Roles of Old Streets on the Development of the Chinese Society

7/26/2019 Roles of Old Streets on the Development of the Chinese Society

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Roles of Old Streets on the Development of the Chinese Society

Introduction

The Old Streets of Kuching are streets that have a history up to 200 years ago like the

Carpenter Street !"e #ai Street $ayang Street China Street %ain &a''ar and India

Street( Some of these streets have profound influence to the Chinese Society(

The Chinese have come to Kuching since long time ago even Kuching)s

nomenclature is said to have a Chinese origin( Kuching)s naming is rumored to have

different origins ranging from the Kuching River to cats *ut to "hat the old Teoche"s

*elieved it is from them the Teoche")s dialect of +old "ell) ,Kuching In Time 200-.(

/ctually even the Chinese "ord of old "ell sounds very alike to Kuching( The "ell that

the old Teoche"s referred to is the "ell near the Old Streets "hich is no" in the middle

of a road( It is opened to provide "ater to the residents in Old Streets 10 years ago hence

making it almost the same age "ith Old Streets( In the early years men could *e seen

*athing around at the "ell and "omen could *e seen taking "ater from the "ell for

domestic purposes( &esides this old "ell there is still t"o other old "ell aging up to more

than t"o hundred years(

&esides the "ells temple and associations of different *irthplace or province have

*een *uilt *y the Chinese "ho came from China for the Chinese(


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Roles of T emples

There are four temples in the vicinity of the Old Streets of Kuching "hich are Tua

ek Kong Temple #ong San Si Temple Tian #ou Temple and #iang Thian Siang Ti

Temple( Temples *ack then "ere *uilt for more or less the same purpose a place to

shelter gather and pray( 3or e4ample Tian #ou Temple "as *uilt *ecause "hen the

#ainanese travel from China through the sea they *rought along the 5od statue in their

6ourney in order to travel safely( #ence "hen they reached their destination they "anted

to appreciate the *lessing from the 5od *y *uilding the temple to consecrate the 5od(

7sually temples are o"n *y Chinese of different province *ack in China such as the

Teoche"s the #akkas or the #ai"anese( #o"ever there are also temples that is o"n *y

a variety of Chinese like the Tua ek Kong Temple(

Tua ek Kong Temple near %ain &a''ar is the oldest temple in Sara"ak and it is

*uilt *y the Chinese in the 8thcentury for the Chinese themselves "hich had traveled

south to Kuching from China( Contra to its purposes no" it is once the place "here the

Chinese gather and take shelter from( Chinese that has no companion of any kind gather

together and live together as a community( &esides the Tua ek Kong Temple "as also

the post office of the Chinese ,Kuching In Time 200-.( #undred over years ago there

"as no prominent *uildings in Kuching so the early residents near*y "hen send and

receive letters and parcels they "ould "rite the name of Tua ek Kong Temple as the

address of the letters and parcels( $hen the letters to arrive usually the Chinese "ould

*urn an incense at the temple *efore asking the people in charge in the temple for the

arrival of their letters(

%oreover Tua ek Kong Temple *rings great luck and fortune to the Chinese ,Kuching In Time

200-.( The temple is in the +Dragon) place a feng shui term "hich is one of the *est location a


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*uilding could ever *uilt in( This is *ecause *ehind the temple is a small mountain or a hill and there is

a river in front of the temple( The &rooke King then reali'es this and *eing already afraid of the

potential of the Chinese he "as determined to *reak the feng shui of the temple( #ence a road "as

*uilt in the mountain *ehind and also in front of the temple( Ironically a Chinese /ffair Court "as

*uilt also to *lock the feng shui of the temple( It "as said that they "anted the temple to *e *othered

*y the everyday arguing of the people(

/nother temple the #ong San Si Temple is the property of Kuching #okkien

/ssociation( This temple "as already at this site during -9- and "as renovated in -8:

"hich formed its shape as "e see today ,#ong San Si Temple n(d(.( The temple is no"

famous for its special ancient outlook and sophisticated stone carving and *ecome one of

the famous tourism spot in Kuching( The host deity "orshipped in this temple is Kong

Teck Choon Ong the "idely respected deity in Southern 3u6ian rovince China( #e is the

transformation of the human *eing "hose real name is Kuo Chung 3ook( /ccording to

historical record he "as *orn in the year of 82; on 22ndday of 2nd


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&esides the temple also act as shelter and a place to gather *efore the #ainan

/ssociation "as started since there "as only a*out 0 to 20 #ai"anese that came to

Kuching *ack in the early 8thcentury( Initially they "ere "orking as cleaners for the

!nglish and then slo"ly they started to do some small *usiness(

The fourth temple the #iang Thian Siang Ti Temple "as a very simple *uilding

"hen it "as first *uilt *y the Teoche" immigrants "ho came from China more than a

century ago ,#iang Thian Siang Ti Temple n(d(.( Originally located at the previous Soon

#oon street "hich "as no" kno"n as the %ain &a''ar the temple "as resited to its

present location in --8 after it "as licked *y the *ig fire in --9(It is kno"n as a sacred

place of "orship for devotees and a historical monument the ma6estic temple is a popular

tourists attraction for *oth local and foreign visitors(

In 81- the temple under"ent a ma6or renovation and the statues of the Deities "ere

completely refur*ished( / huge cele*ration took place to commemorate this occasion(

There "ere merry>making and a procession "as held to add to the festivities and since

that day this cele*ration has *ecame an annual event attracting devotees from near and

far to congregate at the temple( It also *ecame a trust organi'ation for the local Teoche"

community ever since then(

/s a result in the eyes of the people the temples function as a place to gain *lessings

and carry out certain ceremonies a shelter to gather and sociali'e "ith the people "ho

came from the same *ackground a place to send out their letters to their hometo"n and

so on so forth in the previous( &ut no"adays the temples no" also act as one of the main

tourism spots and cultural heritage "hich encourage the local people to continue protect

and conserve these properties from *eing damaged(


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icture ? The vie" in front of Tua ek Kong Temple(


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Role of Chinese / ssociations and % ovement of eople

&ack then in the Old Streets of Kuching the local people "ho "ere staying in

Carpenter Street come from different parts of the China and speak different dialects for

e4ample #okkien Teoche" #ainan and so on( #ence there is a need for starting

associations from different groups of people( In order to develop and *uild up the street

they put a lot of efforts to achieve their goals including *uilding up schools starting

*usiness and small clinic "hich sold Chinese medicine(

In this case "e intervie"ed a old "oman a*out the her story of that in Carpenter

Street and India Street( The granny "as *orn in 829 and no" she is already 80 years old(

/t that time Carpenter Street "as still mostly inha*ited *y Chinese( During those time

rice is scarce so they have to *arter for it at 0th mile(

3rom the intervie" "e kno" that granny "as the eldest daughter in her family

therefore she "as needed to do a lot of "orks( #er family had a ru**er field in 2 @2th

miles and all her family lived at there( 5rannyAs father planted vegeta*les "hile she sold

the vegeta*les( Other than that her father also had a grocery shop in India Street and

therefore they can *e considered as a "ealthy people at that time( &ecause of granny "as

the eldest in her si*ling her grandmother did not let her to cook in kitchen *ut "anted her

to follo" her father to learn and do *usiness( /fter she married she moved to Carpenter

Street from India Street and carry out her *usiness "ith her hus*and until no"( /t that

time the people *et"een India Street and Carpenter Street "as very good( #ence the

movement of people from these t"o streets can *e clearly identified at that time(

5ranny received her education in Cantonese guild hall "hich is located *eside the

temple( The num*er of students in a class "as only ten or a little *it more "hereas the


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teachers "ere hired from #ong Kong and Singapore and the *ooks "ere also imported

from Singapore( The class "as a mi4ture of different ages of children( &efore her time

schools "ere *uilt and funded entirely *y the Cantonese /ssociation( Since the different

Chinese associations "ere greatly supported *y their group of people primary schools

"ere *uilt( The teachers and teaching materials "ere all from their homeland( They "ere

taught in their mother tongue( /fter the Bapanese came everything changed(

The old market "as *asically inha*ited *y the #okkien people and they produced

some local products such as ru**er pepper and so on( There "ere also people "ho had

the a*ility to do *ig *usiness( During that time there "as no 3oocho" people around

"ho "ere famous for their *usiness capa*ility in Carpenter Street they only came from

Si*u after that(

/fter a period of time life on here *ecomes more peaceful and prosperous( / fe" of

coffee shops also kno"n as +kopitiam) in the local slang also e4isted( o" the old

market has also moved a"ay and the shops "hich located in the Old Streets of Kuching

"ere mostly selling handicrafts to *e sold to the tourists instead of the usual groceries

*ack in the early 20thcentury(


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!4tras

There are actually some small stories and short facts around Carpenter Street that

some people might not kno"(

erforming stages are usually *uilt opposite of a temple *ecause Chinese traditional

opera or play is acted for the 5ods to "atch and not for the people to en6oy( Some stages

are still used till no" "hile some are kept as cultural heritage( This particular stage

especially is one of the three oldest performing stage in Southeast /sia *ut instead of

protecting it some has *een trying to remove it for development purposes(


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Some of the shop are still using the original shop signs hundred over years ago though

most opt for the modern shop signs( Some of them are "ritten in calligraphy and are read

from right side 6ust like old China used to(


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One day as the 3irst Ra6ah of Sara"ak Ra6ah Bames &rooke "as riding his horse

strolling through $ayang Street he sa" a kid "earing stomachers the traditional

clothing of the Chinese for kids mostly playing aside the #ong San Si Temple)s tap( #e

thought that it "as "eird "hen he sa" the clothing so he "anted to call out to the kid *ut

the kid "ent straight into the temple( Bames &rooke immediately got off his horse and

follo"ed the kid into the temple *ut the kid "as no"here to *e seen( /fter some

consultation "ith the residents it "as said that the kid spotted *y Bames &rooke "as none

other than the Deity Kong Teck Choon Ong of the #ong San Si Temple itself(


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/nother sighting of the Deity is during the *ig fire in --9( #o"ever this is 6ust a hear>

said story( It is said that at that time a "ife of !"e #ai the "ell>kno"n rich guy then

"as running out from the house carrying 6e"els and other precious stuff "ith her a"ay

from the fire( That "as "hen she sa" a kid "earing the same clothes as descri*ed *y

Bames &rooke "aving a *ig flag of the temple on top of the roof of the temple( /nd the

fire really stop right there 6ust *efore it reaches the temple(


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Conclusion

The Old Streets of Kuching "e o*served no" is the com*ination of the past and

present including the *uildings and the people( 3rom the previous time it slo"ly evolves

and finally turns into this uniue appearance( 3or e4ample some of the shops are still

using the original shop signs and carrying the *usiness "hich pass do"n from the

grandfather to father and finally to the son "hich is the o"ner of the shop no"( &ut some

of the o"ners already sold or rent their shop to them "ho serve food or run a restaurant

"ith a modern design( !verything cultural and historical is slo"ly lost as the time ticks

a"ay( &ut although it is an old>ne" mi4 in the Old Streets of Kuching they are still seen

to *e e4isting together in a harmony "ay(

Special Thanks

Special thanks to the old "oman from the shop $ai #in for "illing to spend time to

accept our intervie"( /lso to a radio DB "ho told the most interesting stories of the old

streets of Kuching to one of our mem*ers years ago(

References

#iang Thian Siang Ti Temple( ,n(d(.(Hiang Thian Siang Ti TempleE&rochureF( Kuching?

#iang Thian Siang Ti Temple(

#ong San Si Temple( ,n(d(.(Kuching Hong San SiE&rochureF( Kuching? #ong San Si

Temple(

Kuching In Time( ,200-.( Kuching In Time( Retrieved from http?@@"""(intimes(com(my@"rite>

html@0-kucing>mulu(htm

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Roles of Old Streets on the Development of the Chinese Society