Chinese puppetry is a tradition that is slowly losing ground in Singapore. Caroline Chia tells us why this art form should be preserved. Tossing a puppet into the air to perform a somersault, the puppeteer sings at the top of his melodious voice, accompanied by the high-pitched clapping of cymbals and the resounding striking of drums...
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Chinese Puppet Theatre: Rekindling a Glorious Past
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Through Time And Tide: A Survey of Singapore’s Reefs
The reefs that fringed Singapore’s coastline and islands have served for centuries as maritime markers, fishing grounds and even homes for island communities. Marcus Ng rediscovers the stories that lurk beneath the waves. If the tides are high It never will appear, That little winking island Not very far from here; But if the tides...
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Gedung Kuning: Memories of a Malay Childhood
Gedung Kuning, or the “Yellow Mansion”, was once the home of Tengku Mahmud, a Malay prince. Hidayah Amin shares anecdotes from her childhood years growing up in the house. Gedung Kuning, at No. 73 Sultan Gate, with its regal yellow walls and stone eagles perched on the main gate, was the mansion that was originally...
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The Doctor Turned Diplomat: John Crawfurd’s Writings on the Malay Peninsula
John Crawfurd, the 19th-century British colonial administrator, was known for his insightful writings on ethnology and history in the Malay Peninsula. Wilbert Wong examines the ideas of this visionary scholar and thinker. The National Library, Singapore, has in its collection a number of items relating to John Crawfurd’s writings on Asia. In 2016, the collection...
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Mangroves: A Tale of Survival
Mangroves are an integral part of the marine ecosystem. Ang Seow Leng explains why these hardy and resilient plants are vital for the survival of humankind. Mangroves, the forest between land and sea, are fast disappearing as the urban jungle encroaches on its existence and threatens its survival. Mangrove Watch, a global monitoring programme based...
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寻找“南洋”: 从1920年代末文艺理论初探文人对南洋之印象
Chinese authors in 1920s Singapore were faced with the call to produce works with a distinctive “Nanyang flavour”. Goh Yu Mei explains how these early writers defined this new genre of literature. 关于新加坡华文新兴文学 起源的年份以及其发展分期，不同学者有着不同的看法。然而，大多学者都注意到1920年代至1930年代期间是新加坡华文新兴文学中本地意识萌芽与兴起的时期 回顾当时在新加坡的文人所发表的文艺理论中，不乏明确提倡富有“南洋色彩”的“南洋文学”的文章。这在1930年代中期也进一步发展至有关于 “马来亚文学”的争论。 随着越来越多篇文艺理论探讨着何谓“南洋色彩”及“南国文艺”，文人作家也试图在一个比较抽象的概念上，赋予这些词藻具体的特征。他们从自己对所在地的印象，抽取出他们所认为的特点，尝试以此为血肉，塑造一个拥有本地色彩的“南洋文学”。本文将会从1927年到1930年期间在新加坡华文报章上所发表的文艺理论尝试论述这点。 文学中本地意识的兴起 19世纪末至20世纪初，中国经历了巨大的社会动荡与变化。在这一历史背景下，许多中国人迁移到世界各地谋求新生活。新加坡也是他们的目的地之一。 这个移民浪潮清楚地反映在当时新加坡人口结构的变化。1824年，在新加坡的华人人数为10,683人，占总人口的31%。。近100年后，华人人数在1921年增加了40倍，升至418,358人，占总人口的75.3%。 这些华人人口当中，有来自中国的文人，也有在本地或回到中国接受教育并活跃于本地文化界的知识分子。他们有些担任本地报章及其文艺副刊的编辑，有些发表文艺作品，成为本地华文文学发展的主要推动力。 虽然移居本地，但是从他们发表的报刊创刊词、社论以及文学作品中，可以看出这些初来乍到的文人仍然心系中国。他们的文章大多讨论中国所面临的问题，而文学作品中也不乏希望回到中国或贡献中国的情怀。 随着在本地居住的时间越久，这些文人对本地的情感也逐渐加深，并且更加关注本地在各方面的发展。 除此之外，1919年在中国发生的五四运动，同样地也冲击着本地华人社会。然而，要在本地推行五四运动以白话文撰写作品的主张，文人们需要考虑本地的特殊环境，才能顺利在南洋推广这些源自于中国的主张。 这些因素促使文人的本地意识开始萌芽，进而开始提倡在文学中加入本地色彩。在1927年至1930年期间，新加坡报章上更是发表了不少关于“南洋色彩”的文艺理论。 其中一些文艺理论在阐述作者对于在文学作品中加入“南洋色彩”的看法，同时也显露了该作者对于南洋景观的印象。 《新国民日报》文艺副刊《荒岛》编者张金燕在1927年发表的《南洋与文艺》一文中写道： “我虽然不是完全一个飘荡南洋有名的马六甲海峡的椰果，但是未学成时已在无野狗患的乡土‘S埠’培植到胡子刻满嘴唇；黄河泥色的滔水，又虽未浸染过，但我的皮肤遗传着祖宗旧衣裳，而黄姜、咖哩，把我肠胃腌实了，因此我对于南洋的色彩浓厚过祖宗的五经，饮椰浆多过大禹治下的水了。” 又如，曾圣提也在《醒醒吧，星城的艺人》一文提到： “穿过了椰子的长林，走上沥青的马路，驶进黑烟漫天的工厂，缒入暗无天日的矿洞，你将看见，真理在那里徘徊。…… 醒醒吧，星城的艺人！旧世界在烈日下消溶了，百咫高椰可以飘挂我们的旗，万里无云的长空表示我们的坦白；大象象征我们的巩固，长绿的叶子宣告我们的新鲜，海助我们呐喊，我们的新鲜的环境，供给我们无穷的材料！” 另外，陈炼青于1929年发表的《文艺与地方色彩》中阐述： “作家溷在椰丛下，写着梅花、雪片、杨柳……等东西，还是不全改掉；而我们地方色彩、风味，不知怎的总蕴在作家们的肚子里，似乎烟士披里纯未到以前，这些都不愿意发泄了吧！ 如其谓南洋的景物太粗俗与太不艺术，所以够不上我们的作家赏鉴的话，就我们的眼光看起来却未必是。这里的本地风光，倒也不见得这样的难堪。你看，苍翠的椰林、浓密的橡胶、茂盛的芭蕉、耸立的老树，实在觉得可爱；兼之那富于雨量的气候，‘一雨便成秋’的热带的生活，似乎不无一点诗意；即如落日斜晖，我们在海边眺望，大自然的壮丽奇伟，似不能说比中国的不好看些。” 三位文人作家在鼓励位于本地的作家撰写拥有南洋色彩的文学作品时，也在文章中描述了一些他们心目中所认为可以代表南洋的事物。这包括了动植物（如：椰子、橡胶、香蕉及大象）、自然景观（大海）、热带气候、经济活动（如：矿洞及工厂）以及食品（如：黄姜及咖喱）。...
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Sci-Fi in Singapore: 1970s to 1990s
The sci-fi frenzy took off in Singapore in 1978 when Star Wars was screened at cinemas here. Nadia Arianna Bte Ramli looks at sci-fi works produced between 1970s and 1990s. The popularity of contemporary science fiction publications, such as LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction (2013–), The Ayam Curtain (2012) and The Steampowered...
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A History of Singapore Horror
Singaporeans have always had a morbid fascination with the supernatural. Ng Yi-Sheng examines the culture of horror in our oral folklore, books and films. In 2016, I was asked to speak at a Singapore Writers Festival panel discussion titled “SG HORROR: Who’s Afraid of the Dark”. This surprised me, since I had never identified myself...
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East of Suez: The Mystique of Travel
Rudyard Kipling coined the phrase “East of Suez” to describe the exotic lands east of the Suez Canal. Kennie Ting goes back to a time when people were travellers, not tourists. “Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst, Where there aren’t no Ten Commandments an’ a man can raise...
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Murder Most Malevolent
Sunny Ang, Mimi Wong, Adrian Lim and John Martin Scripps are some of the most cold-blooded murderers in Singapore’s crime history. Sharon Teng revisits their horrific acts. There are a few things more heinous than a premeditated act of taking a human life. Under Singapore’s Penal Code Act (Cap. 224), culpable homicide is defined as...
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Swan & Maclaren: Pioneers of Modernist Architecture
Singapore’s oldest architectural firm may be better known for designing the Raffles Hotel but it’s their 1930s Modernist buildings that are truly revolutionary. Julian Davison has the details. Swan & Maclaren, the oldest architectural practice in Singapore, is a name that is synonymous with many of the city’s heritage buildings. Raffles Hotel, Goodwood Park, the...
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Alam Puisi Melayu Singapura Selepas Merdeka
Singapore’s Malay publishing scene was thrown into disarray when the country exited Malaysia in 1965. Juffri Bin Supa’at charts the development of Malay poetry in Singapore since Independence. “Ahli bahasa yang memakai akal memikirkan puisi adalah tenunan sehelai kain yang dicermati menjadi rapi lagi dihalusi kepadatan dalamnya coraknya terperinci tiada sebenang pun lepas dari ikatan...
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Reel Life Singapore: The Films of Clyde E. Elliott
Clyde Elliott was the first Hollywood director to shoot a feature film in Singapore. Chua Ai Lin examines the authenticity of the three movies he produced here in the 1930s. Singapore entered Hollywood’s popular imagination at the turn of the 20th century when motion pictures began showing scenes of a modern and exotic Asian port...
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An Unusual Ambition: The Early Librarians
Bonny Tan traces the careers of little-known librarians, Padma Daniel and her mentor Kate Edith Savage-Bailey, and the circumstances that led to their career choices in pre-war Singapore. “A rather unusual ambition” wrote Reverend Basil Colby Roberts, the Singapore Anglican Bishop, in a letter dated 11 December 1935 to Frederick N. Chasen, then Director of the...
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தமிழ் முரசில் 1936–1960 வரை வெளிவந்த சிறுகதைகள் – ஒரு பார்வை
Sundari Balasubramaniam reviews a selection of short stories published in Tamil Murasu during the tumultuous years from 1936 to 1960 when Singapore transitioned from British rule and Japanese Occupation to self-governance. தமிழிலக்கியம் என்பது தமிழ் நாட்டுக்கு மட்டும் என்ற நிலை மாறி இன்று உலகெங்கும் புலம்பெயர்ந்த தமிழர்களால் மட்டுமின்றி பல வெளிநாட்டவர்களாலும் செழுமைப்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. குறிப்பாக இலங்கை, சிங்கப்பூர், மலேசியா, கனடா, ஐரோப்பா ஆகிய நாடுகளில்...
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Heaven, Earth and Brotherhood
Secret societies arrived on the back of mass migrations of Chinese to Asia in the colonial era. Makeswary Periasamy highlights the National Library’s collection of early books on Chinese triads. The National Library’s Rare Materials Collection – which comprises a valuable collection of books and printed items from as early as the 15th century −...
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A Lifetime of Labour: Cantonese Amahs in Singapore
The black-and-white amah, renowned for her domestic skills, has left a mark on history in more ways than one, as Janice Loo tells us. Hair coiled up in an elegant bun or worn in a single plait down the back, a white blouse paired with ankle-length black trousers, and black slippers – this was the...
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Micro India: The Chettiars Of Market Street
Market Street, in the heart of the business district, is where Indian moneylenders ran a thriving trade during the colonial era. Marcus Ng traces the imprint left by the Chettiars. As a boy, Lakshmanan Subbiah, a fourth-generation Chettiar, recalls walking down a street in the heart of the city near Raffles Place, a stroll that...
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Scots in Singapore: Remembering their Legacy
The Scots in colonial Singapore lent their names to many of the city’s famous landmarks. Graham Berry pays tribute to the contributions of his fellow men. Singapore’s roots as a trading hub were planted along the banks of the Singapore River in 1819 when Stamford Raffles, together with William Farquhar, established a port for the British...
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The Road to Nationalisation: Public Buses in Singapore
From as many as 11 bus companies to just one bus operator by 1973. Lee Meiyu chronicles the early turbulent days of Singapore’s bus industry. “We went to their workshops. We audited their books. In three months, we… revealed that despite the alleged amalgamation of the old bus companies, this was only a paper unification...
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