 |
|
|
Professor Tan Siah Kwee President, Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore
Mr Seow Choke Meng , PBM Executive Vice-President, Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Newspapers Division
Distinguished Members of The Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore
Ladies & Gentlemen
Students of Chinese Calligraphy
平 和
I cannot stress more what a privilege it is to have been invited by the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore and SPH's Chinese Newapapers Division to officiate at the 20th National Schools Chinese Calligraphy Competition, here in the Singapore Calligraphy Centre. On a personal note, this is a fundamental and deep experience for me, in my life. Allow me to explain why. I am a minority in two respects. First, I come from a small but vibrant Singaporean racial community——I am a Eurasian. Second, I am the youngest elected Member of parliament. Therefore, I was doubly joyful when Professor Tan Siah Kwee. the President of the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore, invited me to ink two characters “平和”and in so doing officiate at this 20th Anniversity celebration. I am deeply humbled by the kind gesture and I am honoured to be here. There was wisdom I the words Porfessor Tan chose for me “平和”The characters provide the foundation for this speech and several personal experiences I wish to share with you. In Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s Memoirs “From 3rd World to First”, in the first chapter “Going it Alone”, the MM states: “Our greatest asset was the trust and confidence of the people┅┅┅ The other valuable asset we had was our people –hardworking ,thrifty, eager to learn. Although divided into several races, I believed a fair and even-handed policy would get them to live peacefully together, especially if hardships like unemployment were shard equally and not carried mainly by the minority groups. It was crucial to keep united Singapore’s multilingual, multicultural, multi-religious society, and make it rugged and dynamic enough to compete in world markets.” Looking at the world today ,or countries nearer our our nearer our shores, I do not think a citizen from a racial minority would so willingly write a script in the language belonging to a racial majority in celebration of the racial majority’s culture. Globalisation has caused social fault lines to reappear as fissures, often resulting in racial enclaves and ghettos. Not so in Singapore. Here , we celebrate each other’s culture. Here, we recognize that our racial diversity as a Country makes us stronger and more adaptable. Here, we have Singaporeans from minority communities wanting to celebrate the culture and history of the majority community and vice versa, This is a rare characteristic of our country, and one we must preserve. I wish to share one personal example of this diversity playing to Singapore’s advantage. I was participating in a hockey tournament in New Delhi in 1997.The Singapore team I was playing in had Singaporeans of all races-Chinese, Indians, Malays, Eurasians. On the Pitch, we communicated in a smattering of English, Malay and Chinese to outwit our opponents who could not understand what we are saying. That experience showed our team how diversity could be used as a strength. The words of “平和”-peace and harmony-are the consequence of two tenets of Singapore society-an anti-corrupt leadership and a population driven by and rewarded through meritocracy. The inter-play of these two tenets has provided a relatively high level of peace and harmony in the last 50 years. This peace and harmony has also translated into Singaporeans of different creeds being able to practise their religious beliefs freely. Professor Tan patiently went through each of the four lessons teaching me the different strokes I had to learn before I could piece together each character. He gave me an insight into the deep culture captured in Chinese Calligraphy .To reciprocate his kind generosity I have invited his committee, himself and SPH for good Eurasian makan at the Eurasian Association. Allow me to say a few words about the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore without whose perseverance and commitment this 20th National Schools Chinese Calligraphy Competition would not have been possible. First, allow me to congratulate the outstanding winners of the Competition whose works are on display at this exhibition. I am sure that all of you, especially the younger boys and girls among you, must feel a sense of accomplishment at seeing your works put up for public display. This year’s competition has attracted 900 participants, which is a five-fold increase in numbers from 1990. Indeed, the National Schools Chinese Calligraphy Competition is a very prestigious calligraphy competition in Singapore schools, assessing pieces from the primary to the junior college level. This will not be possible without the support of your beloved parents, you –the students, and members of the CCSS. The learning of Calligraphy builds character and imparts patience and resilience in the young learner. It moulds the young mind through self-discipline and creative effort. I must say I greatly admire many parents who made time and effort to let their children devote 2 hours every week to learn calligraphy here at this Centre. The Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore has always been very active at the forefront in organizing local grassroots calligraphy competitions ,overseas exchange exhibitions, public talks and calligraphy classes in its 40 years of history. For instances. CCSS conducts nearly 50 calligraphy classes every semester from the children’s beginners’course to the 3-year Singapore Senior Citizen Calligraphy University course. Its pivotal role in promoting and popularizing Chinese calligraphy at such national level competitions like this one will contribute in no small way to Singapore to become a vibant Arts Centre in the East. I am also encouraged by the presence of more overseas mainland Chinese students taking part in this event, some of whom are winners today. In Chinese Calligraphy ,the creative works carry within each scroll the wise sayings of ancient proverbs and moral teaching known as Confucian Ethics. Many cultures in our society seek to emphasize the unity of the Family as the building block of Society, and place Harmony and the Well-being of the Family, Community and the Nation before Self. I hope my simple calligraphy demonstration 平和 later on will encourage us to continue living and promoting racial harmony. May I also ask you for your patience and indulgence as I am learning calligraphy with Prof Tan for the first time, having had four practice sessions in preparation for today. Finally I hope that each of you will blossom into a lover and supporter of the art Maybe, one day, a great Calligraphyer will come from among you .I congratulate you once again for winning a prize , and wish every student success in their Calligraphy and that you continue to make your parents proud. In conclusion, I wish to thank the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore and SPH’s Chinese NewsPapers Division for inviting me to officiate at this 20th anniversary celebration .I am deeply humbled at your kind gesture and it makes me cherish Singapore’s Multi-racialism even more. Thank you.
|
|
会址：新加坡书法中心，滑铁卢街
48 号，新加坡第 187952 邮区 |
|