Kiong Kong Tuan
| Kiong Kong Tuan 龔光傳 | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1790 Penang |
| Died | January 16, 1854 (aged 63–64) |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation | Merchant; revenue farmer |
| Known for | Holder of opium and spirit farms in Singapore in 19th century |
Kiong Kong Tuan (Chinese: 龔光傳; pinyin: Gōng Guāngchuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kíng Kong-thuân; 1790–1854) was a Chinese merchant from Penang. He was a merchant in Penang before establishing himself in Singapore. Kiong Kong Tuan held the revenue farms for opium in the 1830s, and also for spirits. He had a spirit factory at Pearl's Hill, and the site was known among the Chinese as Chiu-long-san ("Spirit Factory Hill").[1][2] He was known to have held the opium and spirit farms in 1848,[3] and was the last opium farmer in Singapore.[4] He was also involved in coffee and real estate.[5] In the 1840s he had 50 acres (200,000 m2) of coffee planted near Jurong.[1] Kiong was the grantee of a large, 20 acres (81,000 m2) tract of land, with Chin Swee Road as the main artery and Cornwall Street and Seok Wee Road as side streets, which was a densely-populated Straits Chinese residential quarter.[6][7]
Kiong married a daughter of Choa Chong Long, by whom he had an only son, Kiong Seok Wee, and several daughters, one of whom became the wife of Wee Bin of the steamship firm Wee Bin & Co. He died at the age of 64 on 16 January 1854.[1] Kiong was of Hokkien ethnicity from southern Fujian region.[8]
Kiong Seok Wee
Kiong Seok Wee (Chinese: 龔菽惠; pinyin: Gōng Shūhuì; 1839-1888) was the son of Kiong Kong Tuan and grandson of Spirit Farmer Choa Chong Long. He did not fancy spirit farming and instead went into business with his brother-in-law, Wee Bin, but the partnership was short-lived. In 1865 along with Wee Leong Hin, the firm of Leong Hin, Seok Wee & Co., chop Aik Ho, shipchandlers, was established at Boat Quay and another under the chop Joo Chin & Co. as General Merchants. "Aik Ho" was accidentally burnt down, and as it was not covered by insurance, Mr. Seok Wee sustained a severe loss which was augmented by the failure of Joo Chin & Co. He was at that time one of the proprietors of the Singapore Daily Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. In 1869 the affairs of Mr. Seok Wee and his partner were administered by the Court of Insolvent Debtors. He died in 1888 at the age of 49 years leaving six sons and two daughters, the elder of whom, Ms Kiong Hoon Neo, became a daughter-in-law of Mr. Tan Kim Ching (she married his son Tan Keck Geang). The youngest son of Mr. Seok Wee is Kiong Ching Eng, chief clerk and cashier at the General Hospital, a man of liberal education and a first-class player both in tennis and chess.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Song, Ong Siang (1923). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. John Murray. p. 39.
- ↑ Trocki, Carl A. (1990). Opium and empire: Chinese society in Colonial Singapore, 1800-1910. Cornell University Press. p. 98. ISBN 9780801423901.
- ↑ Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian studies, Volumes 1-2 Published by Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1983
- ↑ Jürgen., Rudolph, (1998). Reconstructing identities : a social history of the Babas in Singapore. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 1840143576. OCLC 40333128.
- ↑ Asian culture, Issue 28 by the Singapore Society of Asian Studies, Published by Xinjiapo Yazhou yan jiu xue hui, 2004
- ↑ Song, Ong Siang (1923). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. John Murray. pp. xv, 25, 26.
- ↑ A., Trocki, Carl (2006). Singapore : wealth, power and the culture of control. London: Routledge. pp. 17, 87, 190, 205. ISBN 0415263859. OCLC 65523343.
- ↑
See also
- The Singapore Encyclopedia
- A social history of the Chinese in Singapore and Malaya, 1800-1911 By Chʻing-huang Yen ISBN 0-19-582666-3, ISBN 978-0-19-582666-1
- Guardian of the South Seas: Thian Hock Keng and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan By Xinjiapo Fujian hui guan by Xinjiapo Fujian hui guan published by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, 2006