03 Nov 2018
2pm - 4pm
The Arts House (Old Parliament House), Chamber
1 Old Parliament Lane
Singapore 179429
The commonly used terms of “Singaporean Chinese literature” or “Malaysian Chinese literature” do not include the various works of Classical Chinese Literature emerging from the 15th century (Ming Dynasty) onwards, including periodicals, travel novels, and poetry. The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya have had access to these publications of Classical Chinese Literature since the 15th century, from Ma Huan’s Yingya Shenglan in 1416 to Huang Zunxian’s Poems of the Human Environment in the 19th century. Even the literature of the 20th century written in Classical Chinese, such as the poetry collections by Khoo Seok Wan in 1941 and Pan Shou in 1997, have been overlooked.
Vernacular Chinese Literature has a narrow definition, excluding many outstanding diasporic Chinese writers and their works, based on peripheral factors such as nationality, politics, and migration. For example, Malayan Chinese literature rejected the works of writers who had taken up Singaporean citizenship after the Separation of Singapore and Malaya, and likewise, the works of writers who had chosen Malaysia as their home were excluded from Singaporean Chinese literature. Many writers have been denied recognition as part of the local literature, and labelled as returning overseas Chinese writers or migrant Chinese writers instead.
We need to redraw our literary map and review our writers and their works in a new light. Why should Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese Literature exclude the Classical Literature of the 15th century? And how should we define the identity of migrant writers?
This event is co-presented by Chou Sing Chu Foundation with the Singapore Writers Festival and conducted in Mandarin.
Ticket price: S$5*
*Tickets are available from SISTIC and its authorised agents, booking fee applies for each ticket.
Purchase ticket via: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/cswf1118f
For more information, please visit : http://www.chouscfoundation.org/