Singapore Lam Ann Association

The history of the Lam Ann Association is closely linked to the Hong San See Temple. In 1836, Lam Ann pioneers constructed the Hong San See Temple near Cheng San Teng. The temple underwent renovation in 1868. In 1907, the temple relocated to its current address at Mohamed Sultan Road due to urban redevelopment. By then, Hong San See Temple was already a common gathering place for the Nan’an people. So when the clan association started the Nan Ming School there, the temple became even more popular.

In 1926, Lam Ann pioneers initiated the building of a Lam Ann Clan Association. They purchased five shophouses on Ann Siang Hill, of which unit number 59 was used as their clubhouse while the remaining units were rented out to generate revenue to cover their expenses. During the Japanese invasion, the clubhouse became the headquarters for the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, led by martyr Lim Bo Seng.

In 1950, Lam Ann Association was officially registered as a public company limited by guarantee; in 1958, the Mutual Help Committee was established; in 1970, the five-storey Lam Ann Building finished construction; and in 1988, the Youth Group was formed.

Lam Ann Association would be participating in this exhibition with four artworks, including paintings by the late Wu Tsai Yen, who was best known for his unique “Nanyang Style” finger painting, and calligraphy artwork by Pan Shou.

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Wu Tsai Yen (1910-2001)
Blossoming plum tree
1950
Ink and colour on paper (finger painting)
36.5 x 60.5cm
Inscription 1: The old dragon treasures his ten pearls, the phoenix’s tail holds the most beautiful feathers. While the incense burns in my study room, I paint this work to convey good wishes to my clan. Finger painting by Wu Tsai Yen, at Fuxin Building, Singapore, winter of gengyin year (1950).
Seal: Finger marks of Tsai Yen (characters in white).
Inscription 2: For the celebration of the 25th  anniversary of the Singapore Lam Ann Association. Inscribed again by Wu Tsai Yen in spring of xinmao year (1951).
Seal: Wu (characters in red). 


In 1926, our pioneers like Lee Kong Chian, Neo Tiew and others founded the Singapore Lam Ann Association. In January 1977, the new Lam Ann Association building was built on empty land in front of the Hong San See Temple, located at Mohamed Sultan Road.

This finger painting of a blossoming plum tree was first completed by Wu Tsai Yen in 1950 before he added a new inscription in 1951. The depiction of crimson plum flowers on aged branches conveys an exuberance akin to wintry fragrance carried from afar. They form a picturesque sight with clusters of young bamboo stems stretching towards the horizon despite the cold winds. 

Wu Tsai Yen (1910-2001), courtesy name of Yipeng, was born in Nanan (Lam Ann), Fujian. He graduated from Xinhua Academy of Art. Due to the Sino-Japanese War, he relocated to Singapore in 1938 and worked at Hokkien Huay Kuan before taking up a teaching position at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. He developed a special painting style known as the “Wu School of Finger Painting in Singapore” and once held a joint exhibition with Xu Beihong in 1940. His paintings were also appreciated by Yang Renkai, a master connoisseur of Chinese ink painting. In 1954, Wu headed to London to hold an exhibition and later travelled to different venues in the USA, receiving wide acclaim in these places.

In 1979, Wu Tsai Yen received the Singapore Public Service Medal and was referred to as “National Treasure of Singapore” by the Japanese media.

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Ya Shi
Poem by Lu You
1953
Ink on paper
83 x 33cm
Inscription: A poem of Lu You from Southern Song dynasty, calligraphy by Ya Shi on tenth lunar month of guisi year (1953), a gift to Mr Jin Tang.
Seals: A madman (characters in red), Seal for paintings and calligraphies of Ya Shi (characters in white), A thousand lotus (engraved characters in white).


In this work, the calligrapher transcribed a portion of a poem written by Southern Song dynasty poet Lu You, titled The Impromptu. Lu You (1125 – 1210), with courtesy name of Fang Weng, had ancestry from Shanyin, Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). He was a poet who loved his country and left behind many patriotic poems. 

Completed in 1953, this work was written in a distinctive Wei stelae style with strong brushwork.

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Pan Shou (1911–1999)
Selected poems from Tang, Song and Ming dynasties
1976
Calligraphy
182 x 47cm
Inscription: A gift to Singapore Lam Ann Association, a selection of five poems written at Nan An (Lam Ann) by five poets from Tang, Song and Ming dynasties. By Pan Shou, late spring of bingchen year (1976).
Seals: Pan Shou (characters in white), Xu Zhi (characters in red).


Pan Shou (1911 – 1999), originally named Pan Guoqu, was born in Nanan (Lam Ann), Fujian. He moved to Singapore in 1930 and worked as an editor for Lat Pau. Despite the lack of a university education, he taught at Chinese High School and Tao Nan School in Singapore, and Chung Hwa High School in Muar, Malaya. In 1937, he became the General Secretary of the Singapore China Relief Fund, of which Tan Kah Kee was the chairman. After the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1942, Pan Shou returned to Chongqing, China, travelling through India and Burma. In 1949, he returned to settle in Singapore, and helped found Nanyang University in 1953, acting as a member of the Executive Committee. In 1955, then principal Lin Yutang left, and Pan Shou was tasked to act as the Secretary-General of the Nanyang University, handling administrative affairs in place of the principal. In 1958, the British colonial government stripped him of his citizenship, which was reinstated by the Singapore government in 1983.

Pan Shou was extremely talented, excelling in poetry, writing, history, painting, calligraphy, music, and opera. He wrote more than 1000 poems, and 3000 pieces of calligraphy works in his lifetime, and over time, developed a distinctive style.

Pan Shou had many illustrious accolades, such as the Salon Artiste Francais Gold Award in 1985, Singapore Cultural Medallion in 1986,  Medal of Officer des Art et des Letters in 1991, Singapore Meritorious Service Medal in 1994, ASEAN Cultural Medal in 1997 and Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Nanyang Technological University in 1998. After his passing, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong referred to him as a “national treasure”.

Based on a selection of ancient Chinese poems by poets in Nanan (Lam Ann), these calligraphic works, completed in 1976, were written by Pan Shou in fluid and confident strokes.

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Wu Tsai Yen (1910-2001)
Chicks amid morning glory flowers
1996
Ink and colour on paper (finger painting)
101 x 63.5cm

Inscription: A finger painting by Wu Tsai Yen at the age of 86, done by the west window of Dinglu, 9th April 1996.  

Seals: Always happy for Tsai Yen (characters in white), Lay Buddhist Nam Kwang (characters in red), Life through one’s fingers (characters in white).


Finger painting is a special technique in traditional Chinese painting, where fingers, instead of brushes, are used to paint. This interesting unique approach was first mentioned in the text ”A Record of Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties” written by Zhang Yanyuan in the Tang dynasty. He recorded the painter Zhang Zao who used his fingers to paint on silk, thereby pioneering a new painting technique. There was no further evidence or records of finger painting until the Kangxi era in the Qing dynasty when artist Gao Qipei began frequently painting with his fingers. That was when the public gained a clearer understanding of finger painting.

Wu Tsai Yen was a master of finger painting. He was 86 years old when he completed this work. The flowers and leaves are depicted with effortless charm, through Wu’s confident handling of ink. This is a work to be treasured.