Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) (), or the Singapore Hokkien Association in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, is a cultural and educational foundation. It was established in 1840 to promote education, social welfare and the preservation of the

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

among

Chinese Singaporean Chinese Singaporeans () are Singaporeans of Chinese descent. Chinese Singaporeans constitute 75.9% of the Singaporean citizen population according to the official census, making them the largest ethnic group among them. As early as the 10th ...

and other

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...

groups in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. As of 2014, the SHHK, which has 5000 members, is the largest clan association in Singapore.

History

In the early 19th century, many immigrants from

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

of China came to settle in Southeast Asia, including Singapore. These immigrants established several clan associations to address the social needs of this immigrant community. The Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan was the first such organization to be established in 1840 on the grounds of the

Thian Hock Keng Temple Thian Hock Keng. & ( or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"), is a temple built for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the oldest and most important temple of the Hokkien (Hoklo) ...

. However, the SHHK also served other members of the Chinese community who came from other parts of China. In 1929, the philanthropist

Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore and the Chinese cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent figure in the overseas Chinese ...

became the president of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. In 1986, SHHK became one of the seven founding members of the

Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderi ...

. SHHK represented the interests of

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

-speaking Chinese Singaporean, while Sam Kiang Huay Kuan catered to those from

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

, and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

; the Singapore Hock Chew Association promoted the

Fuzhou dialect Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute ...

; the

Singapore Kiung Chow Hwee Kuan Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bo ...

Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ', Hainanese Pinyin: ',), also known as Qióngwén, Heng2 vun2 () or Qióngyǔ, Heng2 yi2 (), is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and Overseas Chinese su ...

;

Singapore Kwangtung Hui Kuan Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

;

Singapore Nanyang Khek Community Guild Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...

promoted

Hakka culture Hakka culture ( zh, t=客家文化) refers to the culture created by Hakka people, a Han Chinese subgroup, across Asia and Americas. It encompasses the shared language, various art forms, food culture, folklore, and traditional customs. Hakka cul ...

; and

Singapore Teo Chew Poit Ip Huay Kuan Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country, island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Pen ...

for Teochew. In 2014, the clan moved its headquarters from Telok Ayer Street, where it had been based at for 174 years, to the former premises of

Changkat Changi Secondary School This is a list of secondary schools in Singapore. Most secondary schools in Singapore offer a four-year Express course (Special course for Special Assistance Plan schools) or a five-year course leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary L ...

. Its new headquarters also houses the SHHK-run pre-school and a cultural centre.

Educational projects

Affiliated Institutions

Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan is actively involved in the education scene in Singapore since its founding. It established its first school, Tao Nan School in 1906. Subsequently, it established

Ai Tong School Ai Tong School () is a primary school located in Bishan, Singapore. It is one of the five affiliated primary schools under the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. As a Chinese-medium school, Ai Tong emphasises strongly on the learning of Chinese cult ...

in 1912, Chong Hock Girls' School (current Chongfu School) in 1915,

Nan Chiau Girls' High School Nan Chiau High School (NCHS) () is a co-educational government-aided institution in Sengkang, Singapore affiliated to the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. It offers the four-year Express (Special) course for Secondary education in Singapore, seconda ...

in 1947 and Kong Hwa School in 1953. Today, all 6 schools continue to be affiliated to the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, and emphasize the teaching of Chinese culture and values. The schools are all highly regarded by Singaporeans. The SHHK also donated land for the construction of the Nanyang University (no
Nanyang Technological University
campus in 1955. In 2010, the clan also set up a pre-school with an emphasis on Chinese and

bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The ...

Collaboration with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

On 16 February 2019, a collaboration with

Singapore University of Technology and Design The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is a public autonomous university in Singapore. History The founding president is Thomas L. Magnanti, who is a professor associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...

(SUTD) was announced by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, and was followed by a signing of Memorandum of Understanding. Students from the six institutions affiliated to Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan will benefit from corporate partnership through school-based programmes co-developed with SUTD. These programmes aim to inspire students to empower and embrace students with literacy in technology, design and innovation.

Promotion of Chinese Literacy

In support of promoting Chinese literary writing and raise the standard of Chinese Language in Singapore, the SHHK Literacy Awards were established since 2003 as an amalgamation of the SHHK Primary Schools Chinese Essay Writing Competition (since 1984), National Secondary School Chinese Creative Writing Competition – Xin Lei Jiang (since 2003), as well as the Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literary Awards (since 2002), which SHHK is the main sponsor.

Religious projects

SHHK manages the operations of four temples in Singapore: *

(), built in 1839 * Goh Chor Tua Peh Kong Temple (), built in 1847 * Kim Lan Beo Temple (), first built in 1830 & moved to current location in 1984 * Leng San Teng Temple (), built in 1879

Sources of funding

SHHK has two wholly owned real-estate development subsidiaries, Yunnan Realty Pte. Ltd. and Balestier Realty Pte. Ltd., which develop properties for sale and rental.

References

News articles

* * {{cite news , title = Exhibition sheds light on architectural influence between Fujian, Singapore , publisher =

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

(online) , date = 2019-10-28 , url = https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/exhibition-sheds-light-on-architectural-influence-between-fujian-spore , access-date = 2022-07-09

External links

*Official website of th
Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan
Non-profit organisations based in Singapore