Birthday Celebration of Da Song San Zhong Wang (大宋三忠王壽誕)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Ack to Mr Victor Yue of Taoism Singapore eGroup


Dai Song Sam Tiong Ong 大宋三忠王
San Zhong Wang
Poh Tiong Beo (Pu Zhong Miao) 普忠庙
Shui Xian Gong 水顯宫
Fri 26 Oct 07 9M16 (2100-2200H at Poh Tiong Beo)
Sat 27 Oct 07 9M17 (1300-1400H at Shui Xian Gong)

Hi folks,
If only my greying cells could hold the memory longer. (^^) Ah, I will depend on the younger and stronger cells of Jave and Aaron.

When I was at the Poh Tiong Beo, wow, I saw one of the most sexy puppet! Alas, there was only one old man sitting and watching the show, which was kind of interesting as this widow was talking with her servant who was "off stage". (^^) And since it was in the layman Hokkien, it was easy to understand. But I wonder if the kids who stopped by to look while on their way home (from tuition classes?) understood. What was a cheeky lor-chai (servant) trying to do to propose being the god-son of the matriarch of the house? (^^)

As I was trying to capture the nice dragons on the temple roof, a temple member (probably a leading temple official) came to watch me. Ah, he must have been curious as to my mission there. (^^) A quick explanation put him at ease (of course) that I am into research. Of course, such statements often got the people wondering if I was nuts or not. Unlike the angmohs. (^^) With the arrival of Jave and Aaron, there were more question marks in his mind (I am sure) but at the same time, he was beginning to open up since we knew a little more about Sam Tiong Ong. (^^) Of course, by now, most temples could have heard of a forum on Local Sintuas.





This temple is an especially temple to me as it has links to the original temple at Nankin Rd where my grandpa used to bring me and my brother there to see his friends and of course, the most exciting part was to drink the world's best kopi (meaning with milk) from a plate and taking trishaw rides there and back. That must be in the mid-50s till 1960, when he died, drowned after being knocked out cold by the massive canvas cover of the tongkang (tua-kow) while attempting to cover the goods on one stormy night in the outer-roads (sea off Singapore River)

I had mistaken the road to be China St. From the photo report at the Poh Tiong Beo poster (very well done to illustrate the history of the temple), it was No.8 Nankin St. From the poster, it was Poh Tiong Dian (Pu Zhong Dian). It seems that this temple originated somewhere at Ang-Ting-Beh-Tau (Clifford Pier?) housed in a stilted bungalow (anyone knows how the buildings were like in the 1920s? Apparently, the temple at Nankin St was already the third place. If my memory is still good, this place at Nankin St was the coolie-keng (meaning the clubhouse of the coolies). From bits of information I gathered from various elders, this temple seems to be the "ancestral" temple of the Tan Clan from Tang-Wha (Tong An). And their ancestral Deity seems to be Por Am Pu Chor. I learnt from my Mum that when I was born, grandpa (Mum's father) suggested that I should be the godson of Sam Tiong Ong. So was my second brother. Interestingly, my sister was the god-daughter of Por Am Put Chor.





In those days, coolie-kengs are also the "club house" of the secret societies. Ah, we will have to ask Leon to share with us on that. (^^)

Por Tiong Dian at Nankin St had another temple built in Toa Payoh, probably in the 70s? This part is a little hazy and so, I will need to get more details. From the pictures on the board, there was a temple in Toa Payoh in the 70s and apparently, in the urban renewal, that temple was "surrounded" by mud being brought in to raise the ground level in preparation of what we could see as one of the oldest HDB (Housing Development Board) estates. I learnt that only the two corners of the roof of the temple could be seen. And on rainy days (probably during the monsoon period), they needed the help of the fire brigade to help pump out the water. Later they moved across the road where another temple was built. That temple is where it is now, nestled and dwarfed by the HDB flats. In 1994, the temple at Nankin St moved to this temple. I also learnt that originally at this place the temple was more of a Tng (Tang), meaning that it would be dispensing aids to the needy and society. But after the elders had passed on, and a couple (or many?) of the descendants have become Christians, the philanthropic activities dwindled to a stop. And now, the temple is just called Por Tiong Beo.

In the past two-three years when I visited the temple, it was quiet with only a temple keeper and I learnt that on most days, it could be closed, saved 2nd and 16th of the lunar month when they do the "Koh-kun" (feasting the celestial armies). I think they also offer consultations (kiu say) on the evenings of these days.

9M16 is the day in celebrations of Sam Tiong Ong. Ah, my mother's generations still have the lunar calendars in their mind and she could rattle out the "tua-li-chi" (Da Re Zi) of the temples. She just told me that on 11M27, it is the "big day" of Por Am Put Chor!

From what I know so far, apart from the homes of many of the Tan family from Tang-Wha, there are two temples and one sintua dedicated to Sam Tiong Ong. And it seems that the Nankin St could well be the main temple, having brought the deities all the way from Tung-Wha (Tong An) in Fujian, China). From Nankin St, it seems that there was an offspring. And so, another temple was started in now what is called the Zion Rd, Shui Xian Gong. It was decided that one of the three Sam Tiong Ong will go to this temple. Throught "pua-puay" - throwing of the divining blocks - it was decided that Wen Tian Xiang will go to "preside" over that temple. This temple must have been in that area, where tua-kow building was also one of the flourishing trade then, for decades. Once, there was a big fire (I am not sure if they are related to the famous Bukit Ho Swee fire) and again, it seemed that all the surrounding houses (attap? zinc roofed) were burnt down, save that temple! There was a photo at the Shui Xian Gong to show it!

Sam Tiong Ong are the three faithful officials very well known in the Chinese history, where they were protecting the child-emperor. The said story is finally all of them died. I think I had posted this story some time back. Will see if I could retrieve them out. Or you could google the stories out from the internet. (^^) The officials were: Wen Tian Xiang, Lu Xiu Fu and Zhang Shi Jie.



And yet another group was said to venture up to Malacca. And so, another one of Sam Tiong Ong was to go and preside over the temple at Malacca. It was Lu Xiu Fu. Anyone knows the said temple in Malacca? I am not sure if there is more than one. Jave, was the name of the temple published in the temple's advertisement? (^^)

Tang Chao Fu also celebrates in honour of Sam Tiong Ong. The relationship to Nankin St seems somewhat unclear. This needs further tracking. (^^)

It seems (there's too many seems here, apologies) that Ku Guan Shuei is also part of the entourage of Deities from Tang-Wha. Anyone knows more about this guan-shuei? His tua-li-chi seems to be sometime in 6M16 or there about.

Por Tiong Beo is now undergoing massive renovations and it is almost two third done with the outside of the temple buildings repainted. The main gate has two interesting Ao (fish with dragon heads). I learnt that Sam Tiong Ong in this temple discourage any auctioning of items during the grand dinner celebrations. But, there are three chai (red banner) that would be put for auction. The chai is said to be placed from the Ao (top of the gate to a container of water(?) to the temple building, supposedly undergoing some ritualistic process. Not too clear on this part. The chai is then cut into three pieces for auction. In a bid to ensure continuity of the temple and traditions, in the recent big days, the diners - mainly descendants from the early migrants from Tang-Wha - were invited to donate towards the maintenance and expansion of activities of the temple. The fact that much has been done shows that many have com forward. I heard that the statues of two horses, life size, will be the next addition.

Por Tiong Beo is a temple of traditions. And so, on this night, we observed something that we have not seen elsewhere. Two long benches were placed on both sides in the main hall, lined with food, cups, chopsticks .. 108 of them! The place is labelled as Tian Ong Hu (Tian Wang Fu). Jave, or anyone, could you expand on the Tian Ong Hu? Could this be the 108 warriors supporting Sam Tiong Ong? In this celebrations, every five hours, the dishes and the entire cutlery sets have to be changed. Members of the temples volunteered their services for shift-duties.





While Por Tiong Beo is moving towards further stabilisation and expansion of activities, Shui Xian Gong seems to be heading for an unsure future. It is said that the place has been put for enbloc (I could not establish this as the people at the temple were busy with their yewkeng when I was there). If so, a landmark that saw a phoenix rising from the ashes of the great fire may no longer be there. A temple that has seen its kampung community disappeared, the water rescinding in the canals of Singapore River (used to be marshy and that's where the living legacy of tuakow builders (whose ancestors made the huge ships of Admiral Cheng Ho - Zheng He?) used to build the tua-kows for the flourishing entreport trade at the Singapore River mouth. From what I observed, the craftsmen did not seem to use any blueprints when cutting the wood out of the logs and bending them to build the tuakow. Hmm ..





It would be great to find how many of the Chinese in SIngapore are descendants of Tang Wah. (^^)

Victor
Singapore