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61 Stamford Road, #03-08 Stamford Court, Singapore 178892
Tel 6332 7953, Fax 6332 3590, www.pmb.sg
Why do you think animal gurines are used
to adorn buildings? If you look closely at
our Chinese monumentstemples such
as Thian Hock Keng Temple and Yueh Hai
Ching Temple, residences such as House of
Tan Yeok Nee and even Former Thong Chai
Medical Instuonyou will nd animals
carved or painted on roofs, beams, windows
doorways and walls. Majesc, elegant
and even fearsome in appearance, they
have come to be associated with all things
auspicious in Chinese cultureprosperity,
wealth, good fortune, longevity and
happiness.
This Chinese New Year, discover how these
gurines found on Thian Hock Keng Temple
are related to auspicious Chinese New Year
characters and greengs! See if you can spot
them when you visit the temple!
PHOENIXES Good Fortune! (fu)
FISHES Wishing you year aer year of abundance! (nian nian you yu)
BATS & BEASTS Represenng the Gods of Good Fortune, Prosperity and Longevity
LIONS Wishing you success in all endeavours! (shi shi shun li)
This pair of auspicious lions appears as
ornamentaon on the ridge (backbone) ofthe roof of Thian Hock Keng Temple. The
realisc and lively lions are evocave of the
auspicious saying shi shi shun li(),as (shi), meaning endeavour in English,shares the same pronunciaon as the word
lion in Mandarin (shi).
This frieze, also found on the roof of the
temple, depicts a scene of two phoenixesying towards three peonies, aracted to
the scent of the owers. In Chinese culture,
the phoenix (feng) symbolises happiness(xingfu) while the peony (mudan)symbolises happy marriage, romance as well
as good fortune (fu). When both phoenixand peony come together, they represent
wealth and status (fugui), and in turn,
signify the auspicious meaning of goodfortune (fu), a Chinese character which isoen hung upside down during Chinese New
Year to signify fortunes arrival (fudao),which is pronounced in the same manner as
the inverted character (fudao).
The carp (liyu) which can be found inanother frieze on roof, is associated with the
auspicious Chinese New Year greeng nian
nian you yu (), also shouted out overthe tossing ofyu sang (Chinese New Year dish
with slices of raw sh). The Chinese word
(li) is pronounced in the same way as theword benet ( li), and sh ( yu) has thesame pronunciaon as the word abundance
( yu) in Mandarin.
The round windows surrounding the
entrances to Thian Hock Keng are symbols of
fortune, prosperity and longevity. The four
bats at the corners represent good fortune,
as the Chinese character for bat (fu) hasthe same pronunciaon as that of fortune
(fu). If you look closely at the window,you will noce that there are 6 eyes which
belong to dragons without horns, otherwise
known as beasts or shou () in Chinese,pronounced in the same way as longevity
(shou). Train your eye towards the centreof the window, and you will observe that the
dragons form the shape of a Chinese stove
( lu) which has the same pronunciaon asthe word prosperity (lu). Together, theymake up (fu lu shou), the familiarthree Gods of Good Fortune, Prosperity and
Longevity!
Aer making its rounds to 12 public sites in 2010, PMBs travelling exhibion
Of Monuments and Memories, featuring 27 stunning photographs of our iconic
monuments, will make its way to schools this year! 4 out of the 14 host schools
St. Gabriels Secondary (April), Raes Instuon (July), Xin Min Primary (August)
and Junyuan Primary (November)will be opening the exhibion to schools in
their clusters. Watch out for these dates and be sure to take your students to
visit the exhibion and parcipate in the excing programmes which the schools
have lined up to celebrate Racial Harmony Day, Internaonal Friendship Day and
Naonal Day!
Due to overwhelming demand, we will be opening a few more slots for the basic
package from July 2011 and extending the exhibions run to 2012!
Of Monuments and Memories Travelling Exhibion
We invite you to explore our Naonal Monuments educaon kit to incorporate
monuments in your teaching! Designed to support learning objecves in History,
Social Studies and Naonal Educaon, the kit contains write-ups on Singapores
monuments and includes ideas on using monuments for a visit, pre and post-visit
classroom work. It also comes with a pull-out map which you can use to design
trails and learning journeys to the monuments! Wield these learning tools and
download the kit free from the PMB website or MOE Edumall!
Naonal Monuments of Singapore Educaon Kit
Launched in 2009, this publicaon features 24 of Singapores Naonal
Monuments captured through arsc photography by a group of renowned local
photographers, with special emphasis on their architectural details. Purchase a
copy to nd out how you can tap on the fascinang tales about Singapores past
and present that each monument unveils to enrich your lessons!
Resonance: Songs of Our Forefathers
Starng from January 2011, we will be oering guided tours to our monuments
every last Sunday of the month. Uncover fascinang stories about the religious
beliefs of the Indians in Chinatown, the royal links between Yueh Hai ChingTemple and Former Telok Ayer Market, or be privy to an ex-Holloway Lane
residents memories of the Raes Hotel and St. Andrews Cathedral. Look out
also for our interacve and hands-on tour of the Armenian Church created
especially for children.
Monthly Walking Tours
Be part of the 175th anniversary celebraons of the Armenian Church in
Illuminate 175 (I-175), where the acvies will turn the spotlight on Singapores
oldest church and its memorial garden on 12 and 13 March! Make a date with
your friends and family to eat, drink, try your hand at orchid cra, or join in our
half-hourly tours. Come learn about the history of this neo-classical landmark
built by the community associated with Singapore icons such as the naonal
ower Vanda Miss Joaquim, the Raes Hotel and The Straits Times. Stay ll dusk
to enjoy the special performances under the stars, put up by local musicians and
the Armenian community. If you have never met an Armenian before, heres
your chance!
Students are invited to be part of this event, as parcipants in the special
compeon for primary and secondary school students to design a poster on
the Armenian Church, with aracve cash and novelty toy cameras* as prizes!
Shortlisted entries will be displayed at the Church, and you and the public will
have the opportunity to vote for your favourite entries on 12 and 13 March.
Results will be announced on 13 March, right before the concert. Watch out for
more details in the compeon package that will be sent to your school!
* Cameras are proudly sponsored by thirtysix.
175th Anniversary of the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator
We heard you! Come 10 and 11 March, Operaon MONUMENT! returns as a
two-day workshop, with the second day dedicated to a special monument trail
where educators can try their hand at creang eldtrips and lesson plans using
monuments. Piloted in 2010, Operaon MONUMENT! challenges educators to
create an excing learning environment by taking teaching out of the classroom
into real sites of experience. Through this workshop, educators will learn how to
use monuments and museums for source-based and place-based learning.
Operaon MONUMENT! Educators Workshop
Take your students up close to the icons in our history and heritage through
learning journeys to our two newly gazeed monuments which were unveiled
to the public in December 2010! Challenge them to observe and discuss how our
pioneer architects sought to express the naons new-found independence andaspiraons towards progress and modernity in the Singapore Conference Hall
and Trade Union House built in 1965, or invite them to contemplate the legacies
of our pioneers and war dead, memorialised in the Esplanade Park Memorials
comprising the Tan Kim Seng Fountain, Cenotaph and Lim Bo Seng Memorial.
Learning Journeys to Our New Naonal Monuments
PRESERVATION OF MONUMENTS BOARD // E-NEWSLETTER // NO.1 // JAN 2011 //
Greengs from the Preservaon of Monuments
Board (PMB) educaon team! We hope you had
a wonderful start to the New Year!
2010 saw our Naonal Monuments makeheadlines and discussed frequently in
the media, in the context of issues such
as preservaon, identy and educaon.
Subjecve as the topics may be, they signify an
increasing interest in built heritage and what
our monuments mean for the individual, the
community and other stakeholders. Indeed,
Singapores Naonal Monuments have a
unique ability to ignite learning, and foster a
strong sense of engagement, ownership and
responsibility towards the community and
naon. Against this backdrop, PMBs educaon
team has craed a series of programmes for
you and your students in 2011 that are aimed
at enabling a beer understanding of the
monuments and exploring their relevance to
the present day.
Yes! Useful, inspiring, engaging! Field-
based learning excites teachers and students
alike. (By MOE Curriculum Planning Ocer,
parcipant in PMB educators workshop)
Your valued feedback to our pilot educators
workshop Operaon MONUMENT! conductedlast year encouraged us, and guided our
eorts at creang tools for place-based and
experienal learning to support learning
outcomes in History, Social Studies and Naonal
Educaon.
To that end, we invite you and your studentsto experience, cra, celebrate, discover, wield,
ancipate and visit! Yes all this ACTION at
our monuments! Be part of the anniversary
celebraons of one of the oldest buildings
in Singapore and enter your students in a
compeon for prizes we wish we owned
ourselves! Create a special monument trail
for your learning journeys with us, or secure
yourself a spot for this years Operaon
MONUMENT! educators workshop happening
in March!
In the rst of our quarterly newsleer, we also
bring you our special FEATURE celebrate
Chinese New Year by geng to the root of
auspicious animals and symbols in Chinese
culture! Heres wishing you (shi shi
shun li) success in all endeavours!
Yours truly,
PMB Educaon Team
WARMEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!
