He 'changed China's destiny'
Updated: 2011-10-10 07:59
The Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall was re-opened on Saturdayafter extensive renovations. Provided to China Daily
Singapore marks 1911 Revolution with a series of special
events
SINGAPORE - Like many other cities with large Chinese
communities, Singapore is commemorating the centenary of the 1911
Revolution. After all, the island served as the Southeast Asian
headquarters of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary movement,
Tongmenghui.
The activities in the island nation are more low-key than those
in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland itself. Still, they
aim to increase public understanding of the historic significance
of 1911, and the role played by Southeast Asia in the revolution.
Activities include an academic conference, a stamp exhibition, a
school-organized exhibition and public talks. They culminated in
Saturday's re-opening of the Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall,
which had been closed for renovation for more than a year.
On the commercial end, cashing in on the 100th anniversary of
the Xinhai Revolution, cinemas are screening Jackie Chan's 1911, a
movie based on the events. The film was released in Singapore on
Sept 29.
Commemorative activities kicked off last year with a conference
on Sun and Southeast Asia, organized by the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies, Chinese Heritage Center and National University of
Singapore. It focused on the 1911 Revolution and Nanyang, which was
how Southeast Asia was known to the Chinese then.
Sun traveled
around Southeast Asia when he was drumming up support for the
nationalist movement in China. Themes at the conference thus
included Sun in the Straits Settlements and Southeast Asian
nationalism. The Nanyang communities gave financial and moral
support to the 1911 Revolution and played a role in the
establishment of modern China. Overseas Chinese support for Sun's
cause was so significant that he claimed they were "the Mother of
the Revolution".
One interesting event in Singapore was an exhibition of rare
stamps depicting Sun and his contributions. Between July and
September, "Dr Sun Yat Sen: The Man Who Changed China" exhibition
was staged at the Singapore Philatelic Museum. It featured more
than 300 historic items on loan from Beijing philatelist Meng
Zhaolong, who regards Sun as a personal hero. The collection, which
came from all over the world, took Meng some 25 years to build up.
The items included first-day covers and postcards dating to
1912.
A highlight was a stamp issued in December 1912 to commemorate
the 1911 Revolution: It was the first designed and issued by the
Chinese government then, as well as the first to bear a portrait of
Sun.
An ongoing event, staged jointly by the prestigious Hwa Chong
Institution and the Memorial Hall, is an exhibition featuring the
struggles and contributions of Sun's local supporters. Interweaving
historical facts with reflections by students, this exhibition
explores the crucial role Southeast Asia played in the
Revolution.
The jewel in the crown of the series of activities was the
re-opening of the Memorial Hall, a bungalow built in the 1880s and
called Wanqingyuan. The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and
Industry and the National Heritage Board, which manages the museum,
spent around $4.3 million to renovate the two-story villa and its
five galleries.
For the first time, more than 180 artifacts will be showcased to
highlight Singapore's contribution during the revolution. They
include a photograph of Sun at the bungalow in 1906.
Twenty of these artifacts are on loan from the descendants of
local merchants such as Teochew businessman Teo Eng Hock. In 1906,
Teo offered the villa to Sun to serve as his Singapore
headquarters. Sun stayed there on three occasions.
The villa had at least 10 owners between 1912 and 1938, when it
was acquired by a group of six merchant-philanthropists. They
donated the villa to the Singapore Chinese Chamber to be preserved
as a historical site. In 1964-65, it was refurbished to commemorate
Sun and his movement and became known as Dr Sun Yat-sen Villa.
In 1966, a museum was opened to commemorate the centenary of
Sun's birth. The building was declared a national monument in
October 1994 for its unique historical and architectural
significance.
A book, Sun Yat-sen, Nanyang and the 1911 Revolution, was to be
launched at the re-opening of the museum. On the calendar too is a
three-week cultural festival through Oct 30.
The nearby newly completed Zhongshan Park also was to open on
Saturday. A pathway in the 0.46-hectare park leading to the museum
includes a record of Sun's eight trips to Singapore from 1900 to
1911.
A huge stone mounted in the park bears the Chinese characters
tian xia wei gong, meaning "for the people", on one side. Words
describing Sun as "a man who changed the destiny of China", written
by Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister, are inscribed
on the other side.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-10/10/content_13858542.htm
