Chinatown Hungry Ghost Festival 2010
The Ghost Festival will start from 10 Aug 10 (the first day of the 7th Lunar Month). As residents and businesses of Chinatown prepares to make offerings during this month, the Chinatown Business Association is also sharing some of its activities with visitors. Read more from the poster below or at the Chinatown Business Association at http://www.chinatown.org.sg Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Today, 3:19am
Nine Emperor Gods: Long Nan Dian sendoff
Long Nan Dian sent off Nine Emperor Gods in a rousing ceremony at the East Coast Parkway on 7 Oct 08 (9th day if the 9th moon). Read more...
Chinese Temples, Today, 3:19am
Qing Ming Festival 清明节
5 April is Qing Ming Day, 104 days from Winter Solstice (read more on wikipedia). In Singapore, this is one month that all Chinese remember their ancestors. With changing times, different people will remember their departed in various ways. Some would go to the temples where they place the tablets of their ancestors and pay their respects. There are still many who would go to the cemeteries where their departed relatives are buried. For those who were cremated, the descendants and relatives might go to the government, temple or even private company run columbaria where the ash niches are kept. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Yesterday, 3:15pm
Do you recognize this primary school? – Paul Warner
Good Morning Yesterday, Yesterday, 3:15pm
Nine Emperor Gods
Long Nan Dian sent off Nine Emperor Gods at the East Coast Parkway on 7 Oct 08 (9M09). Read more...
Sin Tua 神坛 in Singapore, Yesterday, 3:16am
25. Jiu Xian Gong 九玄宫
The Jiu Xian Gong 九玄宫, the shortened name for 九天玄女真仙。俗称玄女妈宫, started in 1928 by the Bai Clan at 7 milestone, Tampines Rd. In 1970, owing to rapid urbanisation, the temple started looking for a more permanent place for the temple. In 1982, a piece of land at Tampines Road was found and in 1985, the temple was built. Many of the devotees and supporters of the temple are still from the Bai 白 Clan. Today, the temple stood tall at one end of the row of temples along the Old Tampines Road. Recently, further renovation to the temple was made. Read more...
Chinese Temples, Yesterday, 3:16am
30. Chwee Hean Keng 水显宫 (Shui Xian Gong)
This is one of the few temples dedicated to Sam Tiong Ong 三忠王 (San Zhong Wang), deities from the late Song Dynasty, Wen Tian-Xiang 文天祥, Lu Xiu-Fu 陆秀夫 and Zhang Shi-Jie 张世杰. This temple, located at Zion Road, is standing on a piece of land that has been en-bloc for redevelopment. This temple has been here for at least more than 70 years, witnessing the changing tributary of the Singapore River - when the descendants of the great tongkang builders from China continued their tradition for the... Read more...
Chinese Temples, Yesterday, 3:16am
This day in history
Sorry, quite busy these days and no time to blog. So I do a quickie and announce that at on this day, 58 years ago this guy was born in a village that is today right smack on the Central Expressway. Here is a photo of him in a setting you will never ever see in Singapore again. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Yesterday, 3:16am
Book: Through the Bamboo Window
You might wonder what the Chinese temples in Singapore were like in 1950s. Thanks to the Singapore Heritage Society and additional hardwork put in by the original author of this book "Chinese Temples in Singapore", Dr. Leon Comber, this book combined with Dr. Comber's other books were put together and reprinted as "Through the Bamboo Window". And now, you have a chance to look through the bamboo window to what Chinese temples were like in Singapore in the 1950s. Read more...
Chinese Temples, Sep 1, 3:19pm
Andrew Grigsby’s fond memories of Singapore
Today, I would like to share with you some emails that I received from Andrew Grigsby. I am sure that after reading Andrew’s heartwarming description of his memories, you will feel a tinge of sadness at the loss of the Singapore of our childhood days – if you’re from my generation that is. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Sep 1, 3:19pm
Tallest Building in Singapore
Which was the tallest building in Singapore in 1947? Without even checking the history books, I daresay, it was the Cathay Building. Looking at the old photos taken by Arthur Poskitt and George Shaw in and around 1947, I saw several of this grand old dame. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Sep 1, 3:15am
Ghost Festival in Chinatown - Zhong Yuan Jie 中元节
Chinatown used to have many activities during the 7th Month or what is known to the English speaking world as Ghost Festival. And it would happen at various spots in Chinatown. Chinatown is known to most Singaporeans, and probably the world, to be from Sago Street to Temple Street, where the streets are interlinked by Trengganu St. These days, the ghost festival activities are somewhat concentrated in the still available free space next to the Tooth Relic Temple. But then, the activities are getting bigger and when there is a getai (variety show) on the street, then it would be jam packed. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 31, 3:14pm
It's the time for Chinese New Year goodies
As kids, the one thing that we looked for, other than new clothings and Ang-Pows (red packets stuffed with money), it was the drinks and cookies. In those days, it was not soft drinks at any time as we would these days. Main reason was probably that it was something we could not afford and could afford to do without. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 31, 3:14pm
Lor Mai Kai
Last weekend, with wife and daughter, we decided to retrace one of our favourite food in Gau Che Shui (Bullockcartwater in Cantonese). Alas, the original stalls were no longer there. But new generations stalls or restaurants have taken their place, albeit with cleaner facilities and even air-conditioning, but alas, somehow not with the same taste. At least for this old man. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 30, 3:15pm
33. Ang Chee Sia Ong Temple 安济圣王庙
Ang Chee Sia Ong Temple 安济圣王庙 An Ji Sheng Wang Miao (a temple dedicated to Lord Green Dragon 安济圣王 Read more...
Chinese Temples, Aug 30, 3:16am
33. Ang Chee Sia Ong Temple 安济圣王庙
Ang Chee Sia Ong Temple 安济圣王庙 (dedicated to Lord Green Dragon 安济圣王or 请龙爷) is located at 131 West Coast Drive. It's original location was in Pasir Panjang. Read more...
Chinese Temples, Aug 30, 3:16am
A death in the neighbourhood
I was picking up my mail from the mailbox at the common mailbox area, at the same time, staring at a huge canvas advertisement on the one-stop funeral service. Then, I saw a neighbour, supposedly talking with the funeral services manager. She walked towards me and told me that her husband had just passed away. Oh, I was taken aback and could only murmured, "when?". "Oh, he went to the toilet at midnight and went back to sleep. But this morning when I tried to wake him up at 5am for his breakfast, he was already no more." Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 29, 3:13pm
The Kitchen God has returned and the Tee-Kueh already hardened
The favourite story with the sending off of the Kitchen God on the 24th day of the 12th Lunar Month was the offering of the Tee-Kueh 甜糕 (Hokkien) or Nian Gao 年糕 (Mandarin) to sweeten his mouth or got his mouth stuck with the sticky Nian Gao that he would not say much. The kitchen used to be the place of gossips, quarrels and scoldings (if you can imagine the communal kitchens in the old houses in Chinatown). Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 29, 3:13pm
Crossing Water Obstacle (C.W.O.) - by Peter Chan
Sounds like a military jargon from National Service (NS) days? Every able-bodied male who has completed NS would have undergone some form of training or at least be familiar with the C.W.O. terminology. However I am not referring to it but to a daily routine of a different kind, between City Hall and Raffles Place MRT stations. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 29, 3:13pm
Hotels Quiz
Looks like my quizzes are too simple to stump the old-timers like Peter and Philip. I shall have to up the ante a bit. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 29, 3:13pm
Diaspora of Amoy Street
Many of the offspring of the earlier Chinese in Singapore might have a relation (parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, grandaunts & granduncles, or well, in-laws and their ancestors) in Chinatown. And for the Hokkien, many could come from Amoy St, which is just the street from Telok Ayer St, probably the waterfront then, where the early Chinese workers and migrants would land. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 29, 3:14am
My favourite Chicken Rice
While Singaporeans and visitors to Singapore would know about the famous Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, I kindda miss the Cantonese Chicken Rice. I am not sure if there is a similar Cantonese Chicken Rice, but I know long long ago (not that long really), at the corner of Smith Street and Trengganu St (where the Sex Shop is now?) was a bustling stall selling the "steamed" or "boiled" Chicken Rice. And the stall only appeared in the evening, probably from 5pm. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 28, 3:16am
See the World 85 years ago – part 2 (Peter Chan)
My grandfather never stopped his hobby until the day he passed on. Just before that he summoned my cousin and I to his bedside; being the senior male descendants of the family clan, he told us of his parting wish. Being the elder of the two, my cousin made his choice of a colourful world atlas and I was left with his other collection. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 28, 3:16am
Where have all the (Singapore) squash players gone?
Squash was very much in the news last week because of the just-concluded CIMB Singapore Masters. The women's tournament was eventually won by Malaysia's world No. 1, Nicol David. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 28, 3:16am
Archaeology in Singapore
Who was Sang Nila Utama? What was life like in early, pre-colonial Singapore? It seems archaeology seems to attempt to answer some of these questions. Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 27, 3:16am
A Giant in the Neighbourhood
I was walking along Craig Rd, reminiscing my childhood days when I looked up at the row of houses that were opposite to where I lived, and low behold, it was like a giant has stepped into the neighbourhood. There towering behind the row of two storey houses was that huge and mammoth monolith called The Pinnacle. It was impressive and reminded me of the first time when I watched the "Kong Long" movie at Oriental Cinema, one of the very new movies that I went with the family, especially with my late father, who worked in Johor Baru then. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 27, 3:16am
Singapore Under Water - Peter Chan
Over the decades we had many serious floods and despite improvements to our drainage systems, floods still occur. There were many reasons for these floods; some reasons are still valid today. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 27, 3:16am
Chinese Temples 庙宇文化 Book 3 is out!
The third volume of Chinese Temples in Singapore, Miao Yu Wen Hua 庙宇文化, has been released and are available at most newspaper stand. Read more...
Chinese Temples, Aug 26, 3:17pm
Chinese Temples 庙宇文化 Book 3 is out!
The third volume of Chinese Temples in Singapore, Miao Yu Wen Hua 庙宇文化, has been released and are available at most newspaper stand. Read more...
Sin Tua 神坛 in Singapore, Aug 26, 3:17pm
List of Monkey God Temples in Singapore
Here is a list of Qi Tian Da Sheng 齐天大圣 (the Monkey God) sintuas (temples/shrines) in Singapore. Read more...
Sin Tua 神坛 in Singapore, Aug 25, 3:17pm
Food Festival in Chinatown
On 24 July 2010, there was a Cantonese Food Festival in Kreta Ayer Square, as part of the bigger Singapore Food Festival. A modest setup it did get a crowd going for their favourite food. The most popular queue was the roast meat, as one would expect. Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 25, 3:17pm
Some things never change (5) – Chinese puppet shows
Last week my brother Chun Chew (Zen) and I met up with two old friends from Braddell Rise School to reminisce about the old days in BRS. I brought along my precious report book to show off my fantastic grades – 2nd in class in Primary two Ok! But to my disappointment, they were more interested to pore over the teachers’ and principals’ signatures to try and decipher their identities. As always, I never fail to marvel at Aii Chan’s (Kim) fantastic memory for people. She also had a very good recollection of the tuckshop and even drew a sketch for us showing the location of every single stall. Me … I could only remember the drinks stall run by the lady every BRS boy loved – Fong Jie. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 25, 3:16am
Historian Painter Marcus Lim & the Chinatown Connection
Ever heard of historians? Plenty. Ever heard of Historian Painter? Huh? Got such person meh? Ah, as Marcus Lim would passionately and patiently explain to you. "ya got!". A historian writes about history, a historian painter paints about history. Ask Marcus about history, and he will paint you a picture! Read more...
bullockcartwater 牛车水, Aug 24, 3:16pm
See the World 85 years ago (part 1) – Peter Chan
Today travel to foreign countries is so easy and made even cheaper by the introduction of budget airlines. With the Internet we can even see foreign countries through pictures. Nearly 90 years ago, my grandfather also saw the world but he did it very differently, not like the way I envisaged. He did not join the merchant navy and jump-ship. I was very amazed at the way how he did it. He did something unique in the age of steamships, tongkangs and pig-tails. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 24, 3:15am
Call me "Sa Leng Chia" (or Bechak) – Peter Chan
I was working on a tourism project assignment for one of our ASEAN neighbours when she threw me this question. “Can you tell me what were Singapore’s tourism icons and creative themes in the 1970s and the 1980s?” Well that’s easy for tourism icons but not the second question - when I can’t do a good job recalling, I bet you won’t either. How about creative themes like, “Instant Asia”, “SINGAPORE – A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD”, “It all started here in Singapore” or “Surprising Singapore”. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 24, 3:15am
35. Chee Tong Temple 慈忠坛 (Ci Zhong Tan)
Located in the HDB estate at 62 Hougang Ave 3 (near to blk.248), this is probably the only most contemporary Chinese temple in Singapore. A temple dedicated to the three main deities - Huang Lao Xian Shi 黄老仙师, Da Sheng Fo Zu 大圣佛祖and Tai Shang Lao Jun 太上老君, it was built in 1987, designed by the team of Akitectenggara Read more...
Chinese Temples, Aug 23, 3:17pm
Singapore – A guide for businessmen and visitors
A friend who heard of my craze for old stuff related to Singapore lent me this magazine that she happened to have kept since 1961. Flipping through the pages of this half-century old publication of the Ministry of Culture, I came across some interesting historical facts. Read more...
Good Morning Yesterday, Aug 23, 3:17pm
Malaycivilization.com
Malaycivilization.com is the fruit of ATMA (Alam dan Tamadun Melayu), the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization, a part of UKM. As a general member - which is offered free-of-charge - users can view the digitised resources of photojournalist and restoration architect, N. A. Halim; PADAT, the Malay World Database - a collection of 30,000 to 40,000 articles in publications about the Malay world; Khamus Peribahasa Melayu or a Dictionary of Malay Proverbs built into a searcheable database; Pantun Baba or Peranakan Poetry, again a searcheable database; Karya Jawi or Jawi Literary Works; Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
a2o.com
a2o.com , translated to Access to Archives Online Singapore is the integrated digital search interface for the National Archives' various units'digital presence. These subset dataplatforms include PICAS - the picture database, MISAS - the moving image and sound archives, STARS - the speech-text archival retrieval system, CARDS - cartographic and architectural records database, PRISM - private record information system, Posters - a posters database, Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
The Literature, Culture and Society of Singapore
The Literature, Culture and Society of Singapore is part of the Post-Colonial Web of the University Scholar's Programme. A comprehensive landscape of post-colonial Singapore is outlined including its geography, demography, economics, history, politics, religion, Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Muslims in Singapore
Muslim Converts Association (Darul-Arqam)provides a good introduction to Islam. In Singapore, the administration of Muslim affairs is mainly managed by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS or Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura). The MUIS portal provides links to services such as Hajj Services, Halal Certification including a listing of certified halal food establishments in Singapore, and various eResources such as sermons and online publications. MUIS was established in 1968 as... Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Singapore - Country Study
A Country Study: Singapore is part of the Country Studies / Area Handbook Programme by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. It gives a comprehensive perspective of Singapore including its history (from pre-colonial to 1985),society & environment (including ethnic groups, religions, education, health & welfare), the economy, government and politics, and national security. Data is valid only until 1989. There is a useful bibliography and an appendix of tables. http://singaporestuff.blogspot.com/atom.xml Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Inter-religious Organisation, Singapore
In the next few weeks, i will attempt to cover the varied religious and communal activities in Singapore. As a start, the Inter-religious Organisation (IRO) offers an overview of key religions in Singapore. This includes Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Bahai faith. Key religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and the various Chinese religions... Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Islamic Education in Singapore
The Darul-Arqam has a subsidiary, the Centre of Islamic Management Studies, set up in 1999 with the which aim to "develop and provide Islam-based training on various aspects of personal and professional development." Some unique courses offered are Islamic Banking and Shari'ah for Legal Practitioners. For religious education, there is a website reflecting all six full-time Madrasahs in Singapore. In 1999, the old Kampong Siglap Mosque was used as a centre for the memorisation of the Quran, Tahfiz Al-Quran Centre of Singapore. For critical thinking and discussions on Islam, the Centre for Islamic Studies provides such a platform. In the same vein, the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs ( Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Taoism in Singapore
There is limited information about Taoism in Singapore, partly because there is no unifying organisation that links the Taoist temples together. The Taoist Mission (Singapore) offers insights to the religion with details on the development of Taoism in Singapore although this is mainly in Chinese. Taoism-Singapore is a very active discussion group that keeps track of events at various temples and the significance of these festivities. These are graphically illustrated through Tan Wee Cheng's online photographs at his website Tanki and elaborated further in the section Encounters.http://singaporestuff.blogspot.com/atom.xml Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Buddhism in Singapore
The Singapore Directory of BuddhaNet provides useful weblinks and/or addresses of Buddhist organisations in Singapore. Different veins of Buddhism including Mahayana and Theravada and even non-sectarian forms are listed and their categories reflected accordingly. The claims to being the largest Mahayana Buddhist temple in Singapore goes to the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. There are strains of Buddhism that traces its beliefs from Tibet (Nyingma Kathok Buddhist Centre - Singapore), others from Myanmar (Burmese Buddhist Temple), Sri Lanka ( Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am
Hinduism in Singapore
The Hindu Endowment Board's website offers links to Hindu temples in Singapore, the Singapore Hindu - HEB's newsletter available online, festival dates and other hindu activities. The website of the Sri Thenduyathani Temple provides similar details such as images and links to local Hindu temples, festivals and the history of Chettiars in Singapore. Read more...
Singapore Stuff, Aug 23, 3:17am