochew Memorial Park) to house these remains and ashes. Public memorial ceremonies and services were also regularly held with the participation of other Teochew community organisations.
Ngee Ann Kongsi also built a modern funeral parlour at Ubi Road 4 in 1989, and made it available to people outside of the Teochew community. The opening of this new funeral parlour and the communal cemetery reflects how the Kongsi continues to serve its original objective of providing after-death services for the Teochew community.
The traditional practice of Chinese burials has been replaced by cremation in Singapore, but there is still a concern for having places to enshrine ancestral ashes, make offerings, and hold ceremonies for the deceased. To cope with the increasing demand, Teochew charitable halls also offer spaces for longevity tablets, ancestral tablets, and cremation urns, and regularly make collective offerings during the eight important Chinese festivals — namely Chinese New Year, Yuan Xiao Jie (15th day of Chinese New Year), Qing Ming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Festival), Hungry Ghost Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice and Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Many Teochew families maintain the practice of placing all the ancestral tablets and urns of deceased family members with the same charitable organisation; this is similar to the tradition of burying all departed members of the extended family in the same cemetery. Even though the practices have changed, the traditional rituals and the spirit of filial piety in honouring one’s ancestors continue to be passed down within the Teochew community.
Ini Indexs
Chinese literature in Singapore can be traced back to classical poems and essays written by the Chinese literati who travelled south during the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China. Among them were Tso Ping Lung (1850–1924), Huang Tsun-hsien (1848–1905), Yang Yunshi (1875–1941), Xiao Yatang (birth and death years unknown), Khoo Seok Wan (1874–1941), and Yeh Chih Yun (1859–1921). These writers were subjects of the Qing Empire — officials and traditional scholars — who saw themselves as sojourners. While they sometimes depicted the local customs of Nanyang (Southeast Asia), their observations were from a China (Central Plains)-centric perspective and tended towards exoticisation.
Singapore Chinese writers only started to pursue a keener sense of the local in their writing from 1927. That year, the supplement sections of local newspapers, such as Huangdao (Desolate Island) in Sin Kuo Min Press, Yelin (Coconut Grove) in Lat Pau, and the Wenyi zhoukan (Literary Weekly) in Nanyang Siang Pau, published articles by Zhang Jinyan (1901–1981), Chen Lien Tsing (1907–1943), Zeng Shengti (1901–1982), and Huang Zhengfu (birth and death years unknown). They argued that Chinese writers who had travelled south should not return to a China-centric perspective, but instead cultivate a local consciousness — depicting Nanyang perspectives and growing the local culture and arts scene.
In 1934, Fei Ming (Qiu Shizhen, 1905–1993) also published an article in the Shisheng (Sound from the Lion City) supplement of Nanyang Siang Pau, stating that writers in Singapore and Malaya need not conform to the literary trends of Shanghai. Rather, they should focus on Malayan culture. He emphasised the creative work of “local writers” and listed some of them, sparking enthusiastic responses. In 1936, Zeng Aidi (1912–1986) and Wen Xiang (birth and death years unknown) published articles such as “Cartoons of the Malayan literary circle” and “Recognition of the current stage of cultural work in Malaya”, focusing on the concept of “Malaya” in Singapore and Malayan literature. They disagreed with how the Chinese literary circle in Malaya had the tendency to follow the formalism of literature of China. They hoped that the Chinese writers in the region would instead pay more attention to local subjects and the lives of people in Malaya.
From the second half of 1947 to April 1948, there was a major debate in the literary circles of Singapore and Malaya on the uniqueness of Chinese literary arts in Malaya, as well as the literary arts of the overseas Chinese (qiaomin wenyi). Zhou Rong’s (1912–1988) two articles, “On Chinese literary arts in Malaya” and “On overseas Chinese literary arts”, sparked significant controversy in the community.
Zuo Ding (1922–1969), Miao Xiu (1920–1980), Zhao Rong (1920–1987), Tie Ge (1923–1948), Hai Lang (birth and death years unknown), and others supported Zhou’s views on the uniqueness of Chinese literary arts in Malaya. They emphasised the use of local material, identification with Malaya, as well as a realist approach to writing that reflected a sense of the times and displayed a social consciousness. Literary historians Fang Xiu (1922–2010) and Miao Xiu believed this debate awakened the national consciousness of writers, deepening the local flavour of Chinese literature in Singapore and Malaya.
In 1956, writers such as Mu Chunchi (Sun Xi, 1937–2023), Du Hong, Chen Fan, and Ma Fen advocated “patriotic literature” and the “popularisation of literature”. They believed that writers should pay attention to the changing times, concern themselves with the everyday people of Malaya, express patriotic sentiments, push for Singapore’s independence, and find engaging ways to depict social issues of the era.
After Singapore separated from Malaysia and gained independence in 1965, local Chinese literature began to diverge from Malaysian Chinese literature. It became known as “Singapore Chinese literature”.
In 1982, Ong Teng Cheong (1936–2002), Singapore’s then-Minister for Communications, introduced the concept of nation-building literature at an exhibition on the literary history of Singapore-Malaysia Chinese literature organised by the Aljunied Creative Writing and Translation Group. He encouraged Singapore writers to actively contribute to nation-building, promote social development, and strengthen national identity. The initiative sparked strong interest among cultural and educational workers, prompting them to contribute articles to newspapers and offer suggestions. Nanyang Siang Pau collaborated with the Singapore Association of Writers to release a six-volume series titled Wutu wumin Chuangzuo xuan (Selected Works of My Country and My People), which encompassed literary genres such as novels, dramas, poetry, essays, and lyrics.
Against the backdrop of globalisation, writing about local phenomena, historical themes, and customs helps reinforce a sense of national identity. Today, with Singapore’s growing prominence internationally, Singapore Chinese writers’ pursuit of localisation has grown more intense.