Printed from STReader, the Digital Edition for StraitsTimes A quiet library with a vibrant history LÊĦ WĦ KÃ, SÄ®ÊÙ WÙ®ãÙ centre, founded by Dr Sun in Singapore in 1910, was Sunday, Oct 17, 2010 recently renewed. The centre celebrated its 100th anniversary and launched a commemoraƟve book to mark the occa- sion two months ago. More notably, it has been the subject of talks and lectures which Associate Professor Wong Sin Kiong, head of the Chinese Studies Department at the Na- Ɵonal University Singapore, gave in Singapore and Malaysia recently. At a seminar in Penang in March, he spoke about it as a propaganda centre which Dr Sun used to drum up support for his revoluƟon, especially among the illiterate Chinese populaƟon. In August, as part of the 100th anniversary celebraƟons, he spoke at the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall about the relaƟonship between Dr Sun and the centre. Last month, he touched on the subject again when the Taiwan Alumni AssociaƟon in Johor Baru invited him there to speak. And at the InternaƟonal Conference On Sun Yat Sen, Nanyang And The 1911 Chinese RevoluƟon, to be held on Oct 25 and Oct 26, he will point out the role of centres such as this one in Dr Sun's strategies to win support for his revoluƟon. Associate Professor Wong Sin Kiong, head of the Speakers from several countries including the Chinese Studies Department in NUS, has been United States, Australia, China, Japan, Thailand, giving public talks on Dr Sun Yat Sen and his links Malaysia, as well as Singapore, are taking part in the with Singapore and the 1911 Chinese Revolution. As the centenary of the revolution approaches, conference, which will be held at the Orchard Hotel. interest in centres like the United Chinese Library In an interview with The Sunday Times last week, has increased. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN Prof Wong, 50, said that at the height of the revo- Along a row of double-storey, pre-war houses in luƟon early last century, there were close to 200 Cantonment Road leading to the Pinnacle@ Duxton is of these Chinese 'libraries' in South-east Asia, which house No. 53, the premises of the century-old United were really propaganda centres for Dr Sun to pro- Chinese Library, known as tong de shu bao she in Chi- mote his cause. nese, meaning a book and periodical club for the like- 'I have a feeling that they were called libraries or minded. shu bao she in Chinese as a cover to prevent perse- But few people today, including many older Chi- cuƟon by the BriƟsh colonial government and the nese- educated Singaporeans, know about the place; Qing dynasty's secret agents, though they also ac- it was never really a library or a book club. tually funcƟoned as libraries, stocked with books and The clue to its past perhaps lies in the wooden periodicals,' he pointed out. plaque above the main entrance that bears its name At these centres, like the one in Singapore which in Chinese characters. It was penned by none other Dr Sun founded with the support of local Chinese than Dr Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern China who community leaders such as Lim Nee Soon, Tan Chor ended 267 years of Qing rule following his successful Nam and Teo Eng Hock, nightly reading sessions on 1911 Chinese RevoluƟon. current events reported in newspapers and maga- With the centenary celebraƟons of the revoluƟon zines were conducted for those who were illiterate. just around the corner, interest in this long-forgoƩen Most of those who aƩended were labourers, hawkers and traders. Classes on Chinese language, history and culture were also conducted for them. Most of these sessions and classes were in the dialects - mainly Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese - which were spoken by the majority of the Chinese populaƟon here at the Ɵme. In fact, three dialect libraries or book clubs - in Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese - were set up in Singapore in the early 1900s. They were later merged to become the United Chinese Library in 1910, when it found its first premises in Armenian Street. It re- mained there Ɵll 1987 when it moved to its present address in Cantonment Road. The existence of these centres showed how criƟ- cally Dr Sun needed the support of the overseas Chi- nese. Aside from them, Dr Sun's strategies to reach the Chinese in the Nanyang, or South Seas, included opening branches of his Tong Meng Hui, or Chinese RevoluƟonary Alliance, a poliƟcal organisaƟon dedi- cated to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, and the seƫng up of Chinese-language newspapers in South- east Asia. Today, 100 years later, only a few of the centres are sƟll around. They include the one here and the Philomathic Union of Penang in Malaysia. The Chinese daily Dr Sun set up in Singapore in 1907, Chong Shing Yit Pao, lasted only three years, but the one in Penang, Guang Hua Daily, is sƟll around and will be celebraƟng its centenary next month. Leaving its chequered past behind, the United Chi- nese Library in Singapore is now more of a Chinese cultural centre and memorial centre to remember Dr Sun, said its management commiƩee member, Dr Chan Soon Heng, 69, a reƟred academic. The centre's chairman is Mr Tan Yu Tein, 67, a businessman. The centre has about 150 members, most of them elderly, who are loyal to Dr Sun's legacy. 'I am currently conducƟng classes on the Chinese sage Mo Zi to members and the public at the library now,' Dr Chan said. [email protected]