PACIFLY

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

Walking in a city full of stories means you are very likely to bump into tourist places unexpectedly although I didn’t always know the tales behind them. I was very lucky to have a free guided tour by one of the Trustee members of Khoo Kongsi, which is one of the grandest clan temples in Malaysia.

 
Located at Cannon Square.

  
Khoo clan temple. There are three shrines in the building.

  
The main shrine is for the Guardian Gods of the Khoo family.

The shrine of 'Tu Di Gong' (Local Earth God) is on the right side.

 
On the left side is for Khoo ancestors.

   
Looking inside the shrine of Khoo ancestors.

  
The stage. Well, not a very good shot.

  
A close look of the stage. Traditional opera could be seen during Moon Festival.

Clan houses next to the temple.

Mr. Khoo saw me purchasing tickets in Chinese at the counter so he asked me ‘China or Taiwan?’ and I told him I am from Taiwan. We chatted in Mandarin a bit and then he offered to show me around. The temple was completed around 1906. There are exhibition rooms introducing the history and worship ceremonies of the Khoo family as well as clay models showing their early life.

As we walked upstairs to the temple, I could see the full scene of the stage at the front, surrounding with clan houses nearby. The ancestors of the Khoo family were from Sin Kang clan village in Hokkien province of China. They were very successful traders and made a lot of thier fortune in the 17^th century. We have a saying in Chinese, ‘One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade.’ Mr. Khoo further interpreted it as ‘One generation makes money, another gets the properties.’ I think he must be very proud of his family. (I guess I would feel the same if I were him.)

Pedigree of the Khoo clan.

Assigned first/second names for each generation.

Annual worship.

Models of their early life.

The architecture, carvings and craftsmanship of the temple feature the glory of the Khoo clan. However, one thing that never changes with time is the stereotype that deeply rooted in Chinese culture—Men are superior to women. Numerous shining inscribed boards hang in the two side rooms next to the main shrine, with names of the Khoo descendents who have bachelor degrees or more, but this honor is male only, just like the Trustee members. I am not criticizing or showing offence but I was surprised how Mr. Khoo talked about this issue to a Taiwanese girl. In fact, he was just saying a truth, a truth we cannot deny, but sadly I had to agree with him. I am never the victim of this ancient perspective thanks to my parents and living in a society where men and women are empowered equally nowadays, men superior issue is like a living fossil. However, when I found myself standing in a traditional Chinese clan temple, it wasn’t really a shock to hear and see it happening because I know the rule very well and regardless of how the culture is evolving, dated beliefs are already hardwired inside us to some extent.

Dragons' Carvings.

Tigers' Carvings is on the other side.

 
The temple has been through several restoration works. Mr. Khoo said they tried to preserve its original structure and craftsmanship while they could. The beam is a real piece of art work. It contains different carvings on both sides.

  
Different carvings on the other side of the beam. Not a good shot either. Mr. Khoo strongly recommended me to take pictures for this. He thinks the carving skills are hard to find now.

 
Murals.

Murals.

 
Having a close look of the mural, where flowers can be found 'in' the words. Mr. Khoo asked me 'which were made first? the flowers or the words?' I said I don't know and he didn't know the answer either.

 
 
Murals.

 
The words here are along with birds!

 
I can't remember the story of this mural.

    
Carvings on the wall. Stories are mainly about a classic novel called 'Romance of Three Kingdoms'.

 
Incribed boards for those who've got outstading academic performance.

 
Sophisticated decorations on the rooftop.

I quite like this lantern.

  
Outside the temple. These are commonly seen in temples but I never figure out what they're for.

It is amazing to maintain a family temple, considering how big it is and how easily we forget our roots.

It was a shame that I didn’t take a picture with Mr. Khoo. I told Yensu about him and she said we probably met the same hospitable elder while she visited Khoo Kongsi last summer. So she jokes maybe Mr. Khoo likes to do guided tour for solo female traveler from Taiwan. She might be right but I see an invisible connection between Han Chinese. A phenomenon called out-group homogeneity effect could best describe the contradiction. In general, out-group members are similar (As a child, I used to refer westerners I saw in Taiwan to Americans.) but as an in-group member, the differences between ‘us’ are obvious. Somehow, the truth is no matter how good we are at telling the differences, in-group members do have identical appearances and share similar lifestyles (or there’s no reason out-group members would make mistakes). That is to say we must have the same feather or we don’t flock together.

Perhaps for Mr. Khoo, he was simply happy to guild for Mandarin speakers. I overanalyze him. (a bad habit as a psychologist!) Mr. Khoo said they will come and visit their clan in Ilan, Taiwan, in this autumn. He looked forward to this event and I wished him a great journey.

The Pinang Peranakan Mansion

There must be some sort of Chinese radar among Straits Chinese here because when I walked into The Pinang Peranakan Mansion, a middle-aged guy at the ticket counter spoke Chinese to me without second thought. He briefly explained what Peranakan means and taught me how to pronounce ‘Baba-Nyonya’ correctly.

Peranakan is a term used for the descendents of late 15^th and 16^th century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.

Nyonya means ladies and Baba is for the gentlemen. They apply especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca and Singapore). Therefore, the Straits Chinese is its other name.

The Peranakans in Penang had developed a unique lifestyle and customs by adopting selected ways of the local Malays and the colonial British. It took me a while to find the location but its exterior didn’t impress me to pay MYR10 for admission fee. However, as soon as I walked into the entrance and had a glimpse of this green building, I knew it would be worth it.

  
I was delighted to see the 'green house'.

This building once served as the residence and office to Kapitan Cina (Chinese Captain) Chung Keng Kwee. The architecture of this building is very unique as it incorporates Chinese carved-wood panels with English floor tiles and Scottish iron-works.

After a short introduction to the mansion and its kitchen where real Nyonya cuisine could be found, the middle-aged guy started to mention a Taiwanese singer who just had a concert in Malaysia. Well, it seemed our tastes for music are VERY different. He doesn’t like the singer but unfortunately I quite admire her (though not a big fan). Thus, I couldn’t comment on this. Then he searched for his favorite singers and sadly they are a bit ‘too old’ for my age and one of them is even from Hong Kong rather than Taiwan. A younger guy who sold tickets took the piss out of him. Meanwhile, a granny came. He showed me her pictures on the newspaper hanged on the wall and introduced her as the best singer in the world. He announced she is going to sing for us. The granny was so shy and flattered. She joked it would rain if she sings. ‘How about you sing a song for us? ’She said to me. ‘It would rain like a cow relieving itself if I sing.’ I said.

  
The granny walked through the courtyard. I was like a paparazzo.

The stairway to the 2nd floor.

Taking from the side room.

  
The light from the courtyard shined through the baluster.

   
The stairway.

The balcony.

I still don’t figure out who they are (the descendents of this mansion or just staff working here) but I like the atmosphere of this place. It was absolutely hot that day. A skylight shined through the courtyard in the middle of the building; particles of dirt glowed in the sunshine. The mansion didn’t have modern machines to cool down the temperature except fans, which constantly delivered warm breeze. Visitors from around the world whispered and walked freely. It was not too noisy and full of old time tranquility.

 
Curtain Hooks.

 
Rusty betal-nut cutters.

 
I can't remember what it is (and why I took a picture for it).

 
I think this chair isn't suitable for your guests.

 
This is for the hosts.

 
A collection of glass vases. I wonder why so many vases were needed...

This is how they put it.

 
A dice cup, with Chinese words 'Fair Trade'.

 
Arranging a space in the house for your ancestors can be commonly seen in Chinese culture.

 
Opiate Registration Card. The card holder was authorized to purchase opiate from a specific company. 

 
The wedding room.

 
It can be seen that their wedding still followed Chinese tradition. The bamboo cage with two fake chickens in it is a blessing. Bringing it into the wedding room means newly-weds could start a family smoothly.

This is for the bride. I wonder how heavy it is...

 
One corner of one room.

 
Clothing collections and tailer machines.

 
I never like baby porcelain dolls. They look weird....

  
Another corner of the room.

Over 1,000 antiques and collections were displayed in the mansion and next to it is the ancestral hall. Compared to the glamorous green mansion, the shrine was relatively grey, without splendid decorations. Dark-brown wooden pillars, color faded with time but still support the building. The smell and emptiness of if reminded me of our family shrine in grandmother’s home, featuring years’ worship to the ancestors with everlasting incense. Perhaps that is the real spirit behind the sophisticated lifestyle of rich Babas and Nyonyas in Penang.

 
The passage outside the main building.

Carvings in the shrine.

  
The shrine is relatively plain. The net above is to prevent bird poo.