Tuesday, September 28, 2010

金砂寨 (Jinshazhai, Jinsha), our ancestral home (Part 1)

According to our family genealogy, my 19th generation ancestor (great*17 grandfather) 陈盘隐 (1368-1448) settled in Jinshazhai (Jinsha) village(金砂寨), Caitang Town (彩塘镇), Chao'an County (潮安县), Chaozhou City (Prefecture)(潮州), Guangdong Province, PRC ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chao%27an_County), 15 km from the centre of Shantou (汕頭,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantou ), soon after AD 1390. The Jinsha Tan clan, of Teochew dialect, is still there.

 My grandfather was the first in my family to settle in Singapore (in 1937).

Tan Yeok Nee (Tan Hiok Nee, 陈旭年, 1827-1902) (Wikipedia, Infopedia), whose mansion, House of Tan Yeok Nee (陈旭年宅第 or 陈旭年大厦, Wikipedia) at the corner of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue in Singapore is a national monument, is the most prominent son of the clan in Southease Asia.

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Grand Mansions, Bungalows and Villas of the Past (here) describes the House of Tan Yeok Nee and the River House, also known as Ripple House (涟漪楼), both built by Tan.


Early Teochew businessman Tan Yeok Nee 陈旭年 (1827 – 1902) came from China at an young age and made his fortune through gambier, pepper, alcohol and opium trades. On very good terms with the Johor Sultan, Tan Yeok Nee would later become Malaya’s biggest kangchu (港主, lord of the river settlements) at the age of 39. By 1868, the sultanate bestowed on Tan Yeok Nee the status of the kapitan (representative of the Chinese enclaves), and presented him with the title of “Advisor to Government” (资政).



Currently leased to the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, this century-old house was originally known as Government Advisor's Mansion (资政第). Together with the River House, they are the last remaining Chinese-styled mansions in Singapore.

The House of Tan Yeok Nee is also the only surviving house of the famous “Four Big Mansions” (四大厝) built by Teochew tycoons in the late 19th century,  the other three being the House of Tan Seng Poh (located at the junction of Loke Yew Street and Hill Street), the House of Seah Eu Chin (located at the northern Boat Quay) and the House of Wee Ah Hood (also known as 大夫第 and demolished in 1961).

Conserved as a national monument in 1974, the house has witnessed dramatic events in its history. It was acquired in the early 20th century when the first railway was constructed. The house became home for the Tank Road Station master.

It was sold to the Anglican Church in 1912, which set up St Mary’s Home and School for the Eurasian girls. In 1938, the Salvation Army took over the site as their headquarters but it was bombed and occupied by the Japanese forces during the Second World War. After the war, extensive repairs were carried out and when the Salvation Army was relocated to Bishan in 1991, the house was sold to Cockpit Hotel and subsequently Wing Tai Group.

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Independent confirmation of the information on 陈盘隐:

陈坦六世孙陈惺斋裔孙陈盘隐从福建省漳州府莆田县家东桥乡宰辅巷迁居潮州市彩塘镇金砂寨。陈盘隐七世孙陈宽裕于明景五年 (1454)迁创于潮阳举练都港后村 (今属陈店镇),裔分小南塘(今属城南街道)与贵屿巷尾。陈盘隐九世孙陈瑚流迁居汕头市潮阳区贵屿镇贵屿乡。另有金砂陈氏裔孙分居潮安县浮洋镇新安村。

(http://cszqlt.5d6d.com/archiver/tid-502.html )

金砂村在廣東省潮州市潮安縣城庵埠西北3千米,彩塘鎮政府駐地南3.5千米。金砂一、二、三、四、南方、金東6個管理區駐地。屬彩塘鎮。人口21503人。原名砂隴。南宋紹興廿八年(1158年)建寨于松嶺,元末明初移居平川,明嘉靖四十年(1561年)築寨,設四門三關,曆稱金砂寨。金砂寨西門遺址尚存。聚落呈塊狀分布,建築爲磚木結構平房。有耕地5376畝,農業主種水稻。盛産淡水魚。有村辦企業75家。主要有五金、服裝、采石等。有中學1所,小學5所,幼兒園6所。村西桑浦山麓有海蝕地貌,斜角頭從熙公祠爲市級重點文物保護單位。有村道通潮汕公路。(王朝網絡 wangchao.net.cn)

(http://tc.wangchao.net.cn/baike/detail_1496036.html )

Part 2: here

1 comment:

Helluo Librorum said...

I have posted a blog on October 2 (Z-7:00), further amplifying this subject.