Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan

Established in 1929, Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan is a locality-based association for the Teochew-speaking community. Teochew, or Chaozhou, is a city in the eastern part of Guangdong province in China, whereas “Poit It” refers to the eight districts previously under its governance: Chao’an, Jieyang, Chenghai, Chaoyang, Puning, Huilai, Raoping and Nan’ao.

The association now has over 6,000 members from all walks of life, many of which are highly respected individuals. After Dr George Quek became President in 2013, the association focused more on the strengthening of ties among the Teochews. Backed by the historical significance of the Teochew Building in Tank Road, the clan association promotes Teochew culture through social, education, and economic means.

Making up one-fifth of our Chinese population, the Teochews have a profound impact on the development of Singapore. Many pioneers, like their founder Lim Nee Soon, were respectable businessmen and community leaders who made crucial contributions to Singapore’s economic growth.

The association will be lending pieces from its impressive collection, including an acrylic on canvas by Chen Liqing and five calligraphy pieces from Goh Toh Piow, Heng Wei Chia, Sim Soong Kee, Ma Shuanglu, and Wong Joon Tai.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/1
                                           

Grace Tan Lee Keng
Abandoned boat
2018
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 60cm
Inscription: Abandoned on the shore and washed by frequent waves, the boat once sailed fearlessly through the storm seas. The wooden boards have rotted, and brass elements have fallen, leading to invading shrimps and crabs. But when the storms arrive and the tides rise, the boat can still bring you to safety.


Painted in 2018, the artwork features several traditional wooden boats moored by the seashore. At first glance, this appears to be a modern abstract composition, using acrylic paint to achieve fluid strokes and drips. Yet, this work also resembles wild cursive calligraphy, with its swift and powerful strokes, and ink washes near the bottom of the boats. This work’s uniqueness lies in unconventionally combining Western painting and traditional Chinese calligraphy. At first glance, the image may not seem poignant. But the inclusion of the inscription makes the meaning obvious. The clans are important avenues for mutual support and uniting the Chinese community, but they also encounter many challenges. A century later, despite the raging storm and waves, the clan’s tiny boats are still afloat, giving people hope and confidence.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/2
gallery_image
magnifying glass
2/2
                                           

Goh Toh Piow
Thousands of plum flowers blossom above a deep pool; Constant mist and rain curl up over the mountain
1995
Ink on paper 
133 x 30cm (each half of couplet)
Inscription: Goh Toh Piow in autumn of yihai year (1995).
Seals: Goh Toh Piow (characters in white), chasing the wind (characters in red).


Goh Toh Piow (1944-) is a local calligrapher. His ancestry is from Wenchang of Hainan province in China. He obtained a bachelor’s degree of science from Nanyang University in 1969 and is a permanent member of the Shicheng Calligraphy & Seal-Carving Society Singapore, and former council member of the Bishan Chinese Calligraphy Club. In 2006 and 2009 respectively, he won the Dr. Tan Tsze Chor Art Prize (Calligraphy).

Shuo Qing, a poet from the Jiaqing era in Qing dynasty, once wrote a similar couplet, which mentioned flowers from two plum trees instead of thousands of flowers. Now, the character for “pair” was replaced by the character for “thousands”. The original couplet was said to be found by the Black Dragon Pool in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. Even though only one word was changed, the original lofty pride of scholars has been transformed into a spirit of grandeur and boldness.

With thick ink and vigorous strokes, Goh imbues his regular script (kaishu) with a strong flavour of Wei stele style. This is only possible through Goh’s mastery of Chinese epigraphy.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/1
                                           

Heng Wei Chia (1938-)
Flowers and weeds now grow wild by Rose Finch Bridge, the setting sun lights the end of Black Robes Lane. Sparrows used to gather in the courts of the Wang and Xie family of the Jin dynasty, Now scattered among commoners’ huts.
Undated
Ink on paper
179 x 31cm
Inscription: Liu Yuxi’s poem “Black Robes Lane”.
Seals: Seal of Heng Wei Chia (characters in white), Rao Ping (characters in red), A thousand-miles trip begins with one step (characters in red).


Liu Yuxi (772-842) was a renowned scholar, philosopher, and official of the imperial court during the Tang dynasty. Black Robes Lane, is the second poem from the Five Writings of Jinling. Jinling is the old name for Nanjing and Black Robes Lane is one of the most famous and oldest streets in China. Social elites like the Wang and Xie families in the Jin dynasty used to live there. The lane obtained its name because young aristocrats enjoyed wearing black robes to signify their high status. Its inhabitants included famous calligraphers Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and the poetry pioneer Xie Lingyun. The lane has witnessed the essence of ancient Chinese culture and history.

Heng Wei Chia (1938-) was former president of the Bishan Chinese Calligraphy Club and director of the Shicheng Calligraphy & Seal-Carving Society Singapore. With ancestry from Raoping of Guangdong province, he was born in Muar, Johor, and migrated with his parents to Singapore in 1952. In 2010, he won the Distinction Prize in Calligraphy at the Singapore Art Society’s Dr. Tan Tze Chor Art Award Competition.

This work is written in running script (xingshu) with full ink and smooth rounded strokes. The mild gentleness belies its hidden strength, reflective of a gentleman’s calm temperament.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/1
                                           

Sim Soong Kee
Some are quiet practitioners of Buddhism while others are vulgar worldly men. If a man has mercy and wisdom in his heart, life will be peaceful and satisfying. Buddhism can help to avoid life’s struggles, as all is empty and not what they seem. With the belief of Buddha, one will surely enter final paradise.
2017
Ink on paper
132 x 65cm
Inscription: A copy of the poem “Goddess of Mercy” written by Master Hui Shen from Taiwan, in autumn of 2017, by Sim Soong Kee from Singapore.
Seals: Sim Soong Kee (characters in white), clean and smooth (characters in red).


In 1995, Master Hui Shen became a Buddhist monk, under the tutelage of Master Pu Miao in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He later attended Hsuan Chuang University in Xinzhu and underwent the Three Ordination Rituals and attained specialisation in the belief of Guanyin and the Recital of the Great Compassion Mantra. In 2009, he began promoting Buddhism on Cosmos Buddhist Missionary TV in Taiwan. He is now an abbot at the Kee Leung Wu Jin Zang Fa Dharma and the Singapore Buddhist Meditation Centre, and a lead lecturer at the latter. Hui Shen’s poem is about enlightenment and invites people to see the world’s real nature. 

Sim Soong Kee is a member of the Singapore Shicheng Calligraphy & Seal-Carving Society and former vice-president of the Hanshi Calligraphy Society. He married the daughter of local calligraphy master Wong Kok Liang (1920-2004) and was able to immerse in the latter’s teachings. Local calligraphers remarked that Wong Kok Liang’s calligraphy resembled the style of the Tang Emperor Xuan Zong. Wong’s clerical script (lishu) was widely acclaimed. Originally from Wanning, Hainan province, Wong Kok Liang moved to Singapore in 1939 to escape the Japanese forces. He also stayed for a while in Indonesia. He worked for Nanyang Siang Pau from 1947 to 1979 and spent his life studying the clerical script, with great success. Sim Soong Kee drew on his close relationship with Wong and fell in love with the clerical script as well. His strokes are well-composed and confidently executed. There is fluidity in order, and dynamism in serenity.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/1
                                           

Ma Shuanglu
The torrents of the Yangzi River wash away heroes of yore, Right or wrong, success or failure, all are no more. Green hills and wide rivers remain the same, how many times has the setting sun spread its flame? Fishermen with white hair work along rivers and on isles, Rowing their little boats leisurely for miles. They carry bottles of liquor and drink at ease, chatting about those legends and smiling in the breeze.
2020
Ink on paper
128 x 62cm
Inscription:  Yang Shen, Lin Jiang Xian, by Ma Shuanglu.
Seals: Seal of Ma Shuanglu (characters in white), There is always something to be learnt from the people around us (characters in red), freeing the horse is better than riding the horse (characters in red).


“Lin Jiang Xian” originally referred to song titles played for the Tang imperial court and was later used as a poem’s title. This poem was written by Ming dynasty scholar Yang Shen. It was famously used as the opening of the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. 

This calligraphy was written in regular script (kaishu) in 2020. Ma Shuanglu came from China and is currently a permanent resident in Singapore. He is the vice-president of the Bishan Cultural Art Centre and art consultant for both Ngee Ann Kongsi and Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan. He is the editorial consultant for the local magazine, Nanyang Calligraphy.  A well-known calligrapher in Singapore, he won first and second place in the National Chinese Calligraphy Competition. His works have been collected by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, amongst others.

This work is well-composed with careful attention to structure and order.

thumbnail gallery
gallery_image
magnifying glass
1/1
                                           

Wong Joon Tai (1953-)
I have been on the mainland and overseas, as a Hainanese, always been inspired by the beautiful and elegant old poems. My poem is like the durian, by chewing slowly, you will get the true taste. Only an honest scholar or well-educated person can write poetry, simplicity and meaningfulness are the basic rules, just like Sima Qian the historian of Han dynasty, and Du Fu the poet of Tang dynasty
2021
Ink on paper
138 x 64cm
Inscription: Two poems of Dr. Lin Li, in the summer of xinchou year (2021), by Wong Joon Tai.
Seal: Wong Joon Tai (characters in white).


These two poems transcribed in this work were written by Dr. Lam Lap (Lin Li). He has a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in Canada, specialising in Asian Studies. He is a professor at the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. As a lover of writing classical Chinese poems, he now serves as the vice-president of the International General Association of Chinese Poetry and editor-in-chief of the local poetry magazine Xinzhou Yayuan (Singapore Poetry).

Wong Joon Tai’s (1953-) ancestry is from Qionghai of Hainan Province. He is the artistic director of the Nanyang Calligraphy Centre and the editor-in-chief and publisher of the local magazine Nanyang Calligraphy. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) by the President of Singapore in 2000. 

This piece, written in running script (xingshu), was completed in 2021. The elegant strokes are smooth and unrestrained.