Divine Custody : A History of Singapore's Oldest Teochew Temple

An architectural and historical study of Singapore’s oldest Teochew Temple. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Teochew-speaking gambier and pepper farmers settled in Singapore. Surrounded by the skyscrapers of Singapore's central business district, Wak Hai Cheng Bio temple traces its history back to the earliest days of the colony. While no written sources or inscriptions commemorate the founding of the temple, Yeo Kang Shua’s book delves into the history of the temple's foundation, encountering a rich history along the way. Poetic and commemorative, Yeo attends to the testimony of the building itself―the location, materials, ornamentation, and artwork that charge the space with meaning. Divine Custody tells the story of a temple that formed and was formed by its community. Of interest to heritage studies and those seeking to understand the experience of Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, this book is exemplary in the way it uses material culture and architectural history as historical sources. Teochew-speaking gambier and pepper farmers were early settlers of Singapore at the turn of the 19th century. Wak Hai Cheng Bio, now surrounded by the skyscrapers of Singapore's central business district, traces its history back to the earliest days of the colony. Its two deities - the Emperor of Heaven and Mazu, the Goddess of the Seas, tutelary deities of the Teochew people and travellers by sea respectively, long accompanied the sojourns of Teochew-speakers in the region. No written sources or inscriptions commemorate the founding of the temple, but the author's research in the history of l Half Title Full Title Imprint Page Table of Contents Note on Translation, Transliteration and Traditional Chinese Script Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: History of the Temple’s Property and Origins Chapter 2: Changing Social Relationships with the Temple across the Centuries Chapter 3: Architectural Developments in the 19th and 20th Centuries Chapter 4: The 2010 to 2014 Restoration Chapter 5: Conclusion Chapter 6: Bibliographical Appreciation Endnotes Appendix List of Figures Bibliography Index