Along Orchard Road,
Singapore shopping paradise, you will find the iconic shopping and commercial
centre known as Ngee Ann City. A look at this Civic Plaza, it seems
to resemble a Chinese Tombstone and this might be further enforced by the fact this
was formerly a Teochew Cemetery known as 泰山亭 (Tai Shan Ting ) or Tai Suah Ting in Teochew.
However, this is not true accordingly to Raymond Woo the architect of the
building. He drew inspiration from the Great Wall of China with the
intent of reflecting the dignity, solidity and strength of Ngee Ann
Kongsi. While the building
was not modelled after a Teochew tombstone, it was certainly previously cemetery
owned by Ngee Ann Kongsi. The Ngee Ann Kongsi is a Teochew
affiliated charitable foundation that was set up by Teochew immigrants from
China in the late 19th century. It was set up to look after the well-being
of early Teochew immigrants and among other things, the Teochews here have
a final resting place
Back in the olden
days, Ngee Ann Kongsi used to own burial lands or Teochew cemeteries all over
the island. However, with the development of Singapore, these cemeteries were
excavated or acquired by our government. For the unclaimed remains from these
cemeteries which is about 20,000 of them, Ngee Ann Kongsi setup the Teochew
Memorial Park to keep these unclaimed cremated remains. It is a 6-acre
memorial park located at 569 Yishun Road and tucked between Yishun Columbarium
and Chong Pang Combined Temple. This park was formerly known as 广德山 (Guan De Shan) or Kwong Teck Suah
in Teochew, a Teochew cemetery.
As one approaches the entrance of the park and look up at the gate, there is a sign in Chinese 新嘉坡潮州公墓(Singapore Teochew Cemetery), a
resting place for the Teochews of the past.
After passing the
gate and as you turn around, one would notice another four engraved Chinese
characters 追思先人 on the other side of the gate. 追思先人(Remembering ancestors) exhorts visitors
to remember our early Teochew migrants. This is a reflection of the heavy emphasis Teochews placed on Ancestral Reverence
and the park importance to the local Teochew community in honouring
their ancestors, early Teochew migrants and overseas Teochew pioneers.
After the gate, you
will see an Obelisk standing in the middle of the park with 新嘉坡潮州公墓
engraved right down the Obelisk.
This park is usually
closed to the public and only opened during Ching Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节), Hungry Ghost Festival (中元节) and Winter Solstice (冬节). On these occasions, Ngee Ann
Kongsi will organise prayer ceremonies with representatives from the Teochew
Clans as well as Poit Huay Kuan (八邑会馆)
to remember these Teochew pioneers.
It is a pity that the
park is only open on 3 occasions during the year and there is no notice at the
park to indicate actually when it is open during these 3 occasions. There seems
to be no explanation of the significance of the park available or perhaps it is
the poor command of the Chinese language that the author is not able to find
it. It would be nice too if there were English signage so that Teochew who is
Chinese handicapped can also appreciate the importance of this park.
Furthermore, at the
time when we are seeing the fading of the usage of dialects and its associated
heritage as well as the disappearance of burial grounds in Singapore, it might
be a good idea to include the replicates of the resting place Seah Eu Chin and other
13 leaders (differentiated by surname) who together established Ngee Ann Kongsi
back in 1845. This would be another way of honouring their contributions to the
Teochew community here. This would also serve to educate the younger generation
about the resting place of their forefathers and the unique characteristic of
the Teochew tomb.
