Teochew Place Names in Singapore
If you are interested in Teochew place names in multicultural Singapore, it is worth watching a recently posted video on YouTube on Teochew names of MRT (subway) stations in Singapore. The video is by Allan Tan, who regularly posts Teochew language videos to his channel, and is narrated in Teochew, with English subtitles:
We can offer some more information on some of the place names in the video. Perhaps this will stimulate some interest in historical Teochew contributions to Singapore.
Choa Chu Kang, Yio Chu Kang, etc. - These place names actually reveal one of the most interesting parts of Singapore’s history that is rarely talked about today: the plantations of pepper and gambier that used to dominate Singapore’s countryside in the late 19th century, and which was linked to the economic development of modern Johor, and to the opium trade that was legalized under the British (yes, the addictive drug made from poppies).
Gambier was a plant used to make tanning agents for leather production in the past. These plantations, and the trade in gambier, was dominated by Teochews. These plantations were mostly inland and to the North of Singapore island, which had many rivers and streams (e.g. Sungei Kranji, Sungei Seletar). A Chu Kang (cu3gang2 厝港) was a plantation served by a “harbour” on one of these rivers, because it was most efficient to transport the goods by boat, as the roads in the interior of the island were poorly developed. The head of the plantation was the “kangchu” (gang2zu2 港主), and many Chukangs were named after the kangchu who controlled them, hence their names. In Johor, the then Sultan formalized this as a so-called “kangchu system”, where deeds would be issued to prospective kangchus to develop specific plots of land.
A brief explainer on the Kangchu system is also available on my website on the Teochew pioneer Seah Eu Chin. The most detailed studies of this subject are by the historian Carl A Trocki, starting with his book “Prince of Pirates - The Temenggongs and the Development of Johor and Singapore 1784-1885”. A Chinese translation is available, 《天猛公与柔佛及新加坡的发展》, published by Persekutan Tionghua Johor Bahru (新山华族历史文物馆). It is available in Singapore at Maha Yu Yi book store in Bras Basah.
Yishun - This place is named for Lim Nee Soon, who was a Teochew pioneer of rubber plantations in Singapore. Singaporeans who have served National Service in the army would probably be familiar with the name in Nee Soon camp. Lim Nee Soon was also one of the founders of the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan clan association in Singapore. Yishun is simply the Mandarin pronunciation of his name, probably because the housing estate was being developed at the time when Mandarin was being promoted over other Chinese “dialects”. There is a statue of Lim Nee Soon in Yishun Town Park today. Read more about him in the National Library’s Infopedia
Posted on 2020-10-08 00:00:00 +0000