and a 5-13 and a 6-4 : a ponder

Where were you when it happened?

They were those defining events that you vividly remember where you were when the event happened. Of the many anniversaries in this year a thought or two on two of them that had a lapse of twenty years in between them -

May 13, 1969

– It was evening time, after dinner, and when the radio broadcasted that curfew was declared in Kuala Lumpur.

Though there was a flurry of news and activities after the General Election, , much of what was happening were lost to us kids, except that we were more interested if the next day would be a school holiday. I was in Standard Six (primary school ) , then.

Leading to the GE the coffee shop talk around town was whether PPP (People’s Progress Party) could perform as well without the fiery speeches of DR Seenivasagam, for he has passed away earlier that year. The party leadership went to his milder sibling SP.

Well, the Ipoh (should be the Kinta folks) ever proud of their – 骨气 – gu qi – hardened bones - once again threw their lot with the opposition party, and voted overwhelmingly for the PPP.

Rumors abound, and far away down south we heard of the fighting in the Chow Kit area, and fights up north in Sungei Patani.

However, in the Kinta area, as far as I could remember, and definitely not in my hometown, it was incident free.

Next to our house was a surau (a small mosque), and a family of Malays had moved in to stay there. This was our closest Malay neighbor. During the Hari Raya Puasa, & the Chinese New year we would continue to exchange gifts.

IN schools, the following year while in Form One – we started to recite the Rukun Negara – during morning assembly. During art lessons, the theme was on racial harmony– and I remember one of my art pieces depicting harmony among the races was selected fro display outside the Art room.

As the Merdeka kids – those born in the year 1957 – we were perhaps the pioneer batches of students in our education career that were affected by the NEP (New Economic Policy) and the National Language policies. We had to work extra hard to be assured of a place in the local institutions of higher learning’s.

While we entered Form Six – a number of Malay students from other schools came to join us – for ours was one of the 3 schools in Ipoh with Form Six/ pre-university classes. However, these students did not stay more than a term, for they left to join the Asasi Sains matriculation classes in the local university or those with better MCE (equivalent to SPM – O Level ) results went abroad to study.

In the space of National Language policy – we were one of the first batches to have our lecturers in University Malay to have our science courses conducted in Malay. Being from an English medium school – listening to technical lectures in Malay was something novel.

Well so much for May-13 and its after effect. The official reason then was that the riot was the work of communist elements. Forty years later, we have a greater clarity on the fallacies and facts.

It was hearting to note that Malaysia has moved one relatively peacefully i.e racially, despite the Mar08 political tsunami. It has in a way exorcised the ghost of 5-13.

However this racial harmony must be upheld and protected jealously at all cost, and pray that wise & leaders of integrity will continue to be nurtured by the land.

June 4, 1989

-After work that evening, I went to the roadside stall leading into Tao Payoh to buy a copy of the local Chinese evening newspaper for an update of what happened in Beijing Tiananmen square on that day.

Recalling the conversation some years earlier with the Chinese students while studying in Japan, that the 21st century would be the Asia Pacific century, we were hopeful of China rise then.

However, the mayhem coming out of Beijing on that day shattered whatever little hopes that were left of China playing a leading role in this dream.

Some of the new phrases that was added to my limited Chinese vocabulary were -
手无寸铁 – shou wu cun tie – with an inch of iron in the hand - namely defenseless
镇压 – zhen ya – suppression
血醒 - xie xing – bloody

The sea of banners and posters with their witty phrases and perhaps a reflection of the idealism of that time - calling for greater accountability, transparency, democracy - were captured in this book.

The title of the book - 天安門　落書 -Tiananmon rakusho – literary meaning -Tiananmen graffiti.

Though it’s written in Japanese, the catchy slogans will certain help to improve your Chinese。

Some of the phrases:

政府正腐 ( zhengfu zhengfu )
- punning on the word – the governement is really rotten

我爱面包，更爱真理　 ( wo ai mian bao, geng ai zhenli )
- I love bread, however I love truth more

八九年 Nobel 奖提名　　 ( Bajiunian Nobel jang timing
锂+ 硼 = 苯+ 氮 Li + Peng = Ben + Dan
北大化学博士 Beida Huaxue boshi )

- this was a jab at the then Prime Minister - Li Peng – 李鹏 -penned by Beijing University Chemistry Depart Doctorate students.

1989 Nobel Prize nominee:
Lithium + Boron = Benzene + Nitrogen

For Li Peng – 李鹏 – is similar in sound to Lithium (锂) and Boron (硼) . And Benzene (苯) and Nitrogen (氮) sounds the same as - 笨蛋 - bendan – meaning someone of low simple mentality.

要廉政， 不要帘正 (yao lianzheng, buyao lianzheng)
- A pun on the word lian - 廉 – incorrupt, and 帘 (simplified form of 簾 ） - meaning hanging curtain.

This is a dig at paramount leader Deng Xiaoping – 邓小平 - a call for a clean government and not governing from behind the screen.

Well, so much for the dig and jab (no political message intended). Whatever it was - in her long history, it is still premature on a verdict to the June 04.

Twenty years on China has moved on, especially after the 5-12 Sichuan earthquakes, the Beijing Olympics, and lately the financial tsunami.

Despite being a hard-core green camp leader, it came as a surprise to read that the former VP of ROC- Madame Lu mentioned that the China of today was no longer the Communist China of June 04, and to look at her with a new vision.

Perhaps over the past 30years, China has taken three steps forward and a step back. The road leading to the rise of a nation is never smooth, and it will continue to be.

Along the long and winding road, we should take a pause at Victoria Park, to reflect on where we were then.



Reference:

1. 天安門　落書 (Tiananmon rakusho )

串田久治 (Kushida Hisaharu)
講談社、１９９０ (Kodansha)
紀伊国屋新宿
１９９２．８．２３（日）
あずさ号　→　茅野

Bought this book at the Kinokuniya Book Store, Shinjuku while on business trip to Japan in Aug 1992. Had went to Tokyo over the weekends on R&R then, and took the Azusa Express back to Chino.

Chino is located next to Suwa Lake - 諏訪湖 - in Nagano-ken - 長野県 – right in the middle of the Honshu main island.



Link :

1. Rukunegara

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rukunegara








/--

狮城萬里望 - beyond the lion city shores

This stretch of the railway is not far from the Tanjong Pagar railway station, or more precisely the KTM – Keretapi Tanah Melayu – Singapore Station. It’s located next to Jalan Kilang Lama, off Jalan Bukit Merah. The yellow marker reads 779.75, and it’s possibly that distance in kilometer from Kuala Lumpur.

Twenty years ago used to cross the pedestrian bridge over this stretch over to Depot Road. With the office shifted back to back to Depot Road, it’s back again to crossing this railway line, each morning to work.

Though the city has undergone tremendous change physically over the past twenty years, if ever something that has not change in time, it would be this KTM railway and the Tanjong Pagar station. As they say – 五十年不变 – wushinian bubian – with hardly a change half a century.

Having grown up commuting on the KTM railway in the younger days, there is always a sense of fondness whenever one get to see the KTM railway line.

Traveling 985km north from this vantage it would take me back to my hometown – 家乡- jiaxiang – in Menglembu. - 萬里望 – Wanliwang. Though naturalized and this island has been home for the past 20 years and if home is where the heart is, then 家乡 – jiaxiang – will always have a special place in the heart.

What does the KTM railway line evokes?

Looking yonder - 狮城萬里望　－shicheng wanli wang - literary meaning – looking a ten-thousand li - 里 - from the Lion city, will recall some of the rides on the KTM:

1960’s - Ipoh to Malim Nawar
- The earliest train ride - from Ipoh to Malim Nawar in the 2nd half of 1960/s.

The youngest paternal aunt just married to Malim Nawar, a small town off the trunk road from Ipoh to Kampar. Though the town is off the main trunk road, it is connected to the Peninsula KTM railway grid – with a railway station in the center of the town. There was a important power generating station build during the colonial days, and this station provide electricity to the vicinity – a tin mining district of Kinta.

After the visit , Dad would sometimes let us to wait to take the train back to Ipoh, while was about a half hour or more away. To us kids, it was a memorable & fun ride.

At the railway station – Dad would point to us the holes in the lamp posts and said they were bullet holes left behind by the Japanese fighter planes while attacking the railway station during their conquest of Malaya and Singapore.

Early1970’s: Ipoh to Tanjung Malim -
- Towards the end of 1960 and thro to mid 1970/s

Dad went to work in Tanjung Malim, towards the end of 1968 and would used to visit him & occasionally with Mum. We would take the south-bound Morning Express from Ipoh. The Tanjung Malim Railway was just outside the town center town center. Dad would come down from his abode in the rubber plantation to meet us.

Tanjung Malim is a border town and is on this side of the Perak Stated with Selangor. It is growing to be the Proton City.

2nd half of 1970/s - Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur –
- From 1977 to 1980.

During the college days, KTM was one of the regular mode commuting from Ipoh to KL during the term break. The journey would take 3 hours or so, if there is no delay. And compared to the express bus plying the trunk road – as the North-South Highway was not ready yet, the railway was a viable alternative.

2nd half 1980’s into early 1990’s – to Singapore

These journeys were especially memorable – going down to Singapore for job interview, and would take the over- night train leaving KL for Singapore.

In the early 1990’s would continue to take the train to and from Ipoh-Singapore occasionally till the service stopped. It’s a long ride starting in the morning and if there was not delay would reach the destination on time in the evening. However, punctuality was not a pride of service of the KTM, as with the Japanese railway system.

With the much delayed completion of the dual track link between KL and Ipoh, and since December 2008, there is a regular daily shuttle service between the two cities. However the south-bound over night train direct from Ipoh to Singapore has been withdrawn and commuters will now have to transit in KL to catch the southbound train for Singapore.

Perhaps the dream track would be a shinkansen line between Singapore –KL-Ipoh-Penang.

However, with budget airlines flying to Ipoh from June 2008, it would perhaps it would take another 50 years.

Postscript –

1. 萬里望狮城

Punning on the Chinese name for my hometown 萬里望 – Wanliwang - town with a ten thousand li view - 萬里望狮城 – wanli wang shicheng – means viewing the Lion City from 10,000 (ten thousand) li.

Or, inverting the phrase - 狮城萬里望 – shicheng wanli wang - it literary means - to look a 10,000 li from the Lion City - that is, looking far and wide from the Lion City -

Instead of - 狮城萬里望　－it is - 狮城千里望 – because hometown - 家乡 - jiaxiang - Menglembu - 萬里望- in 5 km south west of Ipoh – is closer to 1,000 km north.


Reference:

1. Menglembu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menglembu

2. 里 - Li
The li (里,) is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer (c. 1640 feet).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_(unit)

3. Tanjung Malim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanjung_Malim

4. KTM - Keretapi Tanah Melayu

- Malaysia Railway Authority
http://www.ktmb.com.my/

-//-

kenanagan gambar lama - 老照片

Disebaik setiap gambar lama adalah cerita-nya. Inilah sedikit sebanyak cerita sebuah panggung wayang di Bandarraya Ipoh yang tidak wujud lagi.

Captiol Cinema – antara theatre dengan cinema

Tarih yang tertulis di belakang gambar ini adalah 28.7.39, jadi umur gamar in hampir 70 tahun. Bagunan ini adalah sebuah panggung wayang lama yang terletak di lot sebelah Jalan Anderson and Jalan Theatre, Ipoh. Tetapi, kerana di jilat api beberapa tahun dahulu, pawagam in tidak dapat di nampak lagi pada hari in.

Tempat ini dibiar kosong. Kawsan-nya berrumput lalang dan lot ini disewa lekat kereata, sebagaimana lot-lot kosong dipusat bandaraya Ipoh kini.

Nama pawagam ini ialah Capitol, atau dalam bahasa logat Kanton (Cantonese) , bahasa berkomunikasi penduduk-penduduk kelompok majoriti orang keturunan Cina di-Ipoh adalah – Gi’ing dou - 京都 – ( Jingdu - dalam Bahasa Mandarin).

Locasi panggung wayang ini terbaik sekali, dan ia tepat di pusat Badar Baru Ipoh. Jalan di sebelahnya, Jalan Theatre –戏院街 – heiyin gai – (xiyuan jie - mungkin dapat namanya kerana panggung wayang lama yang asal berada disini.

Apa yang aku ingat kemungkinannya, adalah sebelum Pawagam Capitol baru ini yang dibina di sini, ia terlah wujud - 戏院 - heiyin - iaitu – theatre (dalam Bahasa Inggerris), disini.

Panggung wayang ini mempentaskan wanyang-wayang Cina, yang di-panggil – daihie – 大戏 -(daxi) . Daihei – atau wayang tradisi orang Cina, terutamanya opera Kantonis, adalah hiburan halayak ramai masyarakat Cina Ipoh, sebelum kedatangan wayang filem, atau movie. Wayang opera tradisi ini masih dipentaskan, tetapi selalunya dikuil-kuil, semasa beradanya kerayaan ditokong.

Sesungguhnya, bangunan yang menayang wayang-wayang filem dipanggil cinema – ia itu – 电影院 - dianyinggyuan – (dalam Bahasa Mandarin), dan bukan theatre – atau 戏院 – xiyuan. Jadi, bila bangungan cinema Capitol dibina, jalan di sebelabnya terus di panggil orangramai Jalan Theatre – atau Theatre Street, dan tidak ditukar ke Jalan Cinema.

Sampai masa sekarang, masyarakat Cina Ipoh masih memanggil pawagam-pawangam sebagi - heiyuen –戏院- (xiyuan) – atau theatre, contohnya - 丽都戏院 – Laidou heiyin – (Lidu xiyuan) - Lido Theatre - dan ini adalah satu panggilan salah. Ia mesti dipanggil sebagai –电影院- dinyingyuen – (dianyingyuan) - ia itu cinema , sebab apa yang ditayang adalah wayang filem, dan bukan wayang lakonan pentas.

Gambar lama Pawagam Capitol ini, mungkin diambil, tidak beberapa lama setelah pawagam ini siap di bina, ia itu ditahun 1930an. Ia terlihat baru, sebagaimana bangunanan-bangunan di Ipoh pada masa itu. Badar Ipoh sebulum Perang Dunia Kedua adalah sebuah bandar baru merancang yang terbersih dan mewah, terutamanya Bandar Baru Ipoh, di Persekutuan.

Mungkin Capitol adalah pawagam moden di Ipoh yang menayangkan wang filem yang terawal sekali.

Jalan-jalan raya disebelah Capitol kelihatan sunyi dan tidak ada kederaan kecuali sebuah basikal letak didepan pawagam. Disebelah kanan hujung gambar terlihat se-dua orang jalan kaki, dan antaranya seorang lelaki yang memakai baju & seluar panjang putih belaka dan bertopi hunter (hunter’s hat) . Ini adalah fesyen kolonial pada zaman pemerintah British, awal abad keduapuluhan dulu.

Tayangan Capitol – filem 1960an yang masih ingat

Pawagam Capitol mengembalikan kenangan-kenagan manis zaman 1960an, apabila saya masih seorang budak. Terus sampai ke tahun 70an, banyak wayang filem Shaw Brothers - 邵氏兄弟 - dari Hong Kong, ditoton di panggung ini.

Antaranya wayang filem enampuluhan yang masih ingatilagi adalah:

1. 杨乃武与小白菜 – The Adultress - 1963

Filem ini ditonton dengan ibu-bapa. Pada masih itu aku mungkin umur 6-7tahun. In-lah sebuah filem yang terawal yang saya lihat dan dapat ingati lagi.

2。山歌恋 - The Shepherd Girl - 1964

Filem in adalah satu muzikal – lagu-lagu nyanyain corak ‘mountain folk’. Filem in ditonton dengan makcik, ia itu kak sulong bapa. Makcik masih dating lagi, dan filem init dilihat dengan kawan lelakinya. Pada masa itu saya masih seorang budak darjah satu atau dua, di Sekolah Rendah Anglo-Chinese.

3。 大醉侠 - Come Drink With Me - 1966

Filem in ditoton dengan kakak dan kawan sekolahnya. Filem –sword fighting – ini adalah satu sensasi hebat, dan panggung wayang sesak belaka setiap tayangan.

Ada banyak lagi wayang filem lain yang ditoton di panggung Capitol, dan juga di panggung wayang lain di badar Ipoh.

Pada masa germilang bandar Ipoh setlah Perang Dunia Dua, dari 1950an, di pusast bandar baru sahaja mempunyai 10 buah panggung – ia itu kawasan Ipoh New Town. Namanya berikut -

Lido - 丽都
Cathay - 国泰
Ruby - 宝石
Capitol – 京都
Odeon – 高亭
Grand – 大光
Eastern (?)－东方
Rex – 丽士
Majestic – 大华
Star –星光

Panggung wayang ini adalah satu-satunya kenangan - childhood to adulthood – saya di Ipoh.


Postscript –

1. Of the Malay language course

The last since I wrote in Malay was close to over 30years ago .

Being in an English medium school, there was only one Malay language course through out the whole education from primary to secondary school, with the highest Malay langauge examination being the Malaysian Certififcate of Examination / MCE in Form Five.

For what ever reasons, Malay was something to be feared then– cos if one failed it, one would flop the whole examination.

Perhaps it’s akin to the underpinning psychological stress of what the Singaporean students have for their mother tongue - the Chinese Language – where you need to pass it to pass the examination.

To keep in touch with the Malay langauge, have been listening to the RTM news, forum and documentary programs.

Whatever it is – interesting try to recall many of the words and sentences, and you never know that you really don’t know the word until you try to start to write it down in a sentenc.

To connect with our Malay friends and with this part of the SEA, knowing Malay is a re-requisite. Knowing another language is a window to another world.

Can cope with yet another language... ? MM says Malay important !

So much on learning the Malay language ...

2. Of Ipoh –

Found this book at the Tampines Library:

怡保城乡散记 - Yibao cheng xiang san ji -
Random notes on Ipoh and its surroundings
Author: Zhu Zongxian zhu/ 朱宗贤著 (1931 - )

The author was a Chinese school teacher in Ipoh, and this was a compilation of his recollections of Ipoh and its surrounding towns from the pre-war years to the present. It’s written in Chinese, and thus you have to know Chinese to read it.

http://thefreemedia.com/index.php/weblog/16197

http://johnnyseah.blogspot.com/2007/03/blog-post.html

http://blog.yam.com/ngnf/article/10330874

http://newarrivals.nlb.gov.sg/itemdetail.aspx?bid=12886794

3. Ipoh - Old road names -

To fellow Ipoh folks where the streets will forever be the Hugh Low or the Brewster's,

Not that we'll love the town less with the new names, it is the connection with history - of the town that tin built -

Anderson Road – Jalan Raja Musa Azia
Cockman Street – Jalan Dato Oon Jaffar
Cowan Street – Jalan Raja Ekram
Hugh Low Street – Jalan Sultan Iskandar
Brewster Road – Jalan Sultan Idris Shah
Osborne Street – Jalan Tahwil Azhar
Hume Street - Jalan Mesjid

Reference -

http://ipoh.com.my/map/ipoh/




--//--

...of the architectural link to being bi-lingual & bi-cultural

It had been a long time since I read an English book – and this book from the Tampines Library was an interesting read -

1. Liang & Lin - Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past

In the dedication page the author wrote –

For our children and theirs –

It was a touching story. A story of dedication to their work, of perseverance against extreme hardship & even while seeking shelter in the remotest part of China away from the bombs and guns, Sicheng – Liang Sicheng - 梁思成 (1901-1972) the architect continued to work on his research and drawings. Amongst the many contributions to the architectural history of China – one of hi well known work was the pioneering research on the architectural history of China – written in modern architectural language, and first published in English.

The draft of this book was done over the 8years of Sino-Japanese War in China (1937 – 1945), and it had a very odd connection with Singapore

The heroic tale of this loving couple however had a sad end to their lives. The vivacious Whei – Lin Huiyin - 林徽因 (1904-1954) – writer, poet, cultural historian, and last but not least a loving wife of Sicheng - died of tuberculosis, in the early 1950/s, while Liang, as with all intellectuals who remained behind in New China even tho he had the opportuniy to leave – was struggled against by the system and died a sad man in the early 1970/s while the country was still in the throes of the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution.

This story of the lives of the Liang’s , especially the pre-New China period ( pre-1949) would not have been known and left in vivid memories to the children of the two families, and their posterities living on opposite side of the Pacific Ocean had it not been for this true and lasting friendship between the author Wilma and her husband, John and the Liang’s.

From their first chanced meeting in old Beijing in the early 1930/s, when the Fairbank’s went to China to pursue their research in Chinese studies and history – it was mutual attraction for the young couples. They would converse in English – for the Liang’s were educated in the US, - while Wilma could hardly able to speak in Chinese when she first arrived. Moreover with the Liang’s intricate knowledge of Chinese culture and history – for they were offspring of famously scholar families – it was perfect network for the Fairbanks’s to things Chinese.

During their stay in China, Wilma and JOhn shared many a happy and adventurous time with the Liang’s – joining their friends for afternoon tea, and going with them in the 1930/s to rural China on an architectural field trip to study buildings from the Song Dynasty (960-1278CE)

The steadfast friendship and bond established - see them thro wars and revolutions, and to the reader, Wilma came across as a very dear & loyal friend – assisting Sicheng in whatever way she could to help him in his academic work and with material assistance during the war years. Wilma played a crucial role in helping to get this book – A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture - published

2. A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture

If Jackie Chan did not reneged on his pledge and his donation of old wooden houses from China had mad their way to the new university in the north-east, it would have been a story to tell how the coup was scored.

However the making of this book on Chinese architecture had an earlier tale and link -

The queer circumstances that connected this book to Singapore was an unglamorous one though. The illustrations that adorn the book had for a period of time were kept in Singapore, by a C Lau.

Wilma, who helped edit and publish this book in 1984, twelve years after Sicheng pass way, however mentioned in the Afterword in Liang and Lin – a grudging gratitude to C Lau – as the drawings were intact and in good condition after nearly twenty-three yeas.

C Lau had kept the ‘lost’ package of illustrations sent her by Wilma as directed by Sicheng in 1957. However, for whatever reasons C Lau who was then an architectural student in UK, had kept the parcel and did not forward it on to Sicheng. She subsequently brought it back with her to Singapore.

When China opened up and in 1978, Wilma heard thro a friend that visited China that a professor friend of Sicheng mentioning that Sicheng did not received the drawings from her. This set her puzzled and she felt indignant, and set about determined to find where the parcel went. After much detective work, Wilma traced the whereabouts of C Lau to her address in Singapore, and subsequently the parcel was miraculously recovered again in 1980.

The architectural drawings of ancient temples, pagodas and structures of Old China that are in this award winning book – A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture. – had been kept in a corner in a corner of Singapore. The drawings traveled from China to the US in 1947 and from the US to England in 1957 and then from there to Singapore. After twenty-three years, the package was sent back to the rightful owner – Lin Zhu in 1980 by C Lau thro express mail from Singapore, and after much prodding from Wilma.


3. 城记 – The Record of Beijing

While Liang & Lin – describes the pre-1949 life of Siceng and Whei, their trails and tribulation in New China could be glimpsed in this book - 城记 – 看不见的北京城- chengji – kan bu jian de Beijing cheng – the invisible walls of Beijing.

This book is about how the walls of old Beijing came to be torn down, though there was a strong push by academicians to have them preserved. And center among them was Sicheng.

Post 1949 – Shiceng’s life was one on unending crusade to preserve the historical structures of Beijing – and prime among them were the magnificent walls and gates that encircled old Beijing. These walls build during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) and more than 400 years old. However, his was a futile struggle, and the walls were gone.

The author - Wang Jun - 王军 - had given the book and English titles - The Record of Beijing. Perhaps it was in deference to Sicheng, and his earlier work – A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture. He and Whei were both bi-lingual and bi-cultural. Other than the title – this book is written in Chinese and I do not think that there is an English edition out yet.

Perhaps Sicheng and Whei – were born in the wrong period and wrong city, and possibly too advanced in their ideals in preserving the historical architectural structures of Beijing. Though these structures could be dilapidated, worn, and a hindrance to city traffic, the couple saw them as representing the soul and cultural roots and identity of the city. You tear them down and the city would be dead and your cultural identity scarred and lost forever.

For the idealism that they have for their be-loved city could not dove-tail with the vision of their new political masters. In rebuilding a new socialist China where the five red stars shone over the Tiananmen Square – the old must give way to new, however much Sicheng justified that the great walls were the handicraft of the proletariats.

For Sicheng – demolishing the East and West Gates that stood astride the left and right entrances of Changan Road into Tiananmen Square then, was like chipping off his left and right shoulders.

To read this book – you will need to know Chinese, and I don’t think there is an English translation, yet.

…Well, you see – tell you to learn Chinese and you don’t want. Better start learning Mandarin - 华语 - now ne – not only to speak but to read too -

It’ the month of the - Speak Mandarin Campaign - 华人华语 . There is much more than just solving the riddles in – 华文谁怕谁! - huawen shui pa shui - Mandarin - fear you not !


Postscript –

1. Chinese architecture and old Beijing walls and all

Ever interested in Chinese Architecture first came across the bilingual version of – A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture – in 2001. This was a re-print of the 1991 first bi-lingual edition.

While on biz trip to Hsinchu, - 新竹- Taiwan in 2005 – I came across the book – 城记 - A Record of Beijing – and ever interested in old Beijing and her walls, I bought the book. It is a chronology on the call to develop a master-city plan for the capital of New China – and woven with it the tale of Sicheng’s crusade to preserve the walls from demoliton.

The glimpses of life lives of Sicheng and Whei is made more complete after reading - Liang & Lin , Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past – a new copy of the paperback version was on displayed at Tampines library, which I chanced upon. Wilma drew from the letters between her the Liang’s - spanning from the 1930/s and into the mid-1950/s.

2. Lin Zhu -林洙 - was Sicheng student and daughter of a close family friend. Lin Zhu married Sicheng, in the 1960/s - as much a companion as to take care of him in his later years. A virtue of young Chinese ladies – which have many examples – such as the marriage of a young Soong Mei-ling to Sun Yat-sen who was in his later years.

3. Speak Mandarin Campaign. 华人华语 -

The bi-cultural, bi-lingual cream of the greater Chinese community - could present day Singapore produce the likes of Sicheng and Whei? I am afraid not.

Singapore no longer has the - 低温 - diwen - the foundation and climate – to geminate this unique bi-lingual bi-cultural cream. The success of Speak Mandarin Camping – which started off as - 多讲话， 少讲方言 – Speak more Mandarin, and less dialect – has produced a new generation of Singaporeans – whose first language is English, and with Mandarin - supposedly the mother tongue - as a distant second.

On the recent debate on dialects – and for those who thought that there is a value in it – they were berated as STUPID – on the suggestion of reviving the speaking of dialects. I think much of the debate is missing the jungle for the trees or the trees for the jungle.

With the effectiveness of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in diverting families from dialects to Mandarin, and with an education process, and a society that readily embraces western norms and cultures - and the bulk of the society and the elites are now invariably culturally illiterate with regards things Chinese.

The debate on dialects is more form then the substance. Without a strong ethnic cultural identity, Singaporeans, especially the Chinese-Helicopters (Singaporeans who graduated from mainstream - Chinese medium schools - defunct ) who made it in China, are concern that the young will be side-lined by China Chinese.


References:

1. Liang & Lin - Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural Past
Wilma Fairbank, University of Pennsylvania 1994
First paper back edition – 2008

2. A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture - A bilingual Edition
By Liang Ssu-ch’ng,,

图像中国建筑史
梁思成　英文原著
费慰梅　编　梁从诫译
百花文艺出版社出版发行，２００１年一月第一版

2001.9.15, 星州商务

(Original:
Liang Ssu-ch’ng
A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture, ed Wilma Fairbank. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press 1984.)

3. 城记 - – 看不见的北京城 – The Record of Beijing.
王军， 高谈文化事业有限公司， 2005

购于-
台湾新竹新光三越
NT400， 2005。2。22 元宵前夕

Links:

1. Speak Mandarin Campaign - 2009

http://www.mandarin.org.sg/2009/

http://www.thechinesechallenge.sg/

2. Liang Sicheng

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_Sicheng

---------//

通勤の５９６３ - ハロシンガポール

先月の中旬から事務室は元十九年前の場所の隣に移動し、それは　－德普路　－にある。朝の通勤は公衆バスなので、家は島の東周辺からやや中央部の西の方へ距離は２５キロくらいで、時間できには、約一時間半もかかります。

そして、目的地までに時間がたぷりありますから、バス内に何かやろうかと、時間がもったいないしないようにとおもう。しかし最近夜はあまり睡眠不足もあり、毎朝普段は何もやらず、バスに乗りすぐ、座ったまま二度目に席に寝てしみいます。　

しかし近頃、寝るよりももっと役に立つことを捜した、それは、通勤のゴクロサーン 。

通勤の同時に、FM 96.3 ととも、日本の曲、情報を聞きながら、都会の市内の観光もなれ。

これはその二月の最後の職業日、金曜日朝の記事とその連想のこと　

7:38am：
- Temasek Poly – East Gate バス停留所- 23番号バスに乗り、Sony Ericsson 携帯電話のラジオをつけ、

It’s after the 7:00am morning main news bulletin - a relay of the news from NHK Japan.

The station started broadcast from 6:50am on weekdays from Mon to Friday. – with a 5 minute - ラジオ体操　- rajo taisoo － which to any Japanese would be a familiar tune to start the day with It’s a morning exercise tune that has its beginning it seems in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics - 45 years ago. As such a generation and a half of Japanese has been doing their daily morning calisthenics with this tune be it in school, factory, etc – ichi, ni, san, shi….

The program was dotted with a number of Japanese hits, and this was one of the starters　

Diamond Dust – by Kimura Kyotsuke came on the air, which was a birthday request on Happy Time –

Advertisement:
皆さんのお祝いでフオリブズケーキを...

- from Four Leaves cake shop – for your celebration. .. The cake shop is sponsoring cake for listeners with birthday request.

The Morning Navigator for the day was Sakamoto Megumi. Fax you happy birthday wishes and song request to 6258-5693. Mejumi-san the FM96.3 J Plus DJ awaiting your request, or e-mail her at 5963@ gomm.com.sg…

The jingle-
‘Hello Singapore, konnichiwa Japan, hi, to the world, FM96.3, J Plus’

Along PIE – at next the Paya Lebar Exit:
- A grey Friday morning sky which was liven up by a dash of pinkish purple bougainvillea blossom along the expressway divider.

Next a very Japanese song － 懐かしいの名曲をおとこけする　－

夜空- Yozora - by Itsuki Hiroshi - 五木ひろし

It’s the 45th anniversary of Ituski Hiroshi since his debut with – 横浜たそがれ - Yokohama Tasogare

Hiroshi Istuki – one of the top - 演歌 - enka - veteran in Japan . His Japanese equivalent of the – country and western – never fails to pull at the heart strings of the ojisan & obasan – the uncles and aunties.

Yozora – Night Sky - an enka hit in the early 1980/s.

A stanza or two of the lyrics -
細い風の引き笛 ( light winds and cajoling of the flute)
夜空いつも一人ぼち　　（under the night sky ever alone）

7:56am:
- Getting off PIE and turning into Bendemeer Road. Passenger alighiting at - After Jalan Kolam Ayer バス停

時刻は七時五七分、交情報のお知らせです。Megumi-san came on with the traffic report. It’s relatively smooth following along the highways-

8:00am:
- ジジ通信社の提供で、ジジのニーズです。

Sponsored by JiJi News service, it’s an update of local happenings and international news.

8:03am:
– Approaching the junction of Bendemeer Road & Lavender Street and heading towards Jalan Besar.

The huge characters - 河南大厦 – Honan Building – came into view and on the opposite side of the Jalan Besar the newly completed City Light apartments.. – dwarfing the rows of Straits shop houses.

In the early 1990s the Buddhist Library, which is now in Geylang, was located at the Honan Building.

8:05 am :
–After Allenby Road – のバス停に下り、１４７号を待つ

It’s a convenient stop to change bus and take a – break - at the newly opened City Hub Hotel – Thangam Food Palace, especially when one drank too much water during morning breakfast.

A group of tourists from India was having their breakfast – a buffet of roti and curry.

From Jalan Besar onwards – weaning into the city proper and there are rows of delightful old shop houses. One can feast one’s eyes on this older part of the city which is still relatively intact –hardware & software- with a array of pre-war to pre-independence buildings – with a uniquely Singapore architectural style – and their traditional trade.

Pawn shops in 4 languages, photo studio from the 1970/s, electrical and hardware shops that are more than half a century old -

Indirectly opposite the bus stop, it’s the – 江西会馆 – and 1946, boldly visible.

8:12am
- get on Bus # 147 乗り換え、通勤のゴクロサンを聞きにつずけた

Another request came on:
We can make it – by Arashi

You don’t need to know Japanese to understand Japanese – for many of these pop hits have titles in English – plain simple English.

The title rendered in Japanese: ウイ　キーアン　メード　イット

8:17am:
-The jingle -
‘Hello Singapore, konnichi wa Japan, hi, to the world, FM96.3 J Plus, FM96.3 J Plus ‘

8:19am:
- Heading towards the junction of Bencoolen Street and Brash Bash Road – and getting into the Singapore Management University city campus compound.

- Singapore Arts Museum on the left and on the right a little up - Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

Bus turning right and headed towards the junction of Stanford Road & Hill Street – with CHIJMES on the left -

Song request:
Oeba Furenzu– by Taeuchi Maria.

Ahead it’s the - Singapre Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Armenian Church, the Central Fire Station, and the building with colorful louvered windows – that houses the MITA – Ministry of Information and the Arts - was the Old Hill Street Police Station.

Next the Singapore River came into view - with the Coleman Bridge - demarking the - Little City - 小坡 - and the - Big City - 大坡– with New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen – Street leading into Chinatown – 牛车水.

The Chinese New Year decorations are still up despite it being a month and more after the festival.

Perhaps we really need keep the bulls around in these gloomy times to reverse the ever down trend - 牛转乾坤.

8:29am:
- Another song request:

夢のつぼみ　ｂｙ　　リミオロメン

This song - yume no tsubomi - has gotten into the J One - pop chart, Megumi-san, pre-empted on what to expect later in the count down.

Advertisement came on:
'Canon delighting you always .'

すぎはキャーノンパワショトの提供です
Sponsored by Canon – an update on the sports & entertainment scenes in Japan -

以上、スポツの最新情報です、

'Canon delighting you always .'

すぎは芸能ニースです…

With the daily morning dose of Canon – the likes of Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Dell - would be hard press to make a break into the Japanese expatriate market.

ご連絡をお待ちしています

8:33 am:
- After Blair Roadバス停

From the junction of Lavender Street - Jalan Besar – for the past 30 minutes – it was a journey thro the heart of Singapore – from the old to the historic.

This bus stop marks the end of the rows of Straits houses and shop houses, traveling from east to west - the most famous of which is the Baba House.

Well, not forgetting another historical landmark in this vicinity - the Singapore General Hospital. Within the hospital compound there is a cross that marks the atrocities of 1942..

8:35am:
- The jingle -
‘Hi to the world, FM96.3, J Plus, J Plus’

Coming on the air next was the Friday special - J One Hit Chart :

第６位..　
リミオロメン - 夢のつぼみ - Yume no tsubomi 　- by 　Rimio romen 　　
This is a new entry ー　ニューエントリ　ー　to the chart

第五位　　
浜崎　はゆみ - Dreams - by Hamasaki Hayumi
Another new entry and the promotional video was filmed in Shanghai -– 上海で撮えプロモション　ビデオ

第三位
まえおか　- Stay - by Maeoka

第二位
。。。(did not catch it – was getting ready to alight at the next stop)

第一位
あらし　- Beautiful Day - by Arashi

This hit moved one rank up from last week - 先週からOne rank up

J　Ｏｎｅ　ヒットチヤットはいかがでしたか？How’s the J-One count down? It was hosted by a pair of co-ed DJ/s -

And as usual with a mix of Japanese and English – and - you don’t need to understand Japanese to know Japanese –

For it is peppered with enough of English for you to follow thro and to enjoy the hits –

Talking about fusion dishes – this fusion of Japanese-English languages in the counting down has been a staple since…

Time machine:
1982 - Tokyo 横浜留学生寮 – foreign students dormitory : 先週から one rank up, ニューエントリー、etc -

8:47am:
- After Jalan Kilang Timor – Opposite Blk 28 バス停, Jalan Bukit Merahに下車, 事務室へ徒歩１０くらい . 途中ＫＴＭ－鉄度線とＰＩＥ高速道路に掛ける歩行者用橋渡り

Advertisement:
'CROWN ＬＩＮＥ 日本の心をおはこびます...'
-Planning to move house? Crown Line – delivers with warmth

8:52am:
-The jingle:
‘Hello Singapore, FM96.3 J Plus , J Plus’

The day ended with a studio tour –

On that Friday morning - 27th Feb, lead by two of their Japanese teachers, a group of 36 NUS taking from the Japanese Language Center cramped into the FM96.3 studio and Megumi-san went live with them –

Well, that's it　－ ご苦労さん　－GOKUROSAN 。

A daily journey commuting thro the heart of Singapore on # 147 while pluging on to the info-taiment channel of 5963　- FM96.3 - J Plus 。



Postscript -

1. 通勤　の　5963

5963:
Punning on– 5963 – pronounced in Japanese as - GOKUROSAN – which could be written as – ご苦労さん　― a polite phrase to show gratitude and encouragement.

The equivalent phrase in Chinese would be – 辛苦了 - xinku le – which means – you are tired, sorry to have caused you to work so hard.

通勤 - tsuうkin – meaning to commute to work
Traveling to work is really tough job nowadays – why you don’t know if you would have your job next -

Well, 確かにそうですね、通勤のご苦労さ。


２. 江西会馆 　－Ｊｉａｎｇｘｉ　Ｃｌａｎ　Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ　－　ａｌｏｎｇ　Ｊａｌａｎ　Ｂｅｓａｒ

Well, talking about Jiangxi - 江西- a province from Northern Guangdong to the south of the Yantze River - towards the a recently discovery from conversation with a 79―year old maternal uncle while back in the home town in December vacation last year, that my maternal great-grand father was actually a native of Jiangxi – 江西 - a cloth merchant who plied his trade into the Hakka heartlands of Southern Guangdong province – .

Of Jiangxi – it is the home province of - Ouyang Xiu – 欧阳修 - (1007-1072) – one of the great Northern Song Dynasty ｐoet & statesman. Learning his poem - A Ballard of the Drunkard Pavilion –醉翁亭记 – . It’s especially good for relieving stress when he takes you into the woods for a drinking party.
。
Perhaps, maternal great-grandpa’s home village could be from the same village as this great man - Ouyang Xiu’s. Oh no,, it couldn’t be, mum’s family name was Lim anyway, and not Ouyang - 欧阳.


Addendum:

To: 5963@comm.com.sg

Subject: Song request　－ 懐かしの名曲 放送時間：毎週月曜日～金曜日　午前7:17-7:24
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:58:03 +0000

ＦＭ９６．３　Ｊ－ＰＬＵＳモーニングナビゲターＤＪさん、坂本さん　

こんにちは、 この曲をリクエストをいただきたいです　
－結婚するって本当ですか

最近毎朝の通勤の時、ＦＭ９６．３　Ｊ－ＰＬＵＳを耳に向き、それは日本語の勉強としてをしながら、懐かしい日本語の名曲もたのしんでいます。始めてこの曲を聴いたのはもう３０年もたちました。（もう年寄りのおじさんなんです。）

それは、１９８１年のこと。その年の春、初めて日本へ留学生しにいきました。　最初の半年は大阪外国語大学で半年の日本語のコースを受けました。先生は私たち学生にこの曲をおしえてくれました。とても良い歌だと思って、私の懐かしい日本語の名曲のTop-Ten チャートの中にいすも入っています。

If you could kindly please play this song on a Friday morning - after the 7:00am news between 7:15am to 8:00am. If you could have the time in your program, please play the complete song. Sometimes I find that the natsukashii uta was cut too short - and could only enjoy part of the song. Thank you very much in advance. Have a good day and happy DJ-ing.

Best regards,
コンケン






--/

星州百姓庆己丑 - celebrating the year of the ox with the lao baixing – the connection hence

这个新年待在狮城 过牛年，和往年不同而又过得特别的不一样。虽然人在星州，但好像是在中国过年似的。自所以说好像在中国过年似的是因为初一初二在牛车水一带所遇到的都是来自中国的男女士们。本岛的华人从年三十除夕在牛车水办好年货后都躲在家里或到亲属朋友们家拜年去了。

牛车水就交给了- 有朋从远方而来的中国百姓们， 亲也，乐也!

The Lunar New Year period holidays were spent in Chinatown – together with the mainlanders – baixing - 百姓. They are the common folks who are here as foreign labors, students, and without a better place to hang out, they gathered in Chinatown – to be with their own kind and to seep in whatever air of festivities that the sights and sounds the Chinatown could bring them.

With the local eateries all closed for two consecutive days, the only place that one could have lunch and dinner was at the restaurants run by the Chinese – that is the Chinese Chinese.

Well to differentiate the Chinese Chinese from the Singaporean Chinese, let’s refer to them as the Chinese from the mainland or the Mainlanders for short (this reference here is purely for ethnic identity, and with respect).

The fellow ethnic Chinese from China mainland are by and large different from the local Singaporean Chinese. Different – is because this wave of immigration of the 21st century is from the Northern and interior provinces of China, while the early immigrants of our forefather’s time were from the South-easterly costal regions and the island of Hainan.

The overhead bridge garden was a convenient and busy gathering point for the migrant workers who had a long holiday break. I had a chance to join in and listen to the conversation that this local old man had on the evening of the First Day of the Year of Jichou - 己丑年 - with the three fellow Mainlanders.

The local old man – let’s refer to him as Ah Pek –阿伯- uncle in Hokkien - is in his sixties, and probably a resident of Ngau Chiar Shui - 牛车水- Chinatown in Cantonese - all his life. His teeth are almost gone. He did not cut his hair for the New Year, perhaps he has not much left, and is the typical kopitiam - coffee joint ala carte local flavor - Ah Pek.

Together with him were two other local Singaporean Chinese, but because they could not speak Mandarin, this Ah Pek was the live wire, interpreter and spokesman for the mini New Gathering of the baixing –百姓- the hundred surnames – meaning the common folks.

What was interesting of this conversation was that – this Ah Pek is perhaps typical of the older generation of Chinese educated Singaporean Chinese, who still has a feel and connection with the fellow Mainlanders – verbally and culturally. A passing breed –

He introduced to the fellow Mainlanders that he is by dialect group Cantonese, while his two other fellow local Singaporean is Hokkien, and Teochew. He spoke in a mix of Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and English. Whatever his two other fellow Singaporeans who could not connect with the Mainlanders in English, he helped them interpret to Mandarin.

He asked which part of China the Mainlanders were from and they replied – Henan – 河南省and Hunan 湖南. When he heard Henan – he immediately mentioned – Justice Bao – and sang and an aria from the popular TV drama series – Bao Qing Tian – 包青天-the incorruptible judge of the Song Dynasty – 宋朝 - 960 – 1279CE. And said the song Justice Bao is popular among the common folks here. Well, the cultural connection!

On Hunan, he mentioned Mao Zedong – 毛泽东- and Zhu Rongji - 朱镕基. Perhaps because it the Lunar New Year and with all its custom, beliefs and traditions, he proudly mentioned that Mao advocated atheism – wusen lun – 无神论- and demonstrated courage and break away with traditions. He mentioned that without Mao’s foundation, there would not be China today. You see, the depth and interest he knew of China !

Interestingly, he mentioned that previously the government was suspicious of Chinese education, and he was indignant about it. At the sideline listening, I was wondering how much the Mainlanders could relate to this episode of the local history where the Chinese schools in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula then, from the 1950/s to the 1970/s, were the hot spot of communist infiltrators.

On Zhu Rongji, Ah Pek spoke with respect and deference, and said that the former Premier Zhu had never allowed his children to be in politics - whether it is a fact or not. Well, …

He also jokingly related the difference between Cantonese - 粤语 - yueyu - and Mandarin –which he refers to as Guoyu - 国语 the National Language – that is – Mandarin or Putonghua – 普通话- which Taiwan -the Republic of China - still uses. He mentioned that in Mandarin, one would greet each other as - Ni hao ma or Hao bu Hao?– 你好吗? or 好不好? - in Cantonese he said that it would be disrespectful to use Ni hao ma - especially to female for cos in Cantonese - hao bu hao 好不好- means – are you sexy or not! In Cantonese hao means - sexy! Here, the ethnic connection!

Well, so much for the all the Bull… shit, it's time to leave for dinner!

It’s to North-Eastern China – Dong Bei Restaurant- 东北菜馆– at Mosque Street - for a treat of jiao zhi - 饺子- meat dumpling – a must have tradition in the Northern Provinces of China – regions north of the Yangzi River - 扬子江。

After dinner, it was off to the nearby LianZhong Wangba - 联众网吧- internet café to enjoy the recording of the – Spring Festival Year End Gala - Chunjie Lianhuan Wanhui – 春节联欢晚会。

A hundred years hence, 2109 - perhaps, it will be left to the descendants of these Mainlanders to make the connect with the Mainland…


Postscript -

1. Baixing – 百姓

Usually use with the adjective lao – 老 – Lao Baixing – 老百姓 - an intimate term – to mean the common folks.

President Hu and Premier Wen spent their New Year with the Lao Baixing in Jingangshang – 井冈山- the cradle of Chinese Communism, and the Wenchuan – 汶川- the epicenter of the Sichaun earthquake, respectively.


2. 己丑年 – Year of Yichou

The naming of the year using the Ten Heavenly Stems – 天干- tian gan - and the Twelve Earthly Branches – 地支 - dizhi - began more than 3000 years ago – with a cycle of 60years - is much older in origin than the 12 Chinese Zodiac cycle – 十二生肖。


3. 春节联欢晚会 - The Spring Festival Year End Gala

The Year End Gala Performance by CCTV broadcast on the eve of Lunar New Year - into it’s 28 odd years started with China opening up in 1978 - is a must see for the Chinese. It is as much a New Year traditional to the Chinese, as to the Japanese watching the - Red & White Song Festival - 红白歌合战大会 - broadcast by NHK on 31Dec, each year.




//--

this my kampong stay i will - the asli of ulu kinta

It brings to mind the poem - Record of The Peach Blossom Garden - 桃花源记 by Tao Yuan Ming - 陶渊明 (372-427AD) who lived during the Eastern Jin period - 东晋 .

阡陌交通，鸡犬相闻。其中往来种作，男女衣着，悉如外人，黄发垂髫，并怡然自乐

Though it is not a path leading to the paddy fields, but a winding mountain road along a fast flowing mountain stream to a kampong, the description is of a peaceful and secluded place - where one hears the chicken and the dogs, where the old and the young are content and happy in one with nature. For a while it seems like I was in Tao’s Shangri-la – away from the maddening crowd, where time seems to have stood still, and life is simple and carefree. And it is surprising close to ‘civilization’.

The house is of bamboo walls, and the roof thatched with attap. Once warm up to the presence of strangers, the children and elders are friendly and they seem not to mind the intrusion of outsiders.

They are the Orang Asli – aborigines – of Ulu Kinta is a peaceful tribe living inn the outskirt of Ipoh 24 km odd in the North-easterly direction towards Tanjung Rambutan, on the foothills of the Main Range in Peninsula Malay.

The Orang Asli are the ‘original people’ of the Kinta Valley. They were here when Kinta was but a thick impregnable jungle and the only access was through the Kinta River and its tributaries. They speak a language different from Malay and the valley is the abode of the Senoi. Many years back I went to see the prehistoric Tambun Cave Paintings, and these paintings were possibly the master pieces left by the ancestors of these children. These paintings were 2000 years old, and the only rock art in Malaysia found to be drawn using heamatite (iron rust) while the others were painted with charcoal.

The usefulness of tin to the industrial age of from the later half of 19th century, and the subsequent discovery that there was an abundance of it the Kinta Valley opened up this area as the new frontier for tin mining. By then the mines in the Larut Valley with Taiping as the center, were beginning to be exhausted.

This group of children has the river and mountain as their play yard. They fear not the water rapid. They just stripped and leapt from the rocky slope and dived into the fast flowing waters just so as to impress this outsider and be captured in his 21st century trapping - the Sony Ericsson hand phone camera.

As a trade, the Orang Asli folks still gather petai from the jungle and sell to the middle man. The pungent jungle pea, which like durian - king of fruits with creamy seeds in a thony husk - you either like it or you don’t. It is deliciously crunchy when cook in spices and shrimps.

A thousand seven to eight hundred odd years ago when Tao Yuan Ming wrote this poem was written, the ancestors of this outsider were possibly still living in the plains of north China. Over the many thousand of years while the ancestors of this outsider have migrated far and wide with each major historic event, the Organ Asli has stayed put and faithful to their land.

Well, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, in each of us we yearn for our own - Tao Hua Yuan – the Shangri-la where living seems peacefully simple, and un-hurried.


Postscript -

1. Petai

I had wanted to by a few pods of the petai – however they were not sold loosely but in the bulk. A bundle of 200 pods – with each pod of 12 to 15 seeds– was quoted at RM80. At the NTUC supermarket – a tray of 20 odd seeds would cost S$2.50. It's 10x more.

2. Reference:

2-1. Kinta Valley – Pioneering Malaysia’s Modern Development –
Khoo Salma Nasution & Abdur-Razzaq Lubis , Perak Academy, 2005

2-2. Tao Yuan Ming -

a. Tao Hua Yuan Ji - Peach Blossom Shangri-la

Translation of passage in Chinese quoted above -

The fisherman saw paths extending among the fields inall directions, and could hear the sounds of chickens and dogs. Men and women working in the fields all wore clothing that looked like that of foreign lands. The elderly and children all seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2090/2090-0.txt

b. Tao Qian

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Qian



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a coffee to call home - 舊街場白咖啡 - white coffee a-la-carte Old Town

Despite the news of economic gloom, this trip home seems that there is something stirring in the air in Ipoh - it is getting back into life again, albeit the city center. After having hollowed out the past decade or more, the stranded developments in the city center are back into completion, and with new projects beginning piling works.

Overlooking the Kinta River not far from the St Michael Institution, there is a row of newly opened chic Riverfront café. The internationally acclaimed super star daughter of Ipoh – Michelle - was the guest-of-honour for the opening. (The other famous daughter is Sybil Kathigasu – a war heroine during the Japanese occupation). Next to it a new hotel complex is getting into works.

Closer to the older section of the Old Town, and overlooking Ipoh Padang at the Lawyer’s row – a row of pre-war shop /cum office buildings - a few modern restaurants – i.e not your usual coffee shop style eateries - are up with decent good biz during lunch break.

Well, you still have the every green eatery - the likes of the Old town White Coffee -舊街場白咖啡 – gau gai cheong bak kafe (Cantonese) jiu jia chang bai kafei- (pinyin) -and the chicken hor fun – 河粉– rice noodles.

The Old Town white coffee label has leaped into Malaysia’s coffee billboard big time. With its fragrantly thick coffee with a chocolaty flavor, the die hearts Ipoh-rians would never a second have a second thought on their choice of the cuppa – be it UCC or Starbucks coffee.

Unlike the Singapore Katong Laksa along Easst Coast Road which has a few claimants and self-declared pioneers, the true blue Old Town White coffee is clearly identifiable to the corner coffee shop on this side of the road closer to the little India of Ipoh Old Town – the Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong - 新源隆茶室- Sin Yoon Loong Coffee Shop.

Not so very long ago, a few many years back where - during the Chinese New Year festive mart at Kereta Ayer Chinatown – I was pleasantly surprised to be offered a tiny cup of the Ipoh Old Town White Coffee. Unlike the Ipoh Hor Fun, or even the Menglembu Groundnut, Old Town white coffee was a very local production and a localized name then.

Since then, as they said the rest was history. The Old Town While Coffee is getting to rival the Ipoh hor fun as the de-facto brand of Ipoh.

The Old Town White Coffee label has lent its name to a chain of coffee outlets in shopping complexes and popular joins in the cities. Like the Killiney Road Coffee or Toast - is a modern version of the traditional coffee shop.

The spark & inspiration to these local version of the café outlet would perhaps be the American coffee chain – with modern management and setting but offering a local taste and flavor.

It’s the 21st century version of the local coffee shop culture with each promoting its signature drink and specialty dish. Another modern twist of the café would be the - Hong Kong Cha Chan Tiang- 香港茶餐廰- with its never-to-miss milk tea.

Whatever the names of these modern local café outlet is – perhaps the name that would outlast it all would be the café that I saw in Ipoh , Jusco: It’s name in Chinese character is: ( well, haven’t I told you to learn Chinese, for you will miss much if you don’t)

講士講啡
- gong si gong fei –

Which literary means a place for a gentleman (or a gentlewoman) to chit and chat while having a cuppa.

Well, what ever it is the name to be, Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong – the establishment in Ipoh Old Town - will continue to serve the unending stream of Ipoh-rians , as it has done so for the past 60 odd years and more - come what may

Postscript –

1. Well, now and then the entrepreneurial Ipoh-rians will throw up a nation wide food-ie craze. Close to two decades or so back – Ipoh style western steak pioneered by Leong Foo – generated an almost nation, if not a Perak-state wide steak craze. It originated some where in the Ipoh Garden eatery where the ex-wrestler ventured into food.

2. Perhaps we have not met for over 25 odd years or more. We were once in the same class in primary school in ACS Ipoh. He is now running the coffee shop together with his brothers, and the 3rd generation Wong of Hainanese stock－海南人－, and got to know that his mum is a Hakka　－客家人。

The coffee shop biz was pioneered by the Hainanese during colonial times. And as in Singapore and rest of the Peninsula Malay – in the early days, coffee shop biz was run by Hainanese.

A Hainanese and a Hakka mix was - perhaps unique to and a product of Ipoh. For in Ipoh – the majority of the early settlers were Hakkas, with a mix of Cantonese, while the Hokkien and Teochew were the minority ethic group

Being founded as a tin-mining town, Ipoh was where the migrant Hakkas congregated. The early Hakkas ventured from their homeland as miners. And the hills and mountains of Ipoh, remained them of the homeland in the mountainous areas of North-east Guangdong – 广东省－south China.

3. 講士講啡

Or in Chinese PRC, with simplified strokes : 讲士讲啡- jiang shi jiang fei – in pinyin

gong si gong fei – is rendered in Cantonese –the lingua franca among the ethnic Chinese in Ipoh.
It is to mean:
A gentleman having a conversation in a Café or about Cafe
With the 啡 – fei - from - 咖啡 – kafei – coffee

Or the pun:

讲是讲非 – jiang shi jiang fei - to chit & chat of the right and wrong.

For : 是非 – shi fei – means right and wrong.

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out of the blue - what's your hallmark ?

1. the town painted blue
Having read of its opening in the ST, I ventured in search of the Baba House one Sunday morning. As I seldom had a good reason to wander westward of Chinatown - Ngau Chair Sooi - 牛车水- and being unfamiliar with the places, I was a little lost in my direction where this house was located.

The house is located in the far west of Neil road, adjoining Kampong Bharu Road at Blair Plain. Other than the Baba House, I was also pleasantly surprised to find an estate of conservation Straits Eclectic houses. In my many weekend strolls in Chinatown to take in the sights of this unique brand of local straits architectural style, in the shophouses, the clan associations in Ann Siang Hill & Kiong Siak Road, it did not occur to me that a piece of history is neatly tucked way in this area.

The blue color of this house seems familiar, I thought. It’s a deep blue color tending towards violet. Oh yea, it‘s indigo. Some ten years back, while on a visit to Penang, I’ve seen this color in another century old mansion. It’s the Cheong Fatt Tse (CFT) Mansion, located in Leith Street. I got to know of this house in the 3rd Hakka forum held in Singapore in 1996. CFT Mansion has since been converted into a boutique hotel.

Wondering, why blue, I did a google on – straits house, color blue & CFT Mansion, and found the answer in the entry on CFT Mansion – in wikipedia:

Quote:

The distinctive blue colour of the mansion is the result of mixing lime with natural blue dye made from the Indigo plant. The blue was very popular in the Colonial period and the dye was imported from India. The lime wash was very effective in a tropical weather as it absorbed moisture and cooled the house.
However the blue is a colour of death in Chinese culture and the practice was never introduced in Hong Kong. The house was originally painted white in the time of the owner, and the indigo was applied much later.

Unquote

The early settlements in the Straits in Penang, Malacca and Singapore were supposedly a townscape of blue colored buildings. However, considering that the Baba & Nyonya of old were as deeply steep in customs and traditions, with many pantang larang (taboo’s) it makes me also to think after reading this quote, would not the blue a taboo color too for the Peranakan.

Perhaps, the color blue chosen for the Baba House is our 21st century interpretation of what the houses and townscape was like then in the colonial period a hundred or more odd years ago in the Straits Settlement. It is a reflection of the color of a past era, rather than the actual color of the House of Wee. It could perhaps have been painted in a more auspicious hue, such as pastel red or maroon.

(CFT Mansion - Penang : photograph taken: 12Dec1998)

Unlike the linked Straits shop, the CFT mansion was build as a standalone complex. Perhaps because of its Hakka roots, it was very much simpler in style, and plainer in its overall ornamentation. In contrast to the southern Min-nan (Fujian) architectural style found typically in the Chinese temple architecture, where the roof is curved and heavily embellished with auspicious symbols and scenes from folklore, the CFT mansion has a much straighter line reflecting perhaps of elements of northern China architectural style – where the Hakka’s migrated from.

Talking about a standalone type Chinese style mansion, there is still one & only remaining on the island – the House of Tan Yeok Nee, located at the junction of Penang Road and Clemenceau Ave. After its make over as the Graduate school of the University of Chicago, this house is painted a pastel yellow. It's was build in a much earlier the period around, 1865-85, and a true blue Min-nan style Chinese townhouse. But it now sits oddly alone, incongruous with a backdrop of modern structures.

Had the city center been preserved of its pre-war townscape and many of the old architecture, perhaps the Lion City would have been in the map of UNESCO Heritage city, too. However that is left now of the city are pockets of old hardware that hardly have a discernable link to past.

2. Hallmark -堂号

Well, so much of the blue, I was next drawn to the two big golden characters hung above the main door of the Baba House.

Considering that this was the house of the Wee –黄 - Huang (pinyin) – shouldn’t these two characters be - Jiangxia - 江夏, rather than - Zhongsheng - 种 盛 . For the - 堂号 – tanghao - literally hall mark - of the surname Wee is - 江夏 - Jiangxia. The family name instead is written on the lantern hung on the left side of the porch – 黄府 - Huang fu – House of the Huang.

江夏 - Jiangxia - refers to the place where the Huang clan originated, and it refers to a geographical location, usually located in the northern plains of China in the prefectures of - Shansi, Gansu and Hebei – 山西，甘肃，河北省. This was the - zhongyuan - 中原 – the Central Plain – irrigated by the Yellow River – 黄河 - and its tributaries, and supposedly the cradle of the Chinese civilization.

In the Europe, it would have been the coat of arms, while in Japan the Samurai family would has their unique – 纹章 – monshyoo - family crest. However, in China, with a strong Confucian influence of revering one’s roots, respect for education, and abhorring feud, there was never the evolvement of a family crest that identified with the militaristic. .

As such, according to the Chinese tradition, each family would have their family hall mark reflecting the place where their progenitor originated. The name – tanghao - could be translated as the - mark of the ancestral hall. When the Chinese migrated to the South Seas – the Nanyang – 南洋 - they brought along this tradition with them.

Other than using a geographical location the tanghao could also be in the form of a motto or part of a wise saying left to posterity by a venerable ancestors, to inculcate virtue, scholarship or righteousness, etc among their posterities.

As to why - Zhongsheng –种 盛 - for this house of the Wee, it is probably named along the line of a family motto and one has to refer to their family genealogy. Zhong –种 - literally means seed or progeny and - sheng –盛 - flourishing, prosperity, or abundance. Perhaps, the venerable ancestors would wish for the clan to multiply and prosper.

What’s left of the hallmark?

Wondering how widely still is the practice of hanging the tanghoa prominently in front of their house still retained – I did a walk around the estate, and in Emerald hill, and Joo Chiat, on a little survey. Alas I could barely find more than a handful of houses that still continue with this tradition.

When the early immigrants that migrated to colonial Singapore & in the Peninsula, it was a common practice for those who have made it – and owning a house to prominently displace their hall mark in front of their house. It was to - 光宗耀祖 - guangzong yaozu – literary - to brighten one’s clan and to illuminate one’s ancestors, and to remind them of their roots.

To find your roots - some of the common tang hao - are:

陇西 – 李 - Longxi – Li (pinyin) – Lee (dialect)
西河 – 林 - Xihe - Lin – Lim
延陵 - 吴 – Yanling - Wu - Goh, Ng
太原 – 王 - Taiyuan - Wang –Ong
滎阳 – 郑 – Xinyang – Zheng - Chang, Chung

This house located in Emerald Hill, has the tanghoa as - 沛國– Peiguo . And its family surname is supposedly a Zhu– 朱 – Choo (in dialect ) meaning vermilion. It’s illustrious lineage would include the founder of the Ming dynasty – 明朝 ( 1368-1644 ) Zhu Yuanzhang - 朱元璋.

Other than in the form of a plaque, I found one with the tang hao written in crimson on two big lanterns hung from the verandah. It reads – 清河 – Qinghe - and the family surname should most probably be – Zhang - 张 - Teo ( in Hokkien) .

Perhaps this tradition of hanging the tanghao in front of one’s house is a tradition unique among the migrants. In the visit to the ancestral village in China many years back, I did not observe each home has a tang hoa hung on its doorway. However, each village would have their ancestral temples where members of the same surname would gather to venerate their ancestors – and each village would have sizeable members with the same surname. The tanghao is set at the ancestral hall.

Leaving behind their ancestral village, and wandering to the South Sea – 南洋 – the early migrants were usually a mix lot of different surnames, but from the same district of same dialect group.

In the foreign land, they would first and foremost gather to form clan associations of a certain dialect group or district. Subsequently, with sufficiently sizeable numbers, they would form clans of similar surnames – though not necessary from the same district or village.

For the individuals who lived dispersed on a foreign land, they took to identifying themselves by displaying their tanghao in front of each of their own house. Be it the grand mansion of the smart migrant who made it big, or the hardworking & thrifty migrant who made it good to build their first house of timber and attap roof, traditions ran deep, and they would proudly display their venerable tanghao - always to remind them of their roots.

This photograph is from my hometown in Menglembu. The tanghao tradition is kept pretty much alive in the old houses in the rural areas. It reads - 晋阳 –Jinyang – and the surname of the family is probably - 唐 –Tang.

Alas, be it here or there, one hardly could find this tradition being practised in the homes in the new housing estates and apartment blocks. It is no longer cool to display such archaic plaque - especially in front of one’s chic house.

Well, so much for the hallmark, and a bye-bye to another traditional practice...


Reference: -

1. Streets of George Town, Penang.

An illustrated guide to Penang’s City Streets & Historic attractions
Khoo Su Nin - 2nd edition 1994. First published in 1993.

Flipping thro this book and comparing it to the book, entitled:

Singapores 100 historic places, (National Heritage Board – first published 2002),

-one could not help but be amazed at how much the two cities have in common – physically. In the street names – you have or had it here, they have and still have it there, Armenian Street, Chulia Street, the clan associations, the Straits Eclectic shophouses/houses – architecturally so similar, and uniquely of the Straits.

The Singapore Street Directory (Edition 1988) - was the first that I bought when I first arrived in Singapore had Farquhar Street. However, a check in the Singapore Street Directory (New 2002 Edition) this street name is gone. It was located behind the New Seven Storey Hotel, parallel to Rochor Road. This hotel will disappear too in the new edition of the street directory.

2. Chinese surname

A good lead into the origin of the Chinese surname is found in wikipedia. However a more detail and indepth explanation of the tanghao is found in Baidu – the Chinese web seacher . However you need to read Chinese to understand the contents.

http://baike.baidu.com/view/50417.htm

In Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_family_name

3. The Peranakan Association -

http://peranakan.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=184&Itemid=1

4. Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion - the Blue House

At the turn of the 20th century Penang, this Leith Street was supposedly the Hakka Millionaire Row’, with a concentration of wealthy Hakka migrants, and among them Cheong Fatt Tse. He was one of the pioneer Nanyang industrialist, and was once appointed the Consul- General in Singapore, of the Qing Court

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheong_Fatt_Tze_Mansion

http://cheongfatttzemansion.com/

5. Singapore – A guide to Buildings, Streets, Places
Norman Edwards & Peter Kayes, Times Book International 1988


Addendum - 2008.Dec.30

Saw this at the Sri Maju long distant bus head office terminal in Ipoh.

四知堂 - Hall of the Four Know

The bus terminal is the former mansion of the Yeoh Family – 杨 – the Yang Clan.

Why the ‘four knows’ - 四知 – shi zhi?

Legend had it that during the Eastern Han -东汉Dynasty – close to 2000 years ago. An official Yang was bribed to keep mum, by a governor, and that no one would know of the incident.

However the upright Official Yang replied -天知，地知，我知，你知 .
- meaning : heaven knows, earth knows, I know and you know.

To commemorate the up-righteousness and integrity of this predecessor, and as a teaching to their descendants, the Four Know became the tanghao - hall mark - of the Yang clan.

/-//

a sip of autumn - rangoon road

It was in October, a Sunday morning last year, along Rangoon Road hunting for the bak kut teh - 肉骨茶 - rougu cha - shop made in-famous by the visit of HKG governor , I chanced upon this row of un-occupied houses.

Perhaps the clear blue sky and the bright morning sunlight did the tick of enhancing the old charm of these houses, and brought about a mosaic of colors. Moreover, the thin cluster of bamboo trees in front of the yellow house embellished the scene with a classic poetic look. For a while I thought autumn was in air, even in tropical Singapore!

Well, these old houses – the so named Straits town house or the Straits shop houses- is old charm Singapore, which I always find endearing, and uniquely of this part of the world. Pockets of them are still found on the island and whenever I see them in their best of light in the Sunday morning or evening walks, I will never failure to whip our my camera, and capture their beauty.

A year has passed since, & time to go for another sip of the tea and tuck in to the succulently fragrant pork ribs dip in deep dark sauce. And check it out if the autumn scenery is still there.

Considering that the area is a hot spot for boutique apartments, perhaps these houses being not under heritage protection should be razed to the ground by now, and the piece of autumn in the tropics is forever memory.

Well, perhaps not, since the dizzying prediction of the SGX hitting a 4K point by that year end, it has gone on a free slide with the pandemic from the america. That, should save the autumn sonata for a while ..


Reference -

a ) Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut teh - 黄亚细肉骨茶
http://www.goodfood.sg/bak_kut_teh



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a postcard from beijing

The postcard was stamped 1984.09.30,北京（Beijing）. It had a brief message written in Japanese which reads:

元気です。
国慶節が楽しみ！
10/30北京にて
Utanこと　　

Genki desu.
Kokkeisetu ga tanoshimi!
10/30 Pekin nite
Utan koto

I’m fine.
Looking forward to the National Day Celebration
10/30, in Beijing
From Utan,

In the haste of writing the postcard, he had mistaken it to be already in Oct, and had signed it off as 10/30 or Oct 30. For the next day was Oct 1, China’s 35th National Day Celebration.

Utan was his self-styled name that he gave himself. We were in the same research laboratory at university in Japan, and he was one of the closer friends among the lab mates. He was an undergraduate then, and I was towards the final year of my study when he joined the lab.

Utan was hairy for Japanese, and as he was coaching tennis, he was tanned and had a dark complexion. Coupled with his longish facial structure, and the fact that I was from the south where Orang Utan is a native; he jokingly gave himself this pet name. When I left Japan in the April of 1984, we continued to correspond for some years, sending each other festive greeting cards, and he would sign off with this pet name.

In that year, Utan was in the contingent of 3,000 Japanese youth. The invitation to the Japanese was extended by the President of China, Hu Yaobang,, when he was on a state visit to Japan in 1983, and with the intent of promoting understanding and friendship between the two nations.

The 1984 National Day celebration was a historic event, as it was the first major National Day celebration after the end of the Cultural Revolution. . Deng Xiaoping’s policy of reform and opening up – 改革开放- gaige kaifang - was into it’s 6th year, and the country was making steady but careful steps into market socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The National Day celebration of that year was a milestone, and a coming out party of sort to put aside the self-isolation policy of the old communist regime and to bury the misery of 10 years of internal fights – 无产阶级文化大革命 – wuchanjiejie wenhua dageming - of the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution.

It’s 24 years, since this postcard came from Beijing, and this is the 30th year of the reform policy. Needless to say more, the face of China has changed beyond recognition, and the geo-political order East Asia, has undergone a silent transformation.

In the early 1980/s, the books on the shelves were - Ezra Vogel, Japan as Number One (written in 1979) , and ‘China, Alive in the Bitter Sea – by Fox Butterfield (1982). These were the two books I remember reading during my student years in Japan.

Fast forward to 2008 - how the world has changed. It is no less a year to remember with news out of Beijing.

Hardly has the warmth of the torch cooled off, with the promise of - one world one dream, 一个世界， 一个梦想 – yigezhijie, yigemengxiang - from the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the world suddenly found itself in the melamine nightmare.

However, for Utan, it started much earlier in Japan – it was with the gyoza - 饺子- jiaozi -(flour dumplings with filling such as minced meat with vegetables), contaminated with insecticide.

Perhaps Utan could relate it well to what they have go thro too, but on ten fold the scale and affecting not only the country but the world at large, with the Tokyo Olympics of 1964, it came with the Minamata.

Well, perhaps that's part of the vicissitudes of - the rise of a nation – just as in life ...


Postscript -

1. Oct 1 - it’s a Hari Raya Puasa holiday in the Lion City.

The local newspaper has an analogy that - what the Beijing 2008 Olympics had done to Beijing, the F1 Grand Prix has equally done to the city state, i.e the prestige that it brought. The night race has transformed the city literary overnight in the eyes of the world is the jewel in the F1 crown that rivals Monaco!

Was it perhaps to justify for the investment poured in to get the venue ready, despite news of financial gloom and doom.


Reference :

1. Disclosing the "1984 secret"

The Beijing News (Chinese): Disclosing the secrets of 3,000 Japanese young people visiting China in 1984

During Hu Yaobang's 1983 state visit to Japan, he invited 3,000 young Japanese to visit China. The Beijing News looks back at that visit and reveals that one-third of those visitors now head Sino-Japanese Friendship Associations
http://www.danwei.org/

2. Minamata disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease







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