76 replies to this topic

[General_Zhaoyun]

In case you do not know, Singapore has about 80% of the population consisting of chinese. Chinese is one of the official language of Singapore. Not many Singaporeans aren't really aware of the history of chinese in Singapore, esp. their migration history, how they create the "Singlish" language etc.

From what I know from when I was studying Singapore's history, migration of chinese from China began in 1819 when the british colonised Singapore by setting up a settlement here. They brought in many coolies (labourers) from South China (esp. Fujian, Canton area). During the 19th century, many chinese migrated to Singapore in search of 'better living' (we all know China suffered from lots of corruption and turmoil during the 19th century). Migration continued till today and essentially, Singapore's history is one that's based on immigration.

There are a number of famous historical-figures that I wanted to mention:

1. Tan Kah Kee - one of the philanthropist (correct if I'm wrong)

2. Tan Tock Seng - another rich merchant who donate money to find hospitals

3. Lim Mo Seng - one who raised money (underground resistance) to fight against the Japanese during WWII.


In case you do not know, towards late period of Qing dynasty, Sun Yat Sen was very much active in the overseas chinese communities to raise fund for his revolutionary against the Qing government. One of his base was in Singapore where he set up the Wan Qing Yuan (it's now a historic museum in Singapore).

Anyone eager to know about this overseas chinese history should visit Qan Qing Yuan.

Hope any contribution and comments are appreciated.

[Tyler]

2. Tan Tock Seng - another rich merchant who donate money to find hospitals

General Zhaoyun do you mean "who donated money to fund hospitals"?

[General_Zhaoyun]

yes.. that's what I mean.. he donated money to build hospitals.

[Tyler]

Are any of them still around today?

[General_Zhaoyun]

No.. they had already passed away, but there are memorials of them in Singapore

[Xeenslayer]

Nice thread, GZ.

Mmm, unfortunately we don't have a very long and rich history to boast. Never mind, let's go back to Chinese history. =)

[Starfire]

3. Lim Mo Seng - one who raised money (underground resistance) to fight against the Japanese during WWII.

Thought I'd mention that it's usually spelled as Lim Bo Seng.

[Yun]

What a pleasant surprise! Folks, Starfire is my elder brother. He's not a Chinese history nut like I am (in fact he has little interest in Chinese stuff), but he's an avid gamer and a military history buff. He's been studying in Melbourne since 2001.

Thanks for the support, Starfire

Lim Bo Seng (Lin Mousheng) and Tan Kah Kee (Chen Jiageng) were the two Chinese community leaders who helped to mobilise Chinese support for the British during the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore in 1942. They fled Singapore before the British surrender, but Lim later returned in secret to help lead an underground resistance group called Force 136, which worked with British agents and Communist guerrillas to conduct sabotage and espionage in Japanese-occupied Malaya. Lim was betrayed and captured by the Japanese shortly after his return, and died in prison after torture. He had been a member of the local branch of the Kuomintang, and prior to December 1941 the KMT and Communist Party members in Malaya had been unable to work together in organising anti-Japanese activities. Just like in China, it took the crisis of war to make them overcome their differences.

The Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army was formed by members of the Malayan Communist Party, almost all of them Chinese. Many of these Communists had been in prison until December 1941, when they were released by the British so that they could organise Chinese resistance forces. They operated as guerrillas against the Japanese throughout the war, and after the Japanese surrender they tried to foment a Communist revolution in Malaya. The British then suppressed them by declaring a state of Emergency in 1948 and forcing them into the jungle, where they were gradually cut off from all outside support and hunted down by British and Australian soldiers. In 1960, the 'Malayan Emergency' was finally declared over, with the remaining Communists having retreated to Thailand.

Relevant links:
http://www.myfareast...s/force136.html
http://pachome1.paci...abi/malayan.htm

[Starfire]

Hi, Bro. Just thought I'd drop by and take a look at this forum that you're always hanging around on. I read a couple of the other threads, but can't really contribute much, since as you mentioned, I'm not exactly a chinese history buff. Lim Bo Seng is sort of part of military history, which is a little more in my area.

[General_Zhaoyun]

ah.. good to see you Starfire.. and welcome to CHF!

[Liang Jieming]

Nice thread, GZ.

Mmm, unfortunately we don't have a very long and rich history to boast. Never mind, let's go back to Chinese history. =)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well it depends. If you only consider Singapore history from Stanford Raffles then it's a only a couple of hundred years. But Singapore goes longer than that to the time when it was Temasek under the Johore Sultanate. Even further back, it was under Siam and was already a hotly contested piece of real estate that was fought over. Melaka dominated Temasek after chasing the Siamese out of the Malay peninsula except for the northern states of Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis. There was a very strong Siamese influence in the area. eg. when Kedah tried to throw off the yoke of Siam, the Siamese retaliated by pulling out the northern tip of Kedah, giving it to a new king friendly to Siam which became Perlis.

The problem with Singapore history is that everyone is only interested in its history from the time of the British. Somehow we are still stuck with the colonial legacy of viewing anything else as irrelevant.

Jieming

[Starfire]

Yes, there is this tendency for people to think that Singapore's history started in 1819.

However, it is also true that compared to many of the surrounding countries, Singapore's history (or perhaps, merely recorded history) does not stretch back anywhere near as far. Length is a poor measure of richness, though.

[Liang Jieming]

Yes, there is this tendency for people to think that Singapore's history started in 1819.

However, it is also true that compared to many of the surrounding countries, Singapore's history (or perhaps, merely recorded history) does not stretch back anywhere near as far. Length is a poor measure of rishness, though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, yeah that's true. Problem is the centres of the great ancient kingdoms of SEA were not around Singapore.

Sriwijaya was around Palembang
Champa in Cambodia
Majapahit centred around Jakarta and Jogjakarta
Siam in Thailand
Melaka in... err... well Melaka

Singapore was only a footnote in most of these kingdoms' history as an outlying province or something until the British arrived. But you're right. Length is a poor measure of richness.

Another reason for the recentness of Singapore history is that 85% (Chinese + Indian) of the population of Singapore only came to Singapore in the last 200-300 years. So it's kinda like the US where history seems to start only with the arrival of the whites.

Jieming

[Tyler]

Brothers? I had no idea GZ you had a brother. Welcome to CHF, who owned/held singapore or singapore's modern day territory in ancient times (during the Han)

[Liang Jieming]

who owned/held singapore or singapore's modern day territory in ancient times (during the Han)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmm... tough question. I don't think anyone owned Singapore back then but I might be wrong. I'll have to dust off my old history text and see.

Sriwijaya was during the 5 dynasties period.
Majapahit was during the Yuan.
But I think there is one kingdom acknowledged to be the earliest in SEA but the name escapes me at the moment. I'll check and get back to you on this. They might or might not have incorporated Singapore into it's area of control. But it was definitely a hindu kingdom with heavy influences from India.

Jieming