Tan Kah Kee | |
|---|---|
陳嘉庚 | |
 | |
| Born | (1874-10-21)21 October 1874 |
| Died | 12 August 1961(1961-08-12) (aged 86) |
| Other names | Chen Jiageng |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Philanthropic work, setting up schools in China and Southeast Asia and helping to raise funds to support China in major events during the 20th century |
| Spouse | 4 |
| Children | 18 |
| Parent | Tan Kee Peck (father) |
| Relatives | Tan Keng Hian (younger brother) Lee Kong Chian (son-in-law) |
| Tan Kah Kee | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳嘉庚 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈嘉庚 | ||||||||||||||
| HokkienPOJ | Tân Ka-kiⁿ | ||||||||||||||
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Tan Kah Kee (Chinese:陳嘉庚;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Tân Ka-kiⁿ; also spelled asChen Jiageng; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist active inSingapore,Hong Kong and the Chinese cities ofShanghai,Xiamen, andGuangzhou.
A prominent figure in theoverseas Chinese community in Singapore and wider Southeast Asia during the 20th century, he was responsible for gathering much support from the community to aid China in major events such as theXinhai Revolution (1911), theKuomintang'sNorthern Expedition (1926–28), and theSecond Sino-Japanese War (1937–45).
Apart from donating most of his assets and earnings to aid China in those major events, Tan set up funds in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong and contributed to the establishment of several schools in Southeast Asia and China'sFujian Province, includingXiamen University.
Tan Kah Kee was born inXiamen, Fujian Province, in 1874 during theQing dynasty of China. In 1890, at the age of 16, he travelled toSingapore in the Straits Settlements to help his father, who owned arice trading business. In 1903, after his father's business collapsed, Tan started his own company and built a business empire fromrubber plantations, manufacturing, sawmills, canneries, real estate, import and export brokerage, ocean transport and rice trading. As he was proficient inHokkien, he achieved much success doing business inSingapore because Hokkien was the common language ofoverseas Chinese in Singapore throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries. His business was at its prime from 1912 to 1914 when he was known as the "Henry Ford of theMalayan community".[1]
Tan had a leading role among the 110 founders ofTao Nan School in Singapore.[1] In 1919, he set upThe Chinese High School (nowHwa Chong Institution) in Singapore. Earlier, in 1918, he established the Jimei Schools (nowJimei University) in Xiamen. Tan was also a member of the Anglo-Chinese College Council and had pledged S$100,000 to the proposed Anglo Chinese School College in 1919. However, when the proposal was turned down by the Government, he agreed to channel the $30,000 he had given to theAnglo-Chinese School fund for physics and chemistry. This helped to complete theSecondary School at Cairnhill in 1928.[2] In 1921, he set upXiamen University and financially supported it until theNationalist government of theRepublic of China took over in 1937. In 1920, Tan arranged a marriage between his daughter, Tan Ai Leh, andLee Kong Chian, his protégé and a businessman.
Tan was one of the prominent overseas Chinese to provide financial support to China during theSecond Sino-Japanese War. He organised many relief funds under his name, one of which alone managed to raise ten millionStraits dollars in 1937. He was also a participant in theLegislative Yuan of the Nationalist government inChongqing. After the Japanese invaded and occupied Malaya and Singapore in 1942, they deemed these contributors "undesirable" and conducted systematic extermination of anti-Japanese elements in Singapore through theSook Ching Massacre. Tan survived because he escaped from Singapore before it fell to the Japanese, and went into hiding inMalang, a town inEast Java province,Indonesia. He strongly rejected proposals to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese and regarded such attempts as characteristic of ahanjian (a Chinese term forrace traitor). He also attempted to dissuadeWang Jingwei from such activities. He exercised considerable effort against the governor of Fujian Province,Chen Yi, for perceived maladministration.[3]
In 1943, while he was inJava, Tan began writing his memoirs,The Memoirs of an Overseas Chinese of the Southern Ocean (南僑回憶錄;南侨回忆录;Nánqiáo Huíyìlù), which later became an important document of the history of the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.
Tan was thede facto leader of the Chinese community in Singapore, serving as chairman of theChinese Chamber of Commerce and helping to organise theHokkien clan association. However, he lost this role when theChinese Civil War divided Singapore's Chinese community intoCommunist andKuomintang sympathisers. Tan Kah Kee has consistently demonstrated a keen interest in business, philanthropy, and education, with a dedicated commitment to uplifting ASEAN and his homeland, particularly in Jimei and Xiamen. He refrains from aligning with any political party but advocates for the principles of diligence and achieving commendable outcomes. The venerable individual does not concern himself with affiliations or factions and disapproves of malpractices within the Kuomintang.
In 1947 Tan founded theChiyu Banking Corporation inHong Kong, an intended to be a sustainable business with profits to be devoted to education in Xiamen and the rest of Fujian province in China.
After the Communist victory in China and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Tan tried to return to Singapore in 1950 but was denied entry by the British colonial authorities concerned about communist influence in Singapore and Malaya. He then moved permanently to China and served in numerous positions in the Chinese Communist Party.
Tan died in 1961 in Beijing and was given a state funeral by the Chinese government. In Singapore, theTan Kah Kee Scholarship Fund, which later became known as theTan Kah Kee Foundation, was established in memory of this philanthropy.
Tan's sons were:
Tan's daughters were:
Many of his children maintained close relationship with or even married other prominent Chinese figures in Singapore. For example, Tan Ai Leh, his eldest daughter, was married toLee Kong Chian; Tan Lay Ho was married to Lim Chong Kuo, the eldest son of respected merchantLim Nee Soon.
In recognition of Tan's contributions to education and society throughout his lifetime, there are places and establishments in China and Southeast Asia named after Tan or built to commemorate him, including: theTan Kah Kee Memorial Museum in Tan's hometown inJimei; theTan Kah Kee Foundation, which offers postgraduate scholarships; theTan Kah Kee MRT station along theDowntown MRT line in Singapore, next to the current site ofHwa Chong Institution. The schools in the Anglo-Chinese School family havehouses named after Tan.Chongfu School's Main Hall is named after him. Tan Kah Kee Hall at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, is also named after him.[4]
The asteroid2963 Chen Jiageng is named after him.
