Are you a Teochew nang?
Did you know that the Teochew community is the second largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore after the Hokkien? According to the 2010 Singapore census, Teochews make up about 20 percent of the Chinese resident population.
The late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in his book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and His Ideas, singled out the Teochew community, together with the Hakka, for their distinct culture as one of the factors that helped nations like Singapore succeed. He also noted on the disproportionate number of Teochew ministers – such as Teo Chee Hean and Lim Hng Kiang – in the Singapore Cabinet.
There are many more successful Teochews from Singapore, both from within the political arena and as well as other fields and industries.
Here’s a list of 5 famous people in Singapore, you may or may not know who are Teochews.
1) George Quek
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George Quek Meng Tong is the founder and chairman of BreadTalk Group, famous for the BreadTalk bakery chain. He started BreadTalk in 2000, a company that became listed in 2003 and subsequently diversified into other food and beverage brands such as Toast Box, Bread Society, The Icing Room and Din Tai Fung as well as the Food Republic food courts. He is one very successful entrepreneur and businessman.
2) Zoe Tay
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Zoe Tay is a former model and a local Singaporean actress. She is Mediacorp’s indisputable Queen of Caldecott Hill and is often referred to as “Ah Jie” or big sister. In 1995, Tay starred in a television drama serial about the Teochews, “The Teochew Family (潮州家族)”. She even has a wax figurine modelled after her by Madame Tussauds Singapore and is currently on display in the museum. These days, she is happily married with 3 sons.
3) Stefanie Sun
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Stefanie Sun better known as Sun YanZi is a singer/songwriter. She is also known as the Singaporean Mandopop queen and has sold over 30 million copies of her music albums during the span of her career this far. Her fame and popularity extends to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and of course here in Singapore. You will feel extra patriotic when you hear her sing the national day songs.
4) George Yeo
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Mr George Yeo is a former Singaporean politician. When he was a member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), he served many roles in the Cabinet from 1991 to 2011 including being Minister for Health, Minister for Trade & Industry and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Many people were sad and disappointed when he lost his seat in Parliament at the 2011 general election following which he announced that he was retiring from politics.
5) Teo Chee Hean
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Mr Teo Chee Hean is also a Singaporean politician. Being a member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP) and Member of Parliament (MP) since 1992, he is the Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for National Security of Singapore.
Teochew Festival 2016 (潮州节2016)
Date: 9 to 18 December 2016
Time:
1.00pm to 9.00pm (9 December 2016)
10.30am to 9.00pm (10 to 18 December 2016)
Venue: Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Level 1, Hall A
Admission:
Standard – $10
Early Bird Special (Ends 30 November 2016) – $9
PAssion Card Members (Now till event date) – $9
To thank visitors for their support towards the event, organisers of the Teochew Festival 2016 will be giving each ticket holder a $3 rebate off F&B purchases for use at the festival. For more information on the Teochew Festival 2016, check out here.
[GIVEAWAY]
Immerse in all things Teochew from culture, arts & crafts to food, we have got 8 sets (4x tickets each) of the Teochew Festival 2016 tickets to giveaway!
To win, simply complete the following steps:
1. ‘Like’ the Alvinology & Teochew Festival Singapore Facebook page.
2. ‘Like’ and ‘share’ this post on Facebook and tag 3 other people on your post who you would like to go to the Teochew Festival 2016 with if you are one of the winners. Make your post public so we can find it.
3. Tell us why you wish to win the Teochew Festival 2016 tickets by commenting below or on our Facebook post.
Contest ends on 30 November 2016, 11.59pm. The winners will be notified via Facebook.
First, I am a Teochew nang. Lollol. I don’t think I have been actively immersing myself in my heritage though so this is a good chance to open my eyes and see what I may be missing. Next, my boyfriend is from southern China, so it will be an experience for him to experience this as a person not part of the unique development of the Singapore Teochew heritage, yet have at least some relation to it. We’ll see 😉
I was born to a Hokkien family, but was brought up by my maternal grandparents who were Teochews. So I feel more strongly towards my Teochew blood than my Hokkien blood. Also, my 2 sons are born to a Hainanese family, who have no idea about their own culture and can’t even speak Hainanese. As a result, my young sons are more interested in Teochew dialect as well. This will be a great chance for them to go to the event with my mum to know more about Teochews and their culture. Thank you <3