Siong Lim Temple
Encyclopedia
Siong Lim Temple is the common Hokkien
or Fukien name of the (Lian Shan) Shuang Lin Monastery , pinyin
: (Lián Shān) Shuāng Lín sì, literally Twin Grove of the Lotus Mountain Temple. Built in 1902, the Buddhist temple is located in Toa Payoh
, Singapore
.
The 40,000 square metres site was owned by Low Kim Pong, a wealthy Chinese Hoklo (Hokkien) merchant and devout Buddhist.
When Low Kim Pong was sixty, he had a dream where he saw a golden light rising from the west over the sea (the west being symbolic of Buddhism which originated in India, and is west of China). He took the dream to be an omen, and went to the coast the next day. At dusk, he met an unusual Hokkien family arriving by boat.
The entire family had taken Buddhist vows and were on their way home to Fujian after a pilgrimage to Sri Lanka. Low, moved by their devotion, tried to persuade them to stay in Singapore and spread the faith. He promised to build a temple for their use. The head of that family, Xian Hui, eventually became Siong Lim's first abbot.
The funds used for its construction were raised by Low Kim Pong and Yeo Poon Seng, one of the saw mill pioneers during the period. In 1950s, the temple area was reduced to about 20,000 m² when part of the land was acquired by the Singapore Improvement Trust for public housing. Today, the temple still stands as a landmark amongst residential flats (HDB).
The temple was gazetted a national monument
on 17 October 1980, symbolising the social and cultural roots of the early Chinese immigrants.
In spite of being a national monument, Siong Lim was mostly neglected as the government of Singapore tried to westernize. By the 1990s, portions of the temple were in disrepair. Areas were cordoned off as being unsafe. A major renovation was started in 1994 and completed in 2002.
In order to return the temple to its former southern Chinese glory, eighty carpenters, sculptors and artisans were brought in from China to work on the restoration.
The temple was originally modeled after the Xichang temple in Fujian province, but has a uniquely Singaporean style. Singapore was an immigrant society, and although built by Fujian workmen, these original workmen came from different counties in Fujian. As a result, the temple has elements of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou styles.
The temple now boasts a seven storey gold-topped pagoda which is a replica of the 800 year old Shanfeng temple pagoda in Fujian.
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
or Fukien name of the (Lian Shan) Shuang Lin Monastery , pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: (Lián Shān) Shuāng Lín sì, literally Twin Grove of the Lotus Mountain Temple. Built in 1902, the Buddhist temple is located in Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh is a district located in the Central Region of Singapore. It commonly refers to the Housing and Development Board housing estate of Toa Payoh New Town, one of the earliest satellite public housing estates in Singapore....
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
The 40,000 square metres site was owned by Low Kim Pong, a wealthy Chinese Hoklo (Hokkien) merchant and devout Buddhist.
When Low Kim Pong was sixty, he had a dream where he saw a golden light rising from the west over the sea (the west being symbolic of Buddhism which originated in India, and is west of China). He took the dream to be an omen, and went to the coast the next day. At dusk, he met an unusual Hokkien family arriving by boat.
The entire family had taken Buddhist vows and were on their way home to Fujian after a pilgrimage to Sri Lanka. Low, moved by their devotion, tried to persuade them to stay in Singapore and spread the faith. He promised to build a temple for their use. The head of that family, Xian Hui, eventually became Siong Lim's first abbot.
The funds used for its construction were raised by Low Kim Pong and Yeo Poon Seng, one of the saw mill pioneers during the period. In 1950s, the temple area was reduced to about 20,000 m² when part of the land was acquired by the Singapore Improvement Trust for public housing. Today, the temple still stands as a landmark amongst residential flats (HDB).
The temple was gazetted a national monument
National Monuments of Singapore
National Monuments of Singapore are buildings and structures in Singapore that have been designated by the Preservation of Monuments Board as being of special historic, traditional, archaeological, architectural or artistic value....
on 17 October 1980, symbolising the social and cultural roots of the early Chinese immigrants.
In spite of being a national monument, Siong Lim was mostly neglected as the government of Singapore tried to westernize. By the 1990s, portions of the temple were in disrepair. Areas were cordoned off as being unsafe. A major renovation was started in 1994 and completed in 2002.
In order to return the temple to its former southern Chinese glory, eighty carpenters, sculptors and artisans were brought in from China to work on the restoration.
The temple was originally modeled after the Xichang temple in Fujian province, but has a uniquely Singaporean style. Singapore was an immigrant society, and although built by Fujian workmen, these original workmen came from different counties in Fujian. As a result, the temple has elements of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou styles.
The temple now boasts a seven storey gold-topped pagoda which is a replica of the 800 year old Shanfeng temple pagoda in Fujian.