Old Tao Nan School

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Coordinates: 1°17′39.2″N 103°50′56.9″E / 1.294222°N 103.849139°E / 1.294222; 103.849139
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Old Tao Nan School
舊道南學校
National Monuments of Singapore
Website
Peranakan museum
Designated27 February 1998
Reference no.37

The Old Tao Nan School

national monument
on 27 February 1998.

History LA

Hokkien to Mandarin.[2]

The idea for the school was first mooted by Tan Boo Liat, and it gained the support of the Hokkien community. Funds for the school were raised, and the Siam House on North Bridge Road was chosen as the premise for the school. The Singapore Hokkien Association also provided an annual subsidy for the school. The school was initially named Tao Nan Study Hall,[b] the name Tao Nan being short for wu dao qi nan,[c] meaning 'My code of behaviour is promulgated in Southeast Asia'.[1] It had 90 students in its first year. As the number of pupils grew, Tan Kah Kee proposed that a new building be constructed, and $40,000 was raised by the Hokkien community for the building fund, to which Tan contributed $2,000. The sugar tycoon Majoor Oei Tiong Ham also gave $10,000 for the purchase of the land on Armenian Street on which Tao Nan School was built. Construction began 1910, and the school relocated to the new school building when it was completed in 1912. The school was then renamed Tao Nan School (Daonan Xuexiao).[2]

Tan Kah Kee served for 12 years as the school's president. When the school switched to Mandarin as the medium of instruction, the Mandarin syllabus was implemented by its first non-Hokkien principal, Xiong Shangfu, a native of Hunan province.[3]

The school was closed during the

housing estates in the suburbs, and in 1976, it was decided that the school should be re-located to Marine Parade to cater for the suburban population there. In 1982, Tao Nan School moved to its new campus in Marine Parade, where it remains today.[4] Also in 1982, English became its main medium of instruction. Throughout its history, the school has produced many prominent Chinese leaders among its alumni, among them Lee Kong Chian
.

The school was refurbished and became a wing of the

national monument on 27 February 1998.[1] When the Asian Civilisations Museum was established in Empress Place Building in 2006 after its renovation, the Old Tao Nan School was repurposed as the Peranakan Museum which opened on 25 April 2008.[2]

Architecture

Sculpture exhibit at the Peranakan Museum

The Old Tao Nan School building was designed by the Municipal Engineer's Office of Singapore in an

verandahs designed to accommodate the tropical climate of Singapore. It also has large windows and high ceilings for better ventilation in a hot climate.[1][4] A pair of black cast-iron eagles, said to ward off evil, guard the entrance to the school.[1]

The building is three-storey high, with a square central

symmetrical staircases on either side of the atrium leading up to the corridors on the upper floors.[4]

Peranakan Museum

Main article: Peranakan Museum

Today, the Old Tao Nan School building houses the Peranakan Museum which was opened in April 2008 by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Museum explores the main themes of Peranakan life in ten permanent galleries. Displays include the twelve-day Peranakan wedding and the role of the Nyonyas (female Peranakans).

Notes

  1. ^ (traditional Chinese: 舊道南學校; simplified Chinese: 旧道南学校; pinyin: Jiù Dàonán Xuéxiào)
  2. ^ (道南學堂, Daonan Xuetang)
  3. ^ (吾道其南)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Former Tao Nan School (now The Peranakan Museum)". Roots. National Heritage Board Singapore.
  2. ^ a b c "Tao Nan School". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board Singapore.
  3. ^ a b c "Story of Our Museums". Peranakan Museum.
  4. ^
    ISBN 981-4068-23-3
    .
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External links

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