陳合盛 Tan Hap Seng (d. 1934)
Ancestral place 山仰 · Tomb dated Republic 23 (1934), 10th day of the 2nd month (24 March 1934) · Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场, Block 3, Division C, Plot 199
Tomb of Tan Hap Seng 陳合盛, Block 3 Division C Plot 199. Click to enlarge.
Tomb of Tan Hap Seng 陳合盛, inscription naming his children. Click to enlarge.
Tomb of Tan Hap Seng 陳合盛, inscription naming his children. Click to enlarge.
Tomb of Tan Hap Seng 陳合盛, inscription naming his grandsons. Click to enlarge.
Tomb inscriptions:
山仰
民國廿三年吉
弍月初十日立
In Loving Memory of
Tan Hap Seng
Born 25th July 1868
Died 24th March 1934
男
青山 Tan Cheng San
清河 Tan Cheng Hoe
清淵 Tan Cheng Yean
清淋 Tan Cheng Lim
清茂 Tan Cheng Moh
女
風娘 Tan Hong Neo
玉娘 Tan Geok Neo
玉蘭 Tan Geok Lan
玉珠 Tan Geok Choo
奉
孫 存錦 春建 春結 春福 存明 存淮 存禮
祀
Burial entry: Tan Hup Seng. Date of death 24 March 1934. Date of internment 30 March 1934. Age 67 years. Plot no Blk 3 C plot no 199.
Summary: Tan Hap Seng (Tan Hup Seng) 陳合盛 died on 24 March 1934, aged 67 according to the burial register, and is buried at Bukit Brown Block 3 Division C Plot 199. He was a son of the shipowner Tan Kim Tian 陳金殿 (1832 to 1882), after whom Kim Tian Road and Kim Tian Place in Bukit Merah are named, and a brother of Tan Hup Leong 陳合隆 and Tan Bong Soo 陳望仕. When his adopted elder brother Tan Beng Wan died in 1890, Hap Seng, then 23, shared the family shipping business with his brothers and his nephew Tan Cheng Siang. The firm ran into debt, and its fleet was lost to Oei Tiong Ham in the early 1900s. His tomb lists five sons, four daughters and seven grandsons, and a studio photograph of the children at the Peranakan Museum is shown below.
Family 家族
| Relationship | Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Father | Tan Kim Tian 陳金殿 (1832 to 1882) | Straits Times Annual, 1 Jan 1978; S.T.E.M. Family - Tan Kim Tian |
| Mother | Not named; alive in 1926 | Death notices of 6 Aug and 28 Oct 1926 |
| Elder brother (adopted by Tan Kim Tian) | Tan Beng Wan 陳明遠 | Straits Times Annual, 1 Jan 1978; Wikipedia |
| Brother | Tan Hup Leong 陳合隆 (1 Mar 1871 to 5 Aug 1926), third son of Tan Kim Tian | S.T.E.M. Tan Hap Leong page |
| Brother | Tan Hup Swee | Straits Times Annual, 1 Jan 1978 |
| Sister | Tan Bong Soo 陳望仕 (d. 27 Oct 1926), wife of Quek Geok Lin | Death notice, 28 Oct 1926; S.T.E.M. Tan Bong Soo page |
| Nephew (son of Tan Beng Wan) | Tan Cheng Siang (b. 9 Sep 1883, d. June 1977) | Straits Times Annual, 1 Jan 1978 |
| Sons named on his tomb | 青山 Tan Cheng San, 清河 Tan Cheng Hoe, 清淵 Tan Cheng Yean, 清淋 Tan Cheng Lim, 清茂 Tan Cheng Moh | Tomb inscription |
| Daughters named on his tomb | 風娘 Tan Hong Neo, 玉娘 Tan Geok Neo, 玉蘭 Tan Geok Lan, 玉珠 Tan Geok Choo | Tomb inscription |
| Grandsons named on his tomb | 存錦, 春建, 春結, 春福, 存明, 存淮, 存禮 | Tomb inscription |
Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文
| 碑文 | Transcription / Meaning |
|---|---|
| 山仰 | Ancestral place, Shanyang |
| 民國廿三年吉 | Auspicious, Republic 23 (1934) |
| 弍月初十日立 | Erected on the 10th day of the 2nd month. This converts to 24 March 1934, the day he died. 弍 is a variant of 二 |
| In Loving Memory of Tan Hap Seng, Born 25th July 1868, Died 24th March 1934 | English inscription |
| 男 青山 清河 清淵 清淋 清茂 | Sons 青山 Tan Cheng San, 清河 Tan Cheng Hoe, 清淵 Tan Cheng Yean, 清淋 Tan Cheng Lim and 清茂 Tan Cheng Moh |
| 女 風娘 玉娘 玉蘭 玉珠 | Daughters 風娘 Tan Hong Neo, 玉娘 Tan Geok Neo, 玉蘭 Tan Geok Lan and 玉珠 Tan Geok Choo |
| 孫 存錦 春建 春結 春福 存明 存淮 存禮 | Grandsons 存錦, 春建, 春結, 春福, 存明, 存淮 and 存禮 |
| 奉 … 祀 | The standard closing formula, "who tend the offerings" |
Notes on the inscription:
- The sons' names share the generation character 清, apart from 青山 (Tan Cheng San), where 青 is a close variant of 清. The grandsons' names use 存 and 春.
- The English inscription gives his birth as 25 July 1868, which would make him 65 at death. The burial register gives his age as 67, which puts his birth about 1867 and agrees with the Straits Times Annual's age of 23 in 1890. The register's age of 67 is used here.
- The English name on the tomb is Tan Hap Seng. The Straits Times and the family notices spell it Tan Hup Seng.
Burial Register 埋葬記錄
| Final Resting Place | Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场 · Block 3 · Division C · Plot 199 |
| Name | Tan Hup Seng 陳合盛 |
| Age | 67 |
| Nationality | |
| Date of death | 24 Mar 1934 |
| Date of burial | 30 Mar 1934 |
Short Biography 生平簡介
His father, Tan Kim Tian 陳金殿 (1832 to 1882). Tan Kim Tian came to Singapore from Malacca in 1847, aged 15, and began as an office boy at the merchants Paterson Simons, then at Commercial Square (now Raffles Place). The partner William Paterson arranged for him to attend evening school, where he learned English, and he became a trusted storekeeper in the firm's produce department, dealing in gutta-percha, pepper, cloves and rattan from Dutch Borneo. After about fifteen years he left to start his own shipping business, and in 1865 he founded Tan Kim Tian & Sons Steamship Co. Ltd. with his elder son, Tan Beng Wan (1850 to 1890), as partner. It was the first among Singapore Chinese shipowners to concentrate on steamships rather than sail. He is named on a tablet at the Tan Si Chong Su temple as an Assistant Director. He died in 1882, aged 50, and Kim Tian Road and Kim Tian Place in Bukit Merah are named after him. His career is told in "Tales of a Singapore Entrepreneur", The Straits Times Annual, 1 January 1978, pages 22 to 23, reproduced on Tan Kim Tian and Sons.Inheriting the firm, 1890. Tan Beng Wan died in 1890, leaving a seven-year-old son, Tan Cheng Siang. According to the Annual, Hap Seng, then aged 23, his brother Hup Leong, a teenager, and Hup Swee, a boy, inherited the business and properties together with Cheng Siang. Hap Seng and Hup Leong tried to manage the shipping firm themselves, and inexperience and extravagance soon put it in financial difficulty.
Debts and the loss of the fleet. The Straits Steamship Company took a half share in the firm, and the two companies were managed jointly for a time, but the managers disagreed. The brothers then borrowed from the Java sugar magnate Oei Tiong Ham, a family friend, to whom Straits Steamship sold its holding as security for the loan. Cheng Siang's mother, Mrs Tan Beng Wan, was persuaded by the uncles, who were also trustees, to have her son sign an agreement to sell his father's properties. In 1905 creditors petitioned the High Court for a bankruptcy order. Mr Justice Thornton declared that Cheng Siang had been under age when he signed, and the Annual says this exposed the part played by the trustees, Hap Seng and Lim Siew Hock, Beng Wan's brother-in-law. The Tan Kim Tian Steamship Company was then sold at auction and acquired by Oei Tiong Ham. The Annual adds that Hap Seng became involved in horse racing, and that Oei arranged for a regular allowance to be sent to the Tan family from Cheribon, Indonesia.
Later years and death. Hap Seng's brother Tan Hup Leong died on 5 August 1926, and his sister Tan Bong Soo on 27 October 1926. His death notice for her names him as her brother. A report headed "Wealthy Shipowner's Bankruptcy" appeared in The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly) of 9 March 1927, page 154, The text is not transcribed here. Hap Seng died on 24 March 1934 and was buried on 30 March 1934 at Bukit Brown Block 3 Division C Plot 199.
His children. His tomb names five sons, four daughters and seven grandsons. The two photographs below, taken by Gustave Richard Lambert & Co., were photographed at the Peranakan Museum and are shown courtesy of the Tan Hap Seng family. The first is captioned "Chinese Children in New Year's Dress", circa 1900s, and was probably taken in a studio. The family identifies Tan Cheng San 青山, the first son named on the tomb, as the child on the right. The second photograph is from the same studio and its family has yet to be identified. According to the Annual, a gold watch given to Tan Kim Tian in 1865 passed from Tan Hup Leong to a Tan Cheng San on 6 March 1924, and from Cheng San to Tan Cheng Siang in 1940.
Chinese Children in New Year's Dress (circa 1900s), Gustave Richard Lambert & Co. Probably taken in a studio in the 1900s. Tan Cheng San is on the right. Photographed at the Peranakan Museum, courtesy of the Tan Hap Seng family. Click to enlarge.
Gustave Richard Lambert & Co., the same studio. The family has yet to be identified. Click to enlarge.
Pic of Tan Hup Seng's children. Click to enlarge.
Pic of Tan Hup Seng's children. Click to enlarge.
Newspaper Record 報章紀錄
| Date / Paper | Summary and link |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan 1978, The Straits Times Annual, pages 22 to 23 | "Tales of a Singapore Entrepreneur". Tan Kim Tian, his firm, and the fortunes of his sons Hap Seng, Hup Leong and Hup Swee after 1890. |
| 6 Aug 1926, The Straits Times, page 7 | Death notice of Tan Hup Leong, aged 56. Names his mother, his brother Tan Hup Seng and his sister, wife of Mr Quah Geok Lin. Reproduced on Tan Hap Leong. |
| 28 Oct 1926, The Straits Times, page 7 | Death notice of Mrs Quek Geok Lin née Tan Bong Soo, aged 45. Names her brother Tan Hap Seng. See Tan Bong Soo. |
| 9 Mar 1927, The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), page 154 | "Wealthy Shipowner's Bankruptcy". The text is not transcribed here. |
Sources 資料來源
- Tomb inscription and photographs, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Block 3 Division C Plot 199; burial entry.
- Photographs by Gustave Richard Lambert & Co., photographed at the Peranakan Museum, courtesy of the Tan Hap Seng family.
- "Tales of a Singapore Entrepreneur", The Straits Times Annual, 1 January 1978, pages 22 to 23.
- Tan Kim Tian and Sons, S.T.E.M., September 2025.
- Tan Hap Leong and Tan Bong Soo, S.T.E.M.
- The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 9 March 1927, page 154, "Wealthy Shipowner's Bankruptcy".
- Tan Kim Tian and Tan Beng Wan, Wikipedia.
Cite this entry as:
Raymond Goh. "Tan Hap Seng 陳合盛." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2018/12/tan-hap-seng.html. Accessed [date].
Keywords: Tan Hap Seng, Tan Hup Seng, 陳合盛, 山仰, Tan Kim Tian, 陳金錠, Kim Tian Road, Kim Tian Place, Tan Hup Leong, Tan Bong Soo, Tan Beng Wan, Tan Cheng Siang, Tan Kim Tian and Sons Steamship Company, Oei Tiong Ham, Straits Chinese shipowners, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.
Bukit Brown Cemetery Family - Tan Kim Tian Name - Tan 陳 Region - 山仰