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Chinese crosstalk veteran, Nanyin music group receive Chinese Cultural Centre Award

SINGAPORE – A crosstalk veteran and a Nanyin musical group have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the promotion, enrichment and development of Singapore’s Chinese culture.

SINGAPORE – A crosstalk veteran and a Nanyin musical group have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the promotion, enrichment and development of Singapore’s Chinese culture.

Han Lao Da and the Siong Leng Musical Association were presented with the inaugural Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Award (SCCCA) on Saturday (May 20) at the newly opened Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

Han’s involvement in crosstalk goes back to more than 40 years. He started out in 1974 and has written over 60 crosstalk works. He started the Sin Feng Xiang Shen Society in 1986, and has actively brought in Chinese crosstalk practitioners and arts organisations to perform in Singapore whilst producing his own crosstalk plays reflecting on local history.

In 1990, Han, received the Cultural Medallion for his contributions to local theatre.

In 2015, Han, 68, wrote and produced a crosstalk play called It Could Have Been. The play presented a light-hearted alternative version of Singapore’s history, where he questioned if founder of the lion city Sang Nila Utama really saw a lion and if Sir Stamford Raffles was the first to step onto Singapore’s land.

It was the first time he had written a crosstalk script touching on Singapore history, and it was “challenging”, he said.

“Which part of Singapore’s history can make people laugh? It’s not easy,” Han said, adding that it took him about a year to finish writing the play.

Han said: “After (the audience) laugh, I hope that they play will be impactful and make them reflect and think of what they have watched.”

Meanwhile, Siong Leng musical association was recognised for their efforts in reinventing and rejuvenating Nanyin music, especially among youths. Nanyin is a traditional form of Chinese Classical music that originates from the southern Chinese province of Fujian.

Siong Leng’s current chairman Teng Hong Hai said: “Nanyin is an invaluable piece of art so we hope to preserve and promote this to attract more people to like this music,” Teng said.

To keep Nanyin relevant as well as appeal to a younger audience, the association composes their own fusion music played with Nanyin instruments and other instruments, and also includes contemporary dance elements.

Its efforts have generated renewed interest in the art form. “We used to have a lot of Chinese audiences but now we have a lot of English speaking students. When they come, they can accept our performance because they find it is very special,” he said.

The inaugural Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Awards were presented to the recipients by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu.

For their contributions, Han and Teng received a specially commissioned trophy designed by contemporary sculptor, Yeo Chee Kiong, S$10,000 cash and up to S$10,000 in project funding. The award ceremony was held on Saturday as part of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s eight-day festivities, which began on May 19 with the centre’s official opening.

This first edition of the Chinese Cultural Contribution Award received 47 nominations – 27 for the individual category and 20 for organisation category.

Chairman of the SCCCA judging Panel Dr Liu Thai Ker said that without these sterling efforts to promote the Chinese culture, Singapore would not have such a strong sense of identity among Singaporeans.

“The promotion and understanding of our traditional culture, may that be Chinese or Malay or Indian, I think it’s very important for our self-dignity and self-importance,” Liu said.

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