[Moon]

A very detail report about Chinese in Singapore, information on the history, dialect groups, and religion. Very interesting indeed. Worth reading…


Chinese in Singapore

The Chinese in Singapore are people of Chinese descent who are born in or immigrated to Singapore and has attained citizenship or permanent residence status. As of 2000 the Chinese constitute 76.8% of Singapore's population, or more than three million Chinese out of four million odd Singaporeans.

Chinese in Singapore today commonly recognise themselves as Singaporeans rather than Chinese. Many Chinese too have married Peranakans (Chinese who have married ethnic Malays and have adopted a mix of Chinese and Malay culture) and increasing numbers are marrying outside their ethnic group.

Dialect Groups

The Chinese in Singapore are almost exclusively Han Chinese . They belong to several linguistic-cultural dialect groups, originating from various parts of China . The Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese, all of whom belong to the Min-nan group, jointly form more than three-quarters of the Chinese population. The Cantonese and Hakka account for most of the remainder.

Government policies, such as banning dialect-medium subjects in schools and the media, have resulted in an entire generation of young Singaporeans distanced from their various mother tongues, leading to considerable difficulties in communication between the young and old.

Hokkien

The Hokkiens constitute around 45% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Most came the southern parts of the Fujian province, primarily Xiamen and Quanzhou . They speak Hokkien, a Min-nan dialect, which is comprehensible to Teochew, and to a lesser extent, Hainanese speakers.

Traditional Hokkiens held the Taoist belief of Tanki, a priest believed to have magical powers that enables a Taoist deity to enter his body and "conduct" supernatural activities. People of this group celebrate like the Nine Emperor Gods, a commemoration of the Emperors who brought peace and prosperity to the people and the prayer to the Jade Emperor on the 8th day of Chinese New Year.

Teochew

The Teochew (also spelt Teochiu) in Singapore constitutes about 22.5% of the Chinese population in Singapore. Teochews are originated from the Chaoshan region in China, namely Jieyang, Shantou , Chaozhou , Chaoyang, Puning, Chao'an, Raoping, Huilai, and Shanwei .

The Teochew speak the Chaozhou dialect , a Min-nan dialect, which is much comprehensible to the Hokkiens. However, despite similarities linguistically and culturally, the Teochew and Hokkien considered themselves distinct and never got along well, especially during the British colonial era. Like the Hokkiens, superstitous Teochew also shared the Taoist belief of Tanki.

The Teochews were the dominant Chinese dialect group for a period of time during the 19th century. Mass immigration of Chinese from Fujian later outnumbered the Teochews, especially in the south. The majorty of the Chinese living along the banks of the Straits of Johor were largely Teochew until the Housing and Development Board initiated mass redevelopment from the 1980s onwards.

However, the majorty of the Teochew settled along the banks of Singapore River in Chinatown during the 19th and early 20th century. Teochews who setttled in Chinatown professed in many commercial sectors as well as fishery. Traditional commercial sectors Chinatown dominated by Teochews include Circular Road and South Bridge Road.

Others, mainly businessmen, set up gambier and pepper plantations in the dense forests of Singapore, parts of northern Singapore as well as Johor Bahru . The Chinese first started their plantations with the approval of the Sultan of Johor from the nineteenth century onwards. This attracted more Teochew businessmen to start their plantations in these areas over the years. As such, the "Kangchu" system eventually started to form. The Chinese word "Kang" (江) means river, while "Chu" (屋) means house. However, in this context, "Chu" is the clan name of the first headman in charge of the plantations in the area.

Like many other dialect groups, early Chinese immigrants (Teochew: Sengkhek) cluster themselves to form clan and dialect associations. This included secret societies. Such associations were formed to look after the religious and welfare needs of Teochew immigrants in Singapore. One of these include Ngee Ann Kongsi, a Teochew-oriented association formed in 1845, and has established themselves since then.

Cantonese

The Cantonese made up 16% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Unlike the Hokkien, Teochew and the Hainanese, the Cantonese speak a dialect belonging to the Yue family. The Cantonese community is also further sub-divided into several sub-dialect groups. Yue Hai is considered to be the the purest form of Cantonese because of its close proximity with Guangzhou . Other variants include Luoguang, Seiyap and Gouyeung. The Gwainaam variant is largely based in Guangxi and shares close affinity with Pinghua (linguistics) .

The Cantonese mainly worked as goldsmiths, tailors and restaurateurs during the early and mid 20th century. Cantonese businesses predominated along the shophouses of Temple Street, Pagoda Street and Mosque Street.

Many Cantonese women left behind their families in China and came to Singapore to work in construction sites for a living during the 20th century. This group of Cantonese women came from the Samsui district in Guangdong were later known as Samsui women. They are noted for their distinctive navy blue outfits and bright red headgear, which were meant for protecting their hair as they worked. The headgear was first worn by Chao Yun, a mistress of Su Shi , in the Hakka Fui Chiu district of Guangdong province and it eventually became the traditional headgear of Hakkas. Cantonese women who worked alongside with female Hakka labourers and adopted the use of the headgear. To the average person, Samsui women normally evokes the image pf a wpman clad in blue top and trousers and the invariable headgear.

Cantonese women from the Seiyap district in Jiangmen prefecture wear a black headgear similar to the Samsui women. Seiyap women who wear black headgears mainly work in Shipyard at the old harbour along Singapore river as well as at Keppel Harbour .

Since the government's policy of promoting Mandarin Chinese, initiated by Lee Kuan Yew in 1979, the Cantonese, once a socially conservative community, began to lose the use of the Cantonese dialect, although at a slower rate than other dialect groups. This was evident in the fact that for many years, local television was not allowed to show programmes in Cantonese, meaning that popular TV serials from Hong Kong had to be dubbed into Mandarin. Similarly, local newspapers were not allowed to carry listings for Malaysia's TV3, which showed several programmes in Cantonese. However, Hong Kong's TVB, broadcasting in Cantonese, is now available on cable television, although TV3 is not.

Hakka

The Hakka constitute 7% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Since their dialect was initially somewhat intelligible to Mandarin (linguistics) , although strongly influenced by Min-nan and Yue , they were believed to have migrated from Northern China between the 16th and the 17th century.

Many Hakka women who came to Singapore during the early 20th century. They worked in construction sites wore headgears similar to the Samsui women. Unlike the Samsui women, these Hakka women wore black, rather than red headgears.

Hainanese and Northern Min

This group constitutes 5% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Of them, the majority are Hainanese, from Hainan , speaking Hainanese , a Min-nan Dialect with its roots from the Hokkien dialect.

The others, who included the Hokchew, Hokchia and the Henghuas, who came from Northern Fujian and Southern Zhejiang . They speak various Northern Min dialects. As late-comers to Singapore (late 19th century), most of them worked as shop helpers, chefs, and waiters in the hospitality sector.

Mandarin and Wu

The Mandarin from Beijing and other northern provinces, and the Wu people from Shanghai and Zhejiang , constitute only 2% of the Chinese Singaporean population. Most of them are immigrated to Singapore much later than the other groups. They can all speak Mandarin Chinese, the Lingua franca among all the Chinese dialects, but may be able to speak their own dialects as well, though their own dialects are rarely used in daily life even among those from the same region.

These are mainly first and second-generation Chinese Singaporeans who came to Singapore in the 90s. As with overseas Chinese emigration patterns worldwide, they tend to be highly-paid professionals in Multinational corporation or research and educational institutes. Also, there is an increasing number of Chinese teachers from the PRC working in Primary and Secondary schools and Junior Colleges in Singapore. This is because the Ministry of Education in Singapore finds it increasingly difficult to find among young Singaporeans the qualifications to teach Chinese as a subject.

There is a degree of discrimination against these recent immigrants. Despite being generally well-off, they are seen as outsiders who 'steal' the jobs of the 'natives'. This, however, is not evident in many educational institutes around the island where recent immigrants and locals interact with one another.

Religion

According the 2000 census, 42.5% of Singapore's population declare themselves to be Buddhist, 8.5% Taoist, 14.6% Christian and 14.8% non-religious. The Chinese form the vast majorty in these four groups, due in part to their dominance in Singapore.

The majorty of the Chinese in Singapore register themselves as Buddhist, and a smaller number claimed to be Taoist. Many Chinese have retained the belief of so called folk Buddhism or folk Taoism, an age-old Chinese tradition that combines Buddhist with Taoist beliefs, or vice-versa. Taoism was once the dominant belief system, but younger generations have either switched to modern, more orthodox versions of Buddhism, Christianity or have become non-religious.

Taoism

Taoism is practiced by 8.5% of Singapore's population, which amounts to a little 200,000 individuals. A backbone of folk Chinese culture among southern Chinese dialect groups, Taoism was once a popular belief held by many Chinese, Taoist beliefs has witnessed a sharp decline from the 1970s onwards, as most of the younger-generation, Chinese Singaporeans abstain from folk beliefs, viewing that superstitous beliefs would do harm to them.

Taoists in Singapore are generally polytheistic, and worship similar deities. Many of these deities are ancestral, and to their dialect groups suggests different levels of veneration for each deity. These southern Chinese also worship some deities of common origins, notably Matsu (goddess) . Other deities that were venerated and frequently taken as decorative objects include Fertility (Hock in Teochew/Hokkien, Fok in Cantonese, Fu � in Mandarin), Prosperity (Lock in Teochew/Hokkien, Luk in Cantonese, Lu 禄 in Mandarin), and Longevity (Siew in Teochew/Hokkien, Sao in Cantonese, Shou 寿 in Mandarin). This includes ancestral gods such as Guan Yu . The God of Fortune is also venerated by many Chinese businessmen all over Singapore as well as Malaysia. Minor deities, especially ancestral, worshipped by different dialect groups may not share a common origin with other dialect groups.

The Hakka are an exception in this case. Unlike other Chinese dialect groups, some deities worshipped by Hakka are not depicted in the form of statues. Usually a stone or tablet is used to represent the deity instead, and this is particularly true side-temple deities that are not placed in the main altar.

Adherents of Taoism would place house altars in their living room. This is more frequently seen among Chinese families, rather than individuals. The family god or deity would be placed on the top altar, and a spiritual tablet would be placed at the bottom altar, although ancestral tablets may be placed at the top altar as well. Often, urns, usually placed with some joss sticks, are placed in front of the deity. Oil lamps may also be placed at the sides, and fruit offerings are also placed in front of the deity as offerings to "appease" the deity.

A Brazier , often painted red, may also be seen. They are meant for burning joss papers. They also hang small urns filled with sand and ash outside the house; this is where joss sticks are placed. The smoke that is produced whlist burning the joss sticks are believed to be messages of requests that can be received by gods in heaven. A small altar, painted red, with the words " 天宮踢�" painted on it. The altar is meant to be the image of heaven.

Traditional Chinese Funeral customs is largely Taoist, even in the case that prayers are chanted by a Buddhist monk instead of a Taoist priest. Such funerals are usually conducted under the void deck of a HDB flat or condominium, or within the living premises of the deceased's private house.

In the past, Taoist priests were called in to chant mantras and prayers, although the economic trend among Chinese Singaporeans have changed their preference for Buddhist monks instead. Very often, the deceased is laid to rest in a wooden coffin, which is placed under void decks for around two to four days. Land spatial constraints have promoted family of the deceased members to be cremated in crematoriums and temples, and very few still maintain the trend to bury the dead.

Taoists in Singapore are influenced by folk Buddhism to some extent. Vegetarianism among Taoist priests and worship of the bodhisattva of compassion, Kuan Yin as an immortal are some influences of Buddhism. Folk Taoists are also influenced by the reincarnation theology from the Buddhists, and believed that the deceased's soul will reincarnate into another being in his next life, be it a human or an animal.

The economic growth in Singapore has led to a steep decline in the number of adherents of Taoism, from 30% in 1980 to 22.4% in 1990, and then down tp 8.5% in 2000. Changes in lifestyles has also affected the belief system of many younger-generation Chinese Singaporeans to embrace evangelical Christianity as well as modern versions of Buddhism. Modern Taoists in Singapore generally belong to the lower-income group of people.

Buddhism

Buddhism is practiced by 42% of Singapore's population, or a little more than half of the Chinese in Singapore. Buddhists in Singapore before independence are almost exclusively Chinese folk Buddhists who combine elements of Taoism and ancestor worship. Overseas missionaries from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan and to a lesser extent, Tibet, have since then introduced Theravada , Soka Gakkai and Tibetan forms of Buddhism to Singaporeans. The Buddhists in Singapore are almost exclusively ethnic Chinese, with the exception of a minority of Japanese expartriates, as well as miniscule numbers of leftists, Europeans (and Americans) and Eurasians who have converted from Christianity.

Folk Buddhists in Singapore are generally considered to belong to Chan , although in actual fact there is no clear classification as such. Folk Buddhists are influenced by folk Taoists, and the majorty worship Bodhisattva in various forms, notably Kuan Yin and to some extent, Avalokitesvara . Kuan Yin is often worshipped as an Immortal by many folk Buddhists.

Folk Buddhists practice customs much in common with folk Taoists, notably in funerals and items used for worship. This is especially true in the role of Buddhist monks in funerals, which they were believed to posses as much, if not more powers than Taoists priests to ward off evil spirits that are believed to haunt the deceased's soul. Decorations used for Taoists funerals that were intended to ward off evil spirits are not used in Buddhist funerals.

Usage of joss sticks and other incensitives is an influence from ancient Shamanistic beliefs via Taoism. Joss sticks are believed to contain messages for the supernatural being in heaven from the wishes the human being on earth wants to fufil. Joss sticks are mainly used by folk Buddhists in prayers as well as funerals. Rattle sticks are also used at prayers. According to Taoist belief, rattling the sticks in the container would shower fortune on the person himself.

A large portion of folk Buddhists own house altars in their homes, notably among families. A Kuan Yin would be placed at the top altar, and a spiritual tablet would be placed at the bottom altar. Like folk Taoists, urns, usually placed with some joss sticks, are placed in front of Kuan Yin. Oil lamps may also be placed at the sides, and fruits are also placed in front of Kuan Yin as offerings. Some folk Buddhists may also have a heavenly altar, painted red, with the words " 天宮踢�" painted on it. Such altars are usually placed along corridors.

Buddhists celebrate the festival Vesak , a festival that Taoists do not celebrate. Vesak is a festive day that commemorates the birth, Enlightenment and passing of Gautama Buddha . Among folk Buddhists, joss sticks and other incensitives are used.

In recent decades, Buddhist missionaries from other parts of Asia have made large number of converts, in a way similar to Christian missionaries. Books, notably on Tibetan Buddhism, is one of many factors to propogate modern forms of Buddhism. Other factors include Singapore's relations with Buddhist organisations overseas.

Buddhists in Singapore normally tend to look towards Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple , a monastery and a temple which caters services strongly related to orthodox Buddhism, notably dharma and meditation. Young Buddhist boys would look foward to such temples to ordain monkhood, temporarily as well as lifetime.

Both Soka Gakkai and Theravada Buddhism also wield considerable influence among Buddhists in Singapire. Many Buddhists, notably Chinese who have shed some of their Taoist-influenced, folk Buddhism, continue to use incensitives during prayers.

Percentage of people declaring to be Buddhists in Singapore grew from 27% in 1980 to 31.2% in 1990 and 42.5% in 2000. Such growth rates is largely contributed to young, impressionistic ethnic Chinese people who are attracted to foreign Buddhist missionaries belonging to various denomination and stresses on Buddhist ideology more strongly than folk Buddhism. Folk Buddhists, which are considered less orthodox than modern Buddhism, are largely confined to older generation, Chinese Singaporeans who are also influenced by folk Taoist beliefs.

Christianity

Christianity is practiced by 14.6% of Singapore's population, the great majorty of whom are ethnic Chinese. Christians in Singapore are further sub-divided between the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations. Eastern Orthodox Church also form a miniscule minority.

Protestants in Singapore consists of Anglican , Methodist , Presbyterianism as well as evangelist Baptist . Pentecostal and Charismatic , who are being viewed as unorthodox by many Christians, have made large numbers of converts in the recent years. Other denominations such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Unification Church are being banned by the government as deviationist cults.

Christians are known for their taboos towards other religions among non-Christians. Catholic taboos are more accentuated towards human rights, notably abortion and IVF. Protestants, on the other hand, holds taboos against other religions, notably ancestor worship, worship in all Chinese temples, be it ancestral, Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist. Such practices are deemed as Paganism among Protestants. Catholicism, on the other hand, only prohibited worship of Taoist deities and Buddhism.

Rituals conducted Ancestor worship that includes giving offerings, burning joss sticks and joss papers on visiting non-Christian ancestors is permitted among Roman Catholics, alongside with their non-Christian, Chinese counterparts. However, this practice is considered taboo among Protestant denominations, and only flowers are permitted. The continuation of Ancestor worship is commonly seen among the older Catholics, especially during the Qingming Festival festival.

Some Catholics own home altars like the Taoists and Buddhists. A statue of Virgin Mary is placed and incensitives are sometimes used. Eucharistic objects like the Thurible and Chalice are only seen in church altars. Home altars are not seen among Protestant families.

Christians normally attend Church services on Sundays, though church services on Saturdays or even weekdays are not uncommon. Services may last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours or longer. Such services are mainly held in English, though some churches have services in different languages, notably Mandarin, Tamil language , Tagalog language and on rarer occasions, Chinese dialects. Latin services are occasionally conducted in Catholic churches.

The step for modernization and westernization has witnessed growth in the Christian population in the 1980's from 10% to 18% in 1988 of the Singapore's population, although in recent years it has dropped to below 15%. Many traditional churches have encountered a drain of their youth to the more liberal mega-churches like New Creation, City Harvest and the Faith Community Baptist Church. Fundamentalist Charismatic and Baptist denominations made use of such opportunities to proselytise the wealthier Chinese during the 80's and early 90's.

Other

Another 13% of the Chinese Singaporean are non-religious and they call themselves "free thinkers". In Singapore, this term means that the person does not believe in any religion. However, some may practise Chinese traditions and practices.

A small minority of the Singapore Chinese follow either Islam or Hinduism . Most people from this group are Chinese men or women who are married to Malay people spouses and have converted to Islam, which is part of the Malay marriage custom, regardless of his/her religion. If a Chinese Man marries a Malay, the children will still follow the surname/language/culture/race of the Chinese father. The Chinese Hindus are mainly women who have married India men.

History

There are records of the presence of Chinese in Singapore by as early as the 14th-century . Imperial Chinese sources state that there was a significant amount of Chinese inhabitants in South-East Asian region. According to the Chinese discoverer Wang Dayuan, the Chinese inhabitants of Singapore were dressed in local traditional costume and were largely intermarried with the local South-East Asian women, following an amalgam of Hinduism , Buddhism , and Taoism . Those were the earliest Peranakans of Singapore .

After Singapore became the capital of the British Empire Straits Settlements in 1832 , the free trade policy attracted many Chinese from Mainland China to trade, and most settled down in Singapore . The large influx of Chinese to Singapore led to the establishment of a large number of Chinese associations, schools, and temples in Singapore and within a century, the Chinese immigrants exceeded the population of the Malays. During this period, Christian Missionaries from Europe began to evangelise the Asians, especially the Chinese. By 1849 , the Chinese reached half of Singapore's population.

Many of the Chinese immigrants sent their children to England missionary schools in hope of a better future. That is the very basis of Westernisation that is widespread throughout the World today.

During WWII

The Sino-Japanese War in 1937 stirs up much weary and ire in the Chinese community, and soon the Chinese were in the lead to impose an embargo against Japanese goods and products in Singapore. During the war, fearing of the safety of their relativities in China, some of the immigrants returned to China to fight the Japanese, while established entrepreneur send private economic or arms aid to China. After the Japanese took Singapore in 1942 , the Kempeitai or the Japanese Secret Police tracked down many of the Chinese who had fought against them. However, the Kempeitai 's Sook Ching operation had simply pick out people based on accounts of masked informers, which in many cases are false arrests and eventually leads to the massacre of Chinese. There were also anti-Japanese forces during the war, such as Force 136 , headed by Lim Bo Seng .

Racial Tensions

Riots that were ignited due to racial tensions were common during the early post-war period, predominantly the period between self-governance and independence in 1965 . One major riot, took place during the Prophet Muhammad 's birthday Celebrations, on July 21 1964 . There were records of high casualties (23 people had died and there were 454 injured casualties). There were evidences which pointed that the riot was politically motivated with hopes to oust the then incumbent Prime Minister ( Lee Kuan Yew ) and his cabinet, in a bid to prevent the ideology of a Malaysian Malaysia to spread north-wards, towards Peninsular Malaysia .

Present Day

However to this day since the country's independence in 1965, there are no major issues between the racial groups, and Singapore is considered the model for a cosmopolitan society.


Source
http://www.ncwedding...an_Chinese.html

[General_Zhaoyun]

I think, this article actually originates from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia....se_in_Singapore

I've actually contributed some of the content for the language spoken by the chinese in Singapore under http://en.wikipedia....se_in_Singapore

[Yap Giok Nio]

Moon, on Mar 11 2006, 03:49 AM, said:

Traditional Hokkiens held the Taoist belief of Tanki, a priest believed to have magical powers that enables a Taoist deity to enter his body and "conduct" supernatural activities. [...] These southern Chinese also worship some deities of common origins, notably Matsu (goddess)

My mother is from Manado, Sulawesi in Indonesia and she told me about these things. She is related to the Tanki family in Manado (if I remember her story correctly, the first priest of this family married my maternal great-great-grandmother but he was her second husband while my family is descended from her first husband). My mother also told me about Mazu Po. Great to see her name mentioned here!

Anyway, some people are strongly attached to this Taoist belief and practice, including many of my mother's relatives (one of her cousins had an experience which will make your hair stand on ends...) Nevertheless I still hope to see the Cap Go Mei celebrations for myself one day.

This post has been edited by Yap Giok Nio: 17 March 2006 - 04:11 AM

[xu huang]

Actually, I think there are more than 8.5% of the Chinese population that practises Taoism. My family practices Taoism, but we put Buddhism in our ICs and I believe alot of others did the same thing, hence only the 8.5% figure. Most of the funerals that I've attended are Taoism funerals, which is quite noisy as compared to Buddhist or Christian funerals. I can't explain why most people put Buddhism instead of Taoism though...

[lanjingling]

xu huang, on Mar 17 2006, 09:54 PM, said:

Actually, I think there are more than 8.5% of the Chinese population that practises Taoism. My family practices Taoism, but we put Buddhism in our ICs and I believe alot of others did the same thing, hence only the 8.5% figure. Most of the funerals that I've attended are Taoism funerals, which is quite noisy as compared to Buddhist or Christian funerals. I can't explain why most people put Buddhism instead of Taoism though...

Maybe , because of all the buddhists missionaries from Japan , (& to some extent from Taiwan), wich is a very modern country , & all the Westerners who are more & more interested in Buddhism , Buddhism can appear as more trendy than Daoism , wich for some young people seems an old fashion religion ?

[urofpersia]

xu huang, on Mar 18 2006, 11:54 AM, said:

Actually, I think there are more than 8.5% of the Chinese population that practises Taoism. My family practices Taoism, but we put Buddhism in our ICs and I believe alot of others did the same thing, hence only the 8.5% figure. Most of the funerals that I've attended are Taoism funerals, which is quite noisy as compared to Buddhist or Christian funerals. I can't explain why most people put Buddhism instead of Taoism though...

Because very often they are not purely buddhist but what I prefer to refer to as Folk religion. The pantheon is a mixture of Taoist and Buddhist folklore. They combine taoist and buddhist practices and in many cases, Guanyin is venerated and prayers is sent to her. Thus since Guanyin is a bodhisattva, that makes them buddhist... Ask them about Buddhist philosophies and I doubt most can answer. In other words they are not practising Buddhists, they merely venerate Buddhists icons and thus consider themselves Buddhists.

Having something to worship to, to send prayers up to, to call upon will always appeal more to the masses.

[shawn]

Can anyone explain the history of the Seventh Month Getai in Singapore? How and when and where did the Getai get started up and how did it get popular after that?

If there are any websites to show me, that would be better?

[shawn]

Erm, I seriously can't find any information about Getais in Singapore, can anyone give me any links or information about them and their history? I would really appreciate it, thanks

[Moon]

Many of the customary practices and forms of entertainment have virtually disappeared, or have been modified or simplified as Singapore accelerates its modernization process. Following an extract article from book "The Chinese Heritage" published by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations on Chinese Operas and Ge Tai (stage singing):


Chinese operas 戏院were a common form of entertainment and six to seven opera houses flourished in the city during the 1880s. Li Chun Yuan 梨春园was undeniably the most popular of them. It was located at Smith Street in the heart of Chinatown, which was largely populated by the Cantonese.

Li Chun Yuan was a landmark for social interaction during that period. People went there to be seen as much as to see. It was also the reference point for the streets around that area. Two other opera houses near present day People’s Park Centre, Qing Sheng Ping 庆升平 and Qing Wei Xin庆维新, also put up Cantonese operas frequently. Their closest counterparts were Yi Yuan怡园 and Zhe Yuan哲园, famous for their Teochew operas. These were located near the old Tong Chai 同治Medical Institution in Wayang Street.

Each dialect group supported its own professional opera troupe. The Hokkiens had the Sai Feng 赛风roupe, the Teochews patronized the Lao Yi Zhi Xiang老一支香 and Lao Sai Tao Yuan 老赛桃园while the Cantonese enjoyed performances by Hai Tian You Yi Hui海天游艺会. Community groups as well as temple organizers would hire these troupes to perform during festive or special occasions. All these players organized their own unions to protect their interests, such as the Ba He Hui Guan 八和会馆and Theatrical Association梨园公会.

Street shows provided the masses with free entertainment. Various temple authorities would host opera performances for a few days at a stretch as part of their thanks-giving celebrations. At such times, not only were the areas fronting the stage packed with an enthusiastic crowd, but the plot behind the stage would also be filled with itinerant hawkers selling food, toys, handicrafts and other knick-knacks. It was not uncommon to see gamblers huddled in groups, hoping to make a fast buck.

Besides professional opera troupes, several clan associations also nurtured opera talents among their membership. Among these were the Khek Community Guild, Gu Cheng Hui Guan古城会馆, Dong An Hui Guan东安会馆 and Gang Zhou Hui Guan冈州会馆. In recent years, the Bukit Timah Hokkien Association has also sent its troupe to perform at community centres and it has received encouraging reviews.

Before the Second World War, there were already several enthusiastic opera supporters who formed troupes and put up performances, thereby enriching the cultural life of the Chinese. Apart from those set up by clan associations, there are now other groups such as Ping She 平社(The Singapore Peiping Drama Society) doing Beijing operas, Chinese Theatre Circle putting up Cantonese shows and the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Association, which used to perform in the Han dialect, but which are now singing in Teochew. Among such associations are the Yu Yu余娱, Liu Yi六一, Tao Rong陶融, Xing Hua星华 and Nan Hua南华. Another popular troupe is the Hokkien Xiang Ling湘灵 Musical Association.

Stage singing歌台 of Mandarin songs developed from the days of singing in teahouses. With the growing influence of western music, stage singing developed into an art form in itself. Most performers would sing pop tunes, to the accompaniment of western musical instruments like drums, guitars and bongos. A performance would often include short skits, especially comical ones.

[shawn]

Thus getais evloved into our modern state with singing of pop songs because of western influences and also times were changing and Chinese operas "morphed" into modern getais at Singapore neigbourhoods that we see now, right? Also, getais are only unqiue in Malaysia and Singapore right? You would not see getais in China or HongKong or Taiwan or any Chinatowns in western countries, right?

[urofpersia]

shawn, on Dec 5 2006, 08:10 PM, said:

Thus getais evloved into our modern state with singing of pop songs because of western influences and also times were changing and Chinese operas "morphed" into modern getais at Singapore neigbourhoods that we see now, right? Also, getais are only unqiue in Malaysia and Singapore right? You would not see getais in China or HongKong or Taiwan or any Chinatowns in western countries, right?

You have Getais in Taiwan especially at the village or townships.

[shawn]

Moon, where do i get this book, "The Chinese Heritage" published by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations on Chinese Operas and Ge Tai (stage singing)"?

[galvatron prime]

Chinese marry Malay before world war 2 know as Peranakan .
Chinese marry Malay after world war 2 know as Malay .

This are grouping in Malaysia ,are Singapore the same .

This post has been edited by galvatron: 07 December 2006 - 05:59 AM

[Moon]

shawn, on Dec 6 2006, 09:35 PM, said:

Moon, where do i get this book, "The Chinese Heritage" published by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations on Chinese Operas and Ge Tai (stage singing)"?

Shawn, you can borrow this book from any of our local libraries and read for free (thats what I did), or you can buy from this place:

http://www.sfcca.org...publication.htm

Quite an interesting book, "The Chinese Heritage", many photographs on the lifestyle of early Singaporeans.

[shawn]

Moon, on Dec 7 2006, 09:16 AM, said:

Shawn, you can borrow this book from any of our local libraries and read for free (thats what I did), or you can buy from this place:

http://www.sfcca.org...publication.htm

Quite an interesting book, "The Chinese Heritage", many photographs on the lifestyle of early Singaporeans.

Actually, I seriously don't get it on how people manage to borrow such good books from the library. I always go there but I don't seem to find anything about Singapore. Seriously man. Not a single book. Can you seriously imagine feel how fustrated i feel?

Anyway, I think this drama serial, Stepping Out, produced by MediaCorp, is quite good as it depicts how Chinese lived in Singapore during the early days quite accurately. Any comments to this, anyone?