Illustrated Tales of Kusu Island
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Illustrated tales of Kusu Island Peh, Yang Yu 2019 Peh, Y. Y. (2019). Illustrated tales of Kusu Island. Master's thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/89860 https://doi.org/10.32657/10220/47730 Downloaded on 25 Sep 2021 11:39:43 SGT ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND PEH YANG YU SCHOOL OF ART, DESIGN AND MEDIA A thesis submitted to the Nanyang Technological University in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts (Research) 1 Statement of Originality I certify that all work submitted for this thesis is my original work. I declare that no other person's work has been used without due acknowledgement. Except where it is clearly stated that I have used some of this material elsewhere, this work has not been presented by me for assessment in any other institution or University. I certify that the data collected for this project are authentic and the investigations were conducted in accordance with the ethics policies and integrity standards of Nanyang Technological University and that the research data are presented honestly and without prejudice. 3 February 2019 . Date Peh Yang Yu 2 Supervisor Declaration Statement I have reviewed the content of this thesis and to the best of my knowledge, it does not contain plagiarised materials. The presentation style is also consistent with what is expected of the degree awarded. To the best of my knowledge, the research and writing are those of the candidate except as acknowledged in the Author Attribution Statement. I confirm that the investigations were conducted in accordance with the ethics policies and integrity standards of Nanyang Technological University and that the research data are presented honestly and without prejudice. 3 February 2019 . Date Sujatha Arundathi Meegama 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Nanyang Technological University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences for granting me the scholarship for my M. A. (Research) in the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM). I would also like to thank the National Heritage Board (NHB) for giving me the research grant to fund my research. I would like to thank my supervisor, Asst. Prof Sujatha Arundathi Meegama from the School of Art, Design and Media. Prof. Sujatha has provided immense guidance on my research and writing skills since three years back when I first took her art history module as an undergraduate student at ADM. Her constant assurance and encouragement have also given me the confidence to embrace things that I might otherwise shrink away from. To my co-supervisor, Asst. Prof Bacsal Rhoda Myra Garces from the National Institute of Education who has believed in my research and selflessly extended her helping hand even though we did not know each other prior to this. Her constant motivation and valuable advice has made my journey in research much more manageable. To Assoc. Prof Andrea Nanetti, Ms. Chia Hsiao Ching and the faculty of ADM who have supported us through this research journey and being ever so patient with our queries. I am also indebted to fellow researchers from the NTU School of Humanities project “Turtles all the Way Down” who have provided me unwavering motivation and support in making this thesis possible. I would also like to thank my examiners for their valuable comments that have helped to push my thesis further. I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the authors (Mr. Pugalenthii Ramakrishnan and Mr. Don Bosco) and illustrators (Mr. Wilkie Tan, Ms. Beryl Kwok and Ms. Sharon Lei) of the illustrated tales of Kusu Island who have taken the time to grant me interviews. I would also like to thank the caretaker of the Chinese temple at Kusu Island, Mr. Seet Seng Huat, for being so accommodating every time I visited the island, and Ms. Marie Lee for sharing her upcoming play on Kusu Island. 4 To my family and friends who have provided immense support and encouragement throughout my research process, this accomplishment would not have been possible if without them. Peh Yang Yu, 2019 5 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 9 Literature Review............................................................................................. 15 Methodology ................................................................................................... 17 Structure of Thesis ........................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................ 22 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IMAGES IN THE ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND ..... 22 1.1 The Evolution of Image in the Illustrated Tales of Kusu Island .......................36 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................ 47 MULTIPLE REALITIES IN THE ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND .................... 47 2.1 Elements of Multiple Realities in the Illustrated Tales of Kusu Island ............49 2.2 Grounded Theory Analysis ..............................................................................56 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................ 63 THE FICTIONAL MOTIF OF TURTLE IN THE ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND 63 3.1 The Usage of Turtle as a Motif in Different Cultures ......................................64 3.2 The Motif of Turtle in the Illustrated Tales of Kusu Island and the Implied Child Reader ..........................................................................................................71 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................. 85 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 95 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................. 106 THE ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND ...................................................... 106 APPENDIX B .............................................................................................. 113 ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ........................................................ 113 APPENDIX C .............................................................................................. 115 THE TALES OF KUSU ISLAND THROUGH THE LENS OF PROPP’S MORPHOLOGY OF THE FOLKTALE ................................................................................................ 115 The Evolution of Text in the Tales of Kusu Island ...............................................115 APPENDIX D ............................................................................................. 143 THE ILLUSTRATED TALES OF KUSU ISLAND AND THE IMPLIED CHILD READER ... 143 APPENDIX E .............................................................................................. 145 GROUNDED THEORY ANALYSIS (Based on interview transcripts) ..................... 145 Coding for Illustrators .........................................................................................145 Coding for Authors ..............................................................................................148 Selective coding of themes from the interview transcripts................................150 APPENDIX F .............................................................................................. 151 INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ............................................................................... 151 Transcript – Interview with Beryl Kwok, 21 September 2017 ............................151 Transcript – Interview with Don Bosco, 5 September 2017 ...............................162 Transcript – Interview with Wilkie Tan, 4 September 2017 ...............................165 Transcript – Interview with Pugalenthii, 18 September 2017 ............................189 Transcript – Interview with Sharon Lei, 12 September 2017 .............................227 Transcript – Interview with Marie Lee, 12 September 2017 ..............................229 6 ABSTRACT Kusu Island is one of Singapore's sixty-three islands and has several names, such as "Pulau Tembakul" in Malay and "Peak Island" in English. Its most popular name, Kusu, comes from the Hokkien pronunciation of the Chinese characters 龟屿 (guī yǔ), which means 'Turtle Island'." As a small island city-state with centuries of history, Singapore is filled with traditional tales that have been passed down orally through generations. Kusu Island depicts two men – a Malay and a Chinese – who are saved by a giant turtle during a storm and then live on the island together. This island with the aid of the turtle is built through friendship and trust. There has been scant scholarly research focusing on island creation stories and visual imagery in children’s illustrated books especially in Southeast Asia. Moreover, there is a research gaps in examining illustrated children’s books through an art historical perspective. Hence, this thesis focuses on the evolution of the illustrated tales of Kusu Island over the past decades. This includes contextualising the changes in narratives and visual representations of the story with reference to the transformations