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Tan Teck Neo

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Tan Teck Neo
MBE
陈德娘
Born(1877-12-18)18 December 1877
Died27 February 1978(1978-02-27) (aged 100)
Singapore
Known forFounder of Chinese Women's Association
Spouse
​
(m. 1900⁠–⁠1924)​
FatherTan Keong Saik

Tan Teck Neo MBE (18 December 1877 – 27 February 1978), also known as Mrs. Lee Choon Guan, was a Peranakan philanthropist and socialite.

Early life

[edit]

Tan was born in Singapore, Straits Settlement. She was the third and youngest daughter of Peranakan Chinese businessman Tan Keong Saik.[1] Along with her sisters, she was one of the few girls in Singapore to receive English education in the late 19th century, and from 1885, she was personally tutored by Sophia Blackmore, who would eventually found Methodist Girls' School.[2][3]

Life

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In 1900, she married the widowed Peranakan businessman Lee Choon Guan, becoming his second wife. She had a daughter and a son by him.[4]

In 1918, she was the first Chinese woman to be awarded a Membership of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for her efforts in the first World War.[5] In the second World War, she continued in aiding the British troops' welfare after escaping to Bangalore, India.[6] She was also the first Chinese woman to drive in Singapore.[7]

On 27 August 1924, her husband died and she did not remarry.[8]

She was a popular socialite who would frequently host esteemed guests at her family residence, the Mandalay Villa, at 29 Amber Road, Katong.[9] These guests have included important community leaders, like then Chief Justice Sir James William Murison, and Malayan royalty, including the Sultan and Sultana of Johore, at her birthday celebrations.[10]

Philanthropy

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Tan was a supporter of women's causes in Singapore, with many of her contributions towards helping women and children, particularly young girls.[11]

In 1937, she was appointed by then Governor of Singapore to the Committee of Ladies overseeing the Women and Girls Protection Ordinance.[12]

In 2018, she was posthumously inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame for her 'philanthropy and pioneering community work efforts'.[13]

Chinese Ladies' Association

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In 1915, she set up and became the first president of the Chinese Ladies' Association, a group of 23 women from other prominent families in Singapore.[14] It was the first charity in Singapore to specifically champion the social needs and self-enrichment of Chinese women, enabling women to meet, advise and teach younger girls.[15] Outside of charity and advocacy, the association also assisted in the First World War, canvassing to raise $6000 for a fighter plane representing Malayan women for the British troops. In her role as president, she had strong ties with other charity establishments, funding and organising events for their beneficiaries.[16][17]

Educational causes

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Tan and her husband were both involved in improving access to education for the Chinese community. Tan set up an endowment fund for Singapore Chinese Girls' School, the first school set up by the Straits Chinese community for its girls. She was on the Board of Directors and would attend prize-giving ceremonies, where she would present the annual prizes of books and pens.[18] The school continued to award scholarships in her name from the income of the fund.[19] Tan was also the patron of Geylang Methodist Girls' School.[20] At the Chinese Ladies' Association where she presided, they provided classes on domestic skills for women.[21]

Medical causes

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Tan was among the first to offer scholarships to train more Chinese midwives, who were scarce at the time in the 1900s, lowering the occurrence of maternal deaths in the community.[22] She donated $5000 towards the building fund for St Andrew’s Mission Hospital, which then primarily served the poorest local women and children, being situated in Chinatown.[23] In 1922, she was invited to lay the foundation stone at its opening.[24] In 1952, she donated another $5400 to the hospital towards cots for the infants in memory of her husband.[25] Tan was a volunteer with the British Red Cross.[23]

Singapore Po Leung Kuk

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Tan was a patron of Singapore Po Leung Kuk, initially an organisation that rescued victims of prostitution.[26] It eventually became a home for vulnerable young women to be trained in domestic skills before their adulthood, when they would go out to work or marry.[27] She funded their activities and would invite women and girls from the home to visit her Mandalay Villa home.[23]

Mandalay Villa

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Besides gatherings for family and friends, many of Tan's home parties were also to raise awareness and garner support for charities like the Children's Aid Society and Rotary International.[28][29] Tan would invite women, girls and children from Po Leung Kuk,[30] the various girls' homes,[31] and social centres[32] to visit the Mandalay Villa, letting them play on the beach her estate encompassed. As a 'leading member' of the YWCA Singapore, she hosted small functions for the association at her residence.[33]

Death

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Tan contracted influenza in January 1978, and slipped into a coma on 26 February 1978. She did not regain consciousness and died at 4 p.m. on 27 February 1978.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "Ceramic teacups". Roots. National Heritage Board (Singapore). Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  2. ^ "TLOW | School's Out". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO). Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  3. ^ Lee, Kip Lee (2001). "The Peranakan" (PDF). The Peranakan. Singapore: The Peranakan Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  4. ^ Wong, Hong Yi (2009). "Lee Choon Guan". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  5. ^ Song, Ong Siang (1923). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. London: John Murray. p. 541.
  6. ^ "Widow Loses $2000 a Month". The Singapore Free Press. 10 February 1947.
  7. ^ Lindsay Davis (2015). Chinese Women's Association : 100 fabulous years, Editions Didier Millet, p. 25, cited in David HJ Neo (2020). Popular imaginary and cultural constructions of the Nonya in Peranakan Chinese culture of the Straits Settlements, SAGE Publishing, p. 35.
  8. ^ Song, Ong Siang (2020). One hundred years' history of the Chinese in Singapore. Kevin Y. L. Tan, G. Uma Devi, Mulin Ke, Singapore Heritage Society, Singapore. National Library Board (Annotated ed.). Singapore. ISBN 978-981-12-1763-0. OCLC 1149924505.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala (2017). "Mandalay Villa | Infopedia". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  10. ^ "MRS. LEE CHOON GUAN". The Straits Times. 19 December 1931. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  11. ^ Tan Harper, Marina (August 2019), SHAPING PHILANTHROPY FOR CHINESE DIASPORA IN SINGAPORE AND BEYOND: FAMILY, ANCESTRY, IDENTITY, SOCIAL NORMS, p. 92, hdl:1805/20664
  12. ^ "Protection of Women". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 26 January 1937.
  13. ^ "5th Singapore Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & International Women's Day Dinner – SCWO". Singapore Council of Women's Organisations. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  14. ^ Chinese Women's Association : 100 fabulous years. Editions Didier Millet (First ed.). Singapore. 2015. ISBN 978-981-4385-69-5. OCLC 911240532.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ "Chinese Women Revive Association". Malaya Tribune. 6 December 1938. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Ten-Course For 260 Old People". Singapore Standard. 26 January 1951.
  17. ^ "Old People's Home". Malaya Tribune. 24 January 1948.
  18. ^ "Chinese Girls School. The Annual Prize-giving". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 21 February 1923. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  19. ^ Teoh, Karen M. (2017). Schooling Diaspora : Women, Education, and the Overseas Chinese in British Malaya and Singapore, 1850s-1960s. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-049562-6. OCLC 1013826785.
  20. ^ "Geylang School Benefit". Malaya Tribune. 23 July 1927.
  21. ^ "Great Peranakans Fifty Remarkable Lives" (PDF). National Heritage Board (Singapore).
  22. ^ Song, Ong Siang (1923). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. London: John Murray. p. 542.
  23. ^ a b c Ooi, Yu-lin (August 2019). "Converging Cultures: Developments in Philanthropy, Singapore 1867-1919" (PDF). Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy.
  24. ^ "St. Andrews Mission Hospital. Ceremony of Laying the Foundation Stone". Malaya Tribune. 15 August 1922. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  25. ^ "'Treasure Cot' for hospital". The Straits Times. 14 October 1952.
  26. ^ Xinyi, Hong (2020). The Istana. SG: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited. ISBN 978-981-4868-80-8. OCLC 1130901790.
  27. ^ Tan, Joanna Hwang Soo (2010). "Singapore Poh Leung Kuk | Infopedia". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  28. ^ "Children's Aid Society. "At Home" To Secure Public Support". Malayan Saturday Post. 10 December 1932. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Mrs. Lee Choon Guan Entertains 100 Rotarians To Dinner". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 10 June 1935. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Mandalay Villa". The Straits Times. 21 March 1932.
  31. ^ "80 Girls Have A Good Time". Malaya Tribune. 26 September 1950.
  32. ^ "Treat for 100 Children". Malaya Tribune. 30 December 1959. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  33. ^ "11 YWCA Girls Learn Art of Parcelling". The Singapore Free Press. 25 August 1960.
  34. ^ "Grand Old Lady of Singapore dies at 100". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 28 February 1978. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
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