Chan Wing and his Istana

The following description on the old Istana was written by Chan King Nui 陳瓊女 (#8/26, b. ?, d. ?), with notes supplied by her younger brother, Chan Chin Cheung 陳千祥 (#22/26, b. 12 November 1934, d. ?).

Their father, Chan Wing 陳振永, was born in 1872a. In 1887, the 15-year-old decided to leave his hometown in Xinhui (新會縣 龍灣里 石頭鄉). He traveled to Singapore but eventually landed in Sungei Besi. Chan Wing first worked as a coolie 苦力 but Loke Yew 陸如佑 (b. 1846, d. 1917) soon noticed that he can be put to better use. He was made, in 1891, the person-in-charge of two Tong Hing Loong 東興隆 shops at the relatively young age of 20.

In 1905, Chan Wing partnered with Cheong Yoke Choy 張郁財 (b. 1873, d. 1958), Liew Weng Chee 廖榮枝 (b. 1884, d. 1948), San Ah Wing 辛亞榮 (b. 1872, d. 1953), and took over a European mining company and renamed the company to Hong Fattb 鴻發礦場公司. The open-cast tin mine operated by Hong Fatt Company was the largest in the world and is today the site of the Mines Wellness City.

In 1913, he and his friends (Cheong Yoke Choy, Leong Yan Teck 梁仁德, Liew Weng Chee, Chew Kam Chuan 周錦泉, San Ah Wing, Yun Tin Cheng) incorporated Kwong Yik Bankc 廣益银行, at the Old Market Square. Kwong Yik was the first Chinese bank in Kuala Lumpur, seeded with a capital of 1 million dollars. In 1928, he started his rice business in Siam 暹京恒豐米行 and began to export rice to Malaya. In 1935, he acquired a piece of 6,464-acre land in Chaah and planted the high-yield rubber clone, the TJIR 1.d

  1. Chan King Nui incorrectly marked the birth year of her father as 1873. Chan Wing was born on 31 October 1872 (Thursday 壬申年九月三十日酉时) in Village of Shitou 石頭鄉. The Klang Civil War was ongoing in Kuala Lumpur when Chan Wing was born in Guangdong. The War was concluded about half-a-year later, with Yap Ah Loy 葉德來 (b. 1837, d. 1885) and Tunku Kudin (b. 1835, d. 1909) as winners in March 1873. Chan Wing passed away in Singapore on 27 February 1947 (Thursday, 丁亥年二月七日巳时) but he was buried in Kwong Tong Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.
  2. 鴻發 = Hong Fatt = Abundant Prosperity.
  3. The Kwong Yik (Selangor) Banking Corporation, Ltd., was incorporated on 15 July 1913 at the Old Market Square.
  4. TJIR 1 was able to yield 0.93 ton per hectare per year, approximately 4 times higher than the normal species at the time when the clone was introduced.

As the 19th century drew to its close, Father's fortunes were at their peak. He acquired 13 acres of land along Taylor Road1 in Kuala Lumpur and engaged the architects Swan & Maclaren to design for him the biggest house in Kuala Lumpur and the Straits Settlements. It was completed in 19292 and cost $380,000.

The red and white building with its twin domes was an impressive sight occupying the hill slope and commanding a view of the Klang River and beyond to the Railway Station. Father and his family of wives and 25 children3 (the youngest son was born later in India) lived here until the Japanese invaded Malaya in 1941. The Japanese took over the mansion.4 Later, after the war, it was acquired by the Government and became Istana Negara, the palace of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which it remains to this day. You can see it depicted in the $5/- Malaysian currency note, complete with the twin domes.

Happy events took place in this mansion. In 19355, my 22nd brother, Chin Cheung (who later became a doctor of medicine and a successful entrepreneur), was born here and so were three young sisters, 23rd, 24th, and 25th. Two of my sisters, King Mui and King Doa, the 4th and the 6th, married here in 1935 and 1937, respectively.

  1. Taylor Road was later renamed to Jalan Istana. Sir William Thomas Taylor (b. 1848, d. 1931) was the last Resident-General of the FMS (1905 - 1910).
  2. Construction of Chan Wing's mansion started in 1928.
  3. Chan Wing family size: 8 wives + 26 children. The last boy was born in India and did not spend his childhood in the mansion. The names of Chan Wing's sons can be found his tombstone: 德祥, 献祥, 世祥, 泽祥, 吉祥, 星祥, 左祥, 发祥, 定祥, 祯祥, 千祥, 四川 (born in India).
  4. During the War, the mansion was occupied by 山下奉文 (b. 1885, d. 1946) between 1942 and 1945. After the War, it was repurposed as the administrative centre and residences of high-ranking Royal Air Force officers. Between 1952 and 1956, it was rented to the Selangor Sultan ($5,000 p.a.). In 1957, the house was sold ($1.4 million) to the Government and it was made the official residence for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Istana was retired on 15 November 2011 when the new Istana was made available and the old Istana was converted to a museum in 2013.
  5. Chan Chin Cheung was born on 12 November 1934. His sister apparently got the year of birth incorrectly. Actually, Chan Wing's daughter got the birth year of her father incorrectly. She also got the Gregorian date incorrectly when her father died in Singapore (Chan King Nui quoted 7 February 1947, but the correct date should be 27 February 1947 丁亥年二月七日, as engraved on Chan Wing's tombstone)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

「日上三竿」到底是早上多少點？

Image
從吉打 Lembah Bujang 布央谷開車回家，經過怡保的時候剛好是晚餐時間。 在麥當勞用過晚餐後，發現開車的我好像也有點睏了，於是決定在怡保睡一覺。我們把車開到 Bandar Meru Raya ，然後跟 Casuarina 要了一間房間。 隔天早我見小兒子辛円睡到很遲還不願意起床，就拿起手機給他照了一張相 1 。 原想給照片標上：阿円睡到日上三竿 2 ，大太陽曬屁股還不起身。但，住在我頭腦裡面的另外一個人問我： 三竿 到底是 : 點？ The timestamp of the photograph was 9:12:09 morning (28 May 2017). The explanation given by National Academy for Educational Research of Taiwan 台灣國家教育研究院 is：太陽已上升到 三根 竹竿相接的 高度 。表示時候不早了。This explanation suggests that ‘三' (three) is to be interpreted vertically and absolutely, instead of umbrally and relative to the physical pole. Given the fact in the phrase 三竿 (three poles) was recorded by an observatory officer, it is unlikely that the former intepretation is correct. 大太陽曬屁股還不起身嗎？ 於是我便上網查了一下該成語的出處：「日上三竿」應該是出自《 南齊書・天文誌上・日光色 》的一段話。《南齊書・天文誌》是南齊政府天文局官員根據每日的觀測日記整理
Read more

Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda和金牌急腳遞

Image
如果你或你的公司不還稅， 內陸稅收局 的人就會寄一封公函來罵你並跟你討錢。 在馬來西亞，所有的政府公函，都會印上 Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda 的字樣。「Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda」其實是延續英國人 On His Majesty's Service 的傳統。「 Seri Paduka Baginda 」這三個字的英語是「His Majesty」或「Her Majesty」，而「Urusan」則是「Service」。 現代英國郵遞系統的原型是愛德華四世國王 Edward IV (1461-1483)設計的，他為了加快情報的傳遞速度，在大概每30km就設了一根柱子(post)和一匹新馬。這樣，情報的傳遞便能達到約2 m/s。 J. C. Hemmeon在1912年出版的《The history of the British post office》是這樣寫道的： A somewhat different style of postal service, a precursor of the modern method, was inaugurated by the fourth Edward. During the war with Scotland he found himself in need of a speedier and better system of communication between the seat of war and the seat of government. He accomplished this by placing horses at intervals of twenty miles along the great road between England and Scotland. By so doing his messengers were able to take up fresh horses along the way and his despatches were carried at the rate of a hundred miles a day. 500年前2 m
Read more

The Sang Kancil Story of Malacca

Image
The official emblem of the state of Malacca shows two light brown mouse deers on each side of the tree of Malacca. This depiction is rather problematic. Because, if the emblem is meant to commemorate the brave Sang Kancil , as encountered by Parameswara in the Sejarah Melayu, then the color of the animal is probably not correct. If you follow the Malay classic carefully, the Sang Kancil mentioned is not light brown but white . The relatively new The logo was unveiled when Malacca was declared Historical City on April 13, 2003 logo of the City Council of Malacca, however, correctly show the two mouse deers in white . On the other hand, the Sang Kancil story purported to explain the founding of Malacca could be a story modified from a folk-tale from Sri Lanka. This fact was first noted by R. O. Winstedt (1922) Two Legends of Malacca, Journal of Straits Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 85, p. 40. I was in the Za'ba Memorial Library , around
Read more

《心經》裡面的「般若波羅蜜」一詞

Image
很多年前曾經到過香港大嶼山的 心經簡林 。 心經簡林 是一個由三十八個巨型木簡，按數學無窮大「\(\infty\)」符號的形狀排成的木陣。在木陣裡面，除了第一個題目簡、第二十三個「空」簡和最後一個落款簡之外，其他的木簡都刻有《心經》的部分經文。 《心經》的全名叫《般若波羅蜜多心經》。我是在香港電影《 月光寶盒 》裡面，第一次聽到「般若波羅蜜多」這個詞的。在戲裡面，它是周星馳先生用來開啓可以讓時光倒流的月光寶盒的密語。必須注意的是，周先生把咒語唸成了「般若波羅蜜」，把「多」字給去掉了。 月光寶盒 的密語：般若波羅蜜. . . 不管「般若波羅蜜多」或是「般若波羅蜜」，念起來很別扭，很明顯它們都不是漢語，事實上，它們是由三個印度字組成的合成詞。「般若」的巴利語「paññā」的音譯：是知識或智慧的意思。「波羅」是巴利語「pāra」的音譯，它和英語前綴「para」一樣，是超越的意思，例如，英語「paranormal」就是超自然的意思。「蜜／蜜多」是巴利語「mī/mīta」的音譯，它是希臘語「metron」的親戚，也是英語「mete」或「measure」的祖先，想表達的是既定或肯定的意思。 把「paññā」+「pāra」+「mī」三個印度字連在一起，「般若波羅蜜」指的便是一種備受肯定、完美超凡的智慧。在周星馳先生的哲學世界裡面，也只有利用這種完美超凡的知識transcendental wisdom，才能將時空逆轉。 大嶼山的心經簡林與數學的無窮大「\(\infty\)」符號 可惜的是，我們暫時還沒有發現這種transcendental wisdom。可喜的是，數學家倒是發現了很多transcendental number（ 波羅蜜數 ）。波羅蜜數是一種很特別的數，因為你必須用無窮大「\(\infty\)」的概念才能將它正確地寫出來。例如，銀行用來算 複利息 的「\(e = 2.718\ldots\)」，就是一个波羅蜜數。 $$e = 2 + \frac{1}{1+\frac{1}{2+\frac{2}{3+\frac{3}{4+\frac{4}{5+\frac{5}{6+\frac{6}{7+\frac{7}{8+\frac{8}{9+\frac{9}{\ddots}}}}}}}}}} = 2.718\
Read more

有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？

Image
論語 的 第一句話 是： 學而時習之，不亦說乎？ 有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？ 人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？ 這句常被拆散來用，例如中間的「 有朋自遠方來 」那一段，你的外地朋友來找你吃飯，你就說：有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎。 孔子的原話想要帶出的意思其實有點不同。中間的那一段，必須和上段和下端 一起 解讀。 這句話， 黃繼忠 是這樣翻譯的： The Master said: To learn something and regularly practice it—is it not a joy? To have schoolfellows come from distant states—is it not a pleasure? Not to resent when men do no know you—is it not like a gentleman? 孔子時代的六經和六藝 孔子是想講「學」和「學」的應用。在周朝，君子必須學禮儀、學跳舞、學射箭、學駕車、學書法、以及學算術。 論語裡面「 學 」的概念 比較忠於孔子原意的用法是這樣的： 第一句：學校老師教我 拉普拉斯变换 ，然後我在 炸薯片 油鍋溫度控制剛好用上了它，就可以說： 學 拉普拉斯变换而炸薯片 時習之，不亦說乎 ？ 第二句：比利時搞油鍋工藝的 同事 來車間討論薯片油鍋溫度控制的一些實際手段，就可以說： 有朋自 比利時 來，不亦樂乎？ 第三句：車間的 同事 聽不懂我在講什麼，我沒有表現得很不耐煩。就可以說： 同事 不知而不慍，不亦君子乎？
Read more