Remains of the once glorious past
I got off the Singapore MRT at Chinatown, expecting to find myself engulfed within the threshold of the Chinese culture; smelling the pungent aromas of Chinese cuisine, surrounded by the bright and vibrant colors of the far east, but alas my expectations dissolved at the sight of high rising buildings and fast foods. What more could I expect of Singapore, the amalgamation of cultures and a capturer of times; both past and present caught inside this magic glass ball paper weight of an island. I was expecting the temples to be situated in a clearing however i was mistaken.. The temples take you by surprise, especially the Fu Tak Chi Museum. It was once and Cantonese temple- one of the oldest temples. Fully constructed with wood. Most of the temples in Singapore have be demolished or incinerated; only few remain and have been conserved as temples. The remaining temples, The Fu Tak Chi Temple have been reconstructed into a museum. What is enthralling about the Museum is that it unexpectedly leads into a maze of covered restaurants and little bargain shops. One can sit and attend a small tea ceremony inside the temple. Two lions, one female and male symbolizing prosperity flank the main gate. On the doors gilded in tarnished gold are the two watchmen of the temple gates. As you enter the temple, standard to most Chinese temple architecture is a small sized open courtyard. Something similar to the nallukettu in South Indian Architecture. In the Museum, there is a life size wax statue of an old Chinese man dressed in his attire painting his calligraphy. The beauty of the old temple lies in the wooden buttresses which hold the sloping green tiled roof.
Right next door to the museum is another shrine, is a house on one on Singapore's greatest philanthropists. Again, like the museum it is buried within the depths of the bigger buildings that cover it like some protection. Inside it follows the same kind of pattern as seen with the smaller temple. The knee high wooden step at the door that leads you into a sun lit courtyard decorated with lions and potted bamboo plants, all for the sake of prosperity and good luck. At the far end, straight from the entrance one can see the altar, which carries no deity but only a single name engraved upon a wooden plank. It is surrounded by offerings of fruit and flowers and the fumes of the floating candles and incense sticks. Set before the altar are two huge rosewood and teak dining tables, with heavy wooden chairs to match, the lady caretaker there explained that these tables were used by the clan members.
On the way I saw the Nagar Durgha shrine, which imitated the early Indo-Muslim architecture. Its one of the earliest Malay mosques in the city. Its square minarettes with windows now filled with creepers and pigeons.
It was after this that I made my visit to the one of the oldest ad most important Hokkien temples in Singapore- Thian Hock Keng Temple, the Temple of Happiness. Finding the temple was definitely mind blowing. For it like all the other buildings was buried inside the depths of urban architecture, captured. As you enter, one will be amazed by the architecture especially by the fact that not a single nail had been used in the construction, not even for its pagoda-shaped roofs. Instead the entire structure is supported by iron-wood posts and granite imported from China. The temple is decorated with gilded carvings, tile roofs adorned with dragons and phoenixes, intricate sculptures from China, pretty blue porcelain tiles from the Netherlands, and cast-iron railings from Scotland. Each component of the temple well thought of and well planned. The early builders understood well the significance shapes play in temple architecture, and the Thian Hock Keng is a fine example. It has windows that are circular to symbolize heaven, square to symbolize the earth, and tiles which were meticulously laid out either in square patterns to symbolize the mouth, implying that one would never go hungry here, or in an upside down "V" pattern, symbolizing "ren", the Chinese word for "men", to suggest that one can regard this place as a sanctuary. The intricacies were all thought to perfection. The colors of the tiles contrasting with the cold of the granite, and the red of the wood, the glitter of the gold and the polished smooth surfaces of the porcelain. The two pagodas have very striking roofs – they are red and shaped like a gourd. The caretakers of the temple explained significance of the gourd-shape- that before glass and porcelain had been invented; medicines were stored in gourds which had been left to dry. As such, gourd-shaped talismans worn on the body were believed to have the power to protect its wearer from bad health. Eventually some temple roofs took on this shape too – to indicate that there is a herbalist or physician on site. Perched high above other buildings, and with such a striking color, it was easy for people to spot such a temple. But today that point has changed, and if you want to spot a Chinese temple one will have to only look down from the sky rise buildings rather than up. Despite all my expectations going down the drains, I was happy to find the Thian Hock Keng Temple, which preserved the ancient Chinese culture, and gave this MRT stop its true name- Chinatown.
I got off the Singapore MRT at Chinatown, expecting to find myself engulfed within the threshold of the Chinese culture; smelling the pungent aromas of Chinese cuisine, surrounded by the bright and vibrant colors of the far east, but alas my expectations dissolved at the sight of high rising buildings and fast foods. What more could I expect of Singapore, the amalgamation of cultures and a capturer of times; both past and present caught inside this magic glass ball paper weight of an island. I was expecting the temples to be situated in a clearing however i was mistaken.. The temples take you by surprise, especially the Fu Tak Chi Museum. It was once and Cantonese temple- one of the oldest temples. Fully constructed with wood. Most of the temples in Singapore have be demolished or incinerated; only few remain and have been conserved as temples. The remaining temples, The Fu Tak Chi Temple have been reconstructed into a museum. What is enthralling about the Museum is that it unexpectedly leads into a maze of covered restaurants and little bargain shops. One can sit and attend a small tea ceremony inside the temple. Two lions, one female and male symbolizing prosperity flank the main gate. On the doors gilded in tarnished gold are the two watchmen of the temple gates. As you enter the temple, standard to most Chinese temple architecture is a small sized open courtyard. Something similar to the nallukettu in South Indian Architecture. In the Museum, there is a life size wax statue of an old Chinese man dressed in his attire painting his calligraphy. The beauty of the old temple lies in the wooden buttresses which hold the sloping green tiled roof.
Right next door to the museum is another shrine, is a house on one on Singapore's greatest philanthropists. Again, like the museum it is buried within the depths of the bigger buildings that cover it like some protection. Inside it follows the same kind of pattern as seen with the smaller temple. The knee high wooden step at the door that leads you into a sun lit courtyard decorated with lions and potted bamboo plants, all for the sake of prosperity and good luck. At the far end, straight from the entrance one can see the altar, which carries no deity but only a single name engraved upon a wooden plank. It is surrounded by offerings of fruit and flowers and the fumes of the floating candles and incense sticks. Set before the altar are two huge rosewood and teak dining tables, with heavy wooden chairs to match, the lady caretaker there explained that these tables were used by the clan members.
On the way I saw the Nagar Durgha shrine, which imitated the early Indo-Muslim architecture. Its one of the earliest Malay mosques in the city. Its square minarettes with windows now filled with creepers and pigeons.
It was after this that I made my visit to the one of the oldest ad most important Hokkien temples in Singapore- Thian Hock Keng Temple, the Temple of Happiness. Finding the temple was definitely mind blowing. For it like all the other buildings was buried inside the depths of urban architecture, captured. As you enter, one will be amazed by the architecture especially by the fact that not a single nail had been used in the construction, not even for its pagoda-shaped roofs. Instead the entire structure is supported by iron-wood posts and granite imported from China. The temple is decorated with gilded carvings, tile roofs adorned with dragons and phoenixes, intricate sculptures from China, pretty blue porcelain tiles from the Netherlands, and cast-iron railings from Scotland. Each component of the temple well thought of and well planned. The early builders understood well the significance shapes play in temple architecture, and the Thian Hock Keng is a fine example. It has windows that are circular to symbolize heaven, square to symbolize the earth, and tiles which were meticulously laid out either in square patterns to symbolize the mouth, implying that one would never go hungry here, or in an upside down "V" pattern, symbolizing "ren", the Chinese word for "men", to suggest that one can regard this place as a sanctuary. The intricacies were all thought to perfection. The colors of the tiles contrasting with the cold of the granite, and the red of the wood, the glitter of the gold and the polished smooth surfaces of the porcelain. The two pagodas have very striking roofs – they are red and shaped like a gourd. The caretakers of the temple explained significance of the gourd-shape- that before glass and porcelain had been invented; medicines were stored in gourds which had been left to dry. As such, gourd-shaped talismans worn on the body were believed to have the power to protect its wearer from bad health. Eventually some temple roofs took on this shape too – to indicate that there is a herbalist or physician on site. Perched high above other buildings, and with such a striking color, it was easy for people to spot such a temple. But today that point has changed, and if you want to spot a Chinese temple one will have to only look down from the sky rise buildings rather than up. Despite all my expectations going down the drains, I was happy to find the Thian Hock Keng Temple, which preserved the ancient Chinese culture, and gave this MRT stop its true name- Chinatown.
Fu Tak Chi Temple
The minarettes of the Nagar Durgha Shrine
The Lions and Guardians of the doors of the temple
The Pagodas that once stood tall 
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