Tan Si Chong Su, or Ancestral Hall of the Tan Clan, is a Chinese temple in Singapore. It is located on

Magazine Road A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

in the Singapore River Planning Area within Singapore's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. It was constructed between 1876 and 1878 as the

ancestral temple An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ances ...

for those with the same Tan surname, based on the premise that Chinese people with the same surname would share a common

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

and therefore belong to the same clan. The Temple also dedicated to Kai Zhang Sheng Wang (開漳聖王)，the Patron Deity and founder of Zhangzhou City in China. The temple is also known as the "Tan Seng Haw" and ''Po Chiak Keng'' (保赤宮, also written as ''Bao Chi Gong'' and other variants), meaning "palace for the protection of the innocent", reflecting its earlier role as a place that provided help for those in disputes as well as new Chinese immigrants in Singapore.

History

The first president of the temple was

Tan Kim Tian Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

. An

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...

dated 28 July 1880 gave the names of the temple

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

s as Tan Cheng Kiat, Tan Chew Cha, Tan Siak Kiew, Tan Mah Arang, Tan Hai Tiew and Tan Sim Boh. Tan Si Chong Su Temple 5, Mar 06

It was gazetted as a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

on 19 November 1974.

Function

The temple was built as the ancestral temple of Tan clan. The Chinese believed that people with the same surname share a common ancestry. An ancestral temple like Tan Si Chong Su provides their clan members a place to honour and respect their ancestors. It is here where the

spirit tablets A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet, is a placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in tra ...

of deceased clan members are enshrined and venerated. The complex consists of an entrance

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

, a main hall where the

Deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

are enshrined, and a rear hall where the ancestral tablets of illustrious Tans are kept. The halls are separated by open

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

s.Lee Geok Boi (2002), ''The Religious Monuments of Singapore'', Landmark Books, The temple also served as the

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

hall for the Tan clan whose members extended beyond Singapore to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Among some famous Tans associated with the temple was the former

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

of Malaysia, Tun Tan Siew Sin, and his father, Tun Dato' Sir Tan Cheng Lock, founder and first president of the

Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...

, an important political party in Malaysia. Tan Cheng Lock and Tan Siew Sin were from Malacca as were the fathers of the temple's original

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

s. The temple's founders, Tan Kim Ching and Tan Beng Swee, were also associated with Malacca Peranakan clans. Another famous Tan is

Tan Chin Tuan Tan Chin Tuan (; 21 November 1908 – 13 November 2005) was a Peranakan banker and philanthropist often credited with helping to establish the OCBC Bank. Biography Early life Born in 1908, he was the son of prominent Hokkien businessman, Ta ...

, a retired banker and noted philanthropist and one of the temple's trustees.

Architecture

The temple tackles issues of geomancy, axiality and orientation in relationship with its surrounding buildings, roads and circulation. For example, geomancy was said that a Chinese temple is not favorable to be allocated at the end of a narrow and tight street due to bad luck and to avoid holy mess.

References

News articles

External links

Official Website

Singapore eCitizen website
{{Authority control Chinese-Singaporean culture National monuments of Singapore Taoist temples in Singapore Religious buildings and structures completed in aching Chong