Singapore Chinese literature is well-regarded in Southeast Asia, and is the only Chinese literature in the region to be regarded as a form of national literature.

Since Singapore gained independence in 1965, Singapore Chinese literature has gradually been included in the official school curriculum. In the Chinese Studies departments in national universities, literature from Singapore and Malaysia has also become a subject of instruction and research for degree theses.

There are several prestigious awards that recognise the achievements of Singapore’s Chinese writers. These include the Singapore Literature Prize, as well as the country’s highest accolade for the arts, the Cultural Medallion.

Chinese writers awarded the Cultural Medallion include Wong Meng Voon, Wong Yoon Wah, Zhou Can (Chew Kok Chang), Dan Ying (Lew Poo Chan), Yeng Pway Ngon, Xi Ni’er (Chia Hwee Pheng), You Jin (Tham Yew Chin), Lin Gao (Lim Hung Chang), and Chia Joo Ming.

The S.E.A. Write Award, the ASEAN Cultural Prize for Literature, and the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program are also open to Singapore Chinese writers.

Multicultural backdrop

In the 1980s, literary collections featuring translations of texts from different languages began to emerge in Singapore, for example the Anthology of ASEAN Literatures and Rhythms: A Singapore Millennial Anthology of Poetry (see “Further resources”). The terms used in the titles of such collections — such as “Singapore”, “Memories and Desires”, “Journeys”, “Home” and “Nation” — reflected efforts to gather stories about the nation. Many works of Chinese literature were included in important anthologies representing the country’s four major languages. The editors of these collections also were often writers in those four major languages, highlighting their multicultural spirit.

Many of these anthologies included English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil pieces. Quite a few featured English translations too. With themes ranging from self-exile to the embrace of Singapore soil, they spanned from the immigration period to independence. Identifying with Singapore was the main focus of these narratives. In Rhythms: A Singapore Millennial Anthology of Poetry (2000), each poem is accompanied by translations in the other three official languages, allowing the various ethnicities can connect with the poems regardless of what language they were written in.

Lu Po-yeh’s Singapore Sketches, 1953. From National Library, Singapore.

A local literary tradition

In August 1988, the Singapore Association of Writers and the Goethe-Institut organised an international conference in Singapore, with Southeast Asian Chinese literature as the main theme. Moderator Chow Tse-tsung (1916–2007) pointed out that the development of Chinese literature outside of China would inevitably result in the characteristic of a “double tradition”. At the same time, there was a need to establish the concept of “multiple literary centres” to understand the characteristics and significance of Chinese literature outside of China.

Southeast Asian Chinese literature cannot separate itself entirely from the literary tradition that originated in China from pre-Qin times (before 221 BCE). However, when overseas Chinese incorporate their experiences of local life and other literary traditions into their writing, a “native literary tradition” naturally emerges. Singapore Chinese literature has been integrating the Chinese literary tradition with the local literary tradition.

After World War II, more Chinese writers in Singapore and Malaya began to transition towards an increasingly local flavour in their writing, achieving breakthroughs in their language, local ideas, and literary imagination.1 Discussions of Singapore Chinese literature have explored this shift from huaqiao literature (also known as qiaomin wenxue or “overseas compatriot literature”) to Nanyang literature, mahua literature (Malaysian Chinese literature), and Singapore literature.2

Take, for example, local poet Lei Sanche’s “The Iron Ship’s Legs are Lame” (1937); Chinese novelist Lao She’s (1899–1966) Xiaopo’s Birthday (1934); and Malayan writer Lu Po-yeh’s (1923–1961) Singaporean Sketches (1953) and Malayan Sketches (1954). Their themes and narratives extensively absorbed elements and traditions from Malay and Indonesian literature.

Lu Po-yeh’s Singapore Sketches, new annotated edition, 2019. From National Library, Singapore.

Singapore and Malaysia have established their own Chinese literary traditions, and can be regarded as centres of Chinese literature. Indeed, they should no longer be considered “peripheral literature” or “offshoots” of China’s literature.3