Bibliography

References:

Wikipedia contributers, "Tan Kah Kee," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Kah_Kee, 12 April 2009, 11:04 UTC.

Ed. & Tr. AHC Ward et al: The Memoirs of Tan Kah Kee. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1994

Yong Chin Fatt. Tan Kah Kee: The Making of an Overseas Chinese Legend. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Reflections

In this ACE assignment, I learnt about Mr Tan Kah Kee and his contributions to Singapore and China. I also learnt how to blog. What I did not like about this assignent is that it was very troublesome to create a blog and also to think about where to put the monument and how it should look like. What I like about the assignment is that I can showcase my ideas by designing the monument and also that I can use the computer for the assignment.

Monuments

The monument should stand at the Ministry of Education (MOE)at North Buona Vista Drive. This is because Mr Tan Kah Kee made countless contributions to Singapore in the form of education. Therefore, it should stand at the MOE.

The monument sould take the shape of this:

The rubber tree represents Mr Tan Kah Kee as he was nicknamed "Rubber King".

The book represents the contributions Mr Tan Kah Kee made in the form of education. In the two pages of the book, details of the monument can be carved.

Contributions

With the profit that he made from his business empire, Mr Tan Kah Kee contributed greatly to the community, both in Malaya and his native Fujian Province. He was one of the 110 founding members of Tao Nan School. He set up the Jimei Schools (now Jimei University) and in 1919, he set up The Chinese High School, now named Hwa Chong Institution, which is currently the top secondary school in Singapore. In 1921, he set up the Xiamen University and financially supported it until the Government of the Republic of China took it over in 1937. He married of his daughter Tan Ai Li to Lee Kong Chian, who worked under him and who later became a famous Singaporean philanthropist and businessman. These contributions made a social impact on Singapore, as they are related to education.

Biography

Mr Tan Kah Kee was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore. He was born in Jimei, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, and went to Singapore in 1890, when he was 16 years old, to work for his father's rice store. When the business collapsed in 1903, he started his own business and built an empire from rubber plantations and manufacturing, sawmills, canneries, real estate, import and export brokerage, ocean transport to rice trading. He died in 1961 in Beijing and was given a state funeral by the People's Republic of China.