Tan Kwee Chian

on
Tan Kwee Chian 陳貴賤 (aka Tan Chian; Hokkien: Tan Kwee Chian; ancestry: 禾山)


Born circa 1881, Heshan, Siming, Fujian. Died 2 Nov 1944, Singapore, aged 63. Buried at the Kopi Sua (Mount Pleasant) side.
Residence: 19 Scotts Road (Lochabar).
Who he was

Sawmill pioneer and industrialist. Founder of Zai Xing (再興) steam-powered sawmills, with multiple branches supplying planks and firewood; reputed to be among the largest outputs in Nanyang.
Community leader and philanthropist: office-bearer across the Heshan Association (longest-serving chief), Chinese High School, Fujian Association, General Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Chong Boon and Chong Zheng Schools, Yi He Xuan, Xi Hong Ge, Industrial & Commercial Evening School, and the Singapore Chinese Relief Fund (星华筹赈会).
War, relief, and evacuation

A key donor during the Sino-Japanese War, privately covering Relief Fund shortfalls; purchased public bonds as outright gifts (“donations need not bear a name”). Cumulative contributions reported at 200,000–300,000 yuan; 10,000 yuan was cabled from New York while abroad.
Oct 1942: donated 500 coffins for burial of the dead during Syonan.
Feb 1942: His two motor launches were used in the clandestine pre-fall evacuation to Sumatra that carried Tan Kah Kee and other targeted activists.
Business and public record

Apr 1926: chaired the voluntary winding up of Sawmill Trading Association Ltd.
May 1921: Defendant in the “Crossley car” case—refused delivery, citing inferior quality; later bought a similar model at auction (see newspaper archives).
1923: Member, Ee Hoe Hean Club.
Travelled widely in 1938 across Europe and the U.S. (avoided Japan on principle).
Personal

Epitaph lines (virtues remembered): 成家由善賈 · 濟世仰宏才 · 德行詥謀遠 · 仁心衍長
Children (as recorded on tomb/obits):
Sons: Tan Beng Kee 明基, Beng Thong 明通, Beng Wah 明華, Beng Teck 明德, Beng Guan 明源, Beng Ghee 明義, Beng Hui 明輝
Daughters: Shuangxi 雙喜, Shuangyue 雙月, Shuangfeng 雙鳳, Shuangzhu 雙珠
Death notice (Syonan Shimbun, 8 Nov 1944): passed peacefully at 7 am, 2 Nov 2604 (1944); funeral 6 Nov; survived by 7 sons, 4 daughters, 1 son-in-law, and 14 grandchildren.
Family notes

Wife: Mdm Lee Bak Nee 李莫妮? (Lee Bak Nee), b. c.1905, d. 11 Jun 1984, aged 79. Survived by sons Tan Beng Guan, Beng Gee, and Beng Hui; daughters Tan Siang Guat, Siang Hong, and Siang Choo; and extended family listed in the obituary (The Straits Times, 13 Jun 1984).
Marriages:
Eldest son Tan Beng Kee m. Chua Bee Neo (youngest daughter of Chua Hong Ing). Engagement announced 10 Jun 1939; marriage planned for 2 Dec 1924 per earlier notice.
Second son Tan Beng Thong m. Cheok Sye Huay, daughter of Cheok Cheng Kee; ceremony at “Lochaber,” 19 Scotts Road, 16 Jun 1929 (reformed style).
Son Tan Beng Wah m. Chew Kheok Kim, only daughter of Chew Cheng Sun (Chew Cheng San).
Eldest grandson Tan Hock Seng m. Happy Lim Keng Wah, daughter of Lim Seow Eng and Tay Keng Guan.
Legacy

Remembered as an industry builder whose mills fueled Singapore’s pre-war construction economy, as a donor who preferred anonymity, and as a quiet actor in a pivotal wartime escape that preserved leadership for the Chinese resistance network.
Tomb location: Kopi Sua (Mount Pleasant) sector; inscriptions attest to commerce, benevolence, and filial posterity.
Key sources

Syonan Shimbun (8 & 9 Nov 1944), Shonan Times (25 Dec 1944).
The Singapore Free Press (15 Jun 1929); Malaya Tribune (10 Jun 1939).
The Straits Times (13 Jun 1984).
Nanyang Collected Biographies 南洋名人集傳 (profile of 陳貴賤).
Crossley Car Case (May 1921, newspaper archives).
Ee Hoe Hean Club records.

Tan Chian
禾山 
陳貴賤

Death: 2 Nov 1944 at the age of 63 (born circa 1881)

Timeline
Birth circa 1881
May 1921 - Court case for breach of contract mentions Tan Kwee Chian refused to take delivery of a 7-seater Crossley car, citing inferior quality, but bought the same car at an auction. 
(see Crossley Car Case, newspapers archives.)
1923 - member of EE Hoe Hean Club
Apr 1926—winding up of the Sawmill Trading Association Ltd. voluntarily as Chairman
Oct 1942 - donated 500 coffins to bury the dead 















成家由善賈



濟世仰宏才



德行詥謀遠


仁心衍長

孝男 Sons
陳明基 Tan Beng Kee
陳明通 Tan Beng Thong
陳明華 Tan Beng Wah 
陳明德 Tan Beng Teck 
陳明源 Tan Beng Guan
陳明義 Tan Beng Ghee
陳明輝 Tan Beng Hui
孝女
雙喜
雙月
雙鳳
雙珠

Location: The tomb of Tan Kwee Chian (Tan Chian) is located on Kopi Sua (Mount Pleasant) side

Death of Tan Kwee Chian
Shonan Times (Syonan Shimbun), 8 November 1944, Pg 2

Mr Tan Chian (alias Tan Kwee Chian) passed away peacefully at his residence, No. 19 Scotts Road, at the age of 63 on Nov 2, 2604, at 7 am (TT). He leaves behind 7 sons (Messrs. Tan Beng Kee, Beng Thong, Beng Wah, Beng Teck, Beng Guan, Beng Ghee, and Beng Hui), 4 daughters, 1 son-in-law, and 14 grandchildren to mourn his loss. The funeral took place at 12 noon (TT) on Nov 6, 2604

Mrs Tan Kwee Chian

The Straits Times, 13 June 1984, Page 41

Death 
MDM LEE BAK NEE  
Aged 79 (born circa 1905)
(wife of the late Tan Kwee Chian)

passed away peacefully on 11th June 1984, leaving behind:

Sons:
Tan Beng Guan  
Tan Beng Gee  
Tan Beng Hui

Daughters:
Tan Siang Guat  
Tan Siang Hong  
Tan Siang Choo

Daughters-in-law:
Wendy Ng Eng Soon  
Chan Kwee Tian  
Eva Kang

Sons-in-law:
Wee Tin Teck  
Kuah Leong Huat  
Heinz Lehnacker

12 grandsons, 13 granddaughters, 4 granddaughters-in-law,
3 grandsons-in-law, 3 great grandsons, and 3 great granddaughters to mourn her loss.

ANNOUNCEMENT.

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 15 June 1929, Page 10


 


The marriage of Mr Tan Beng Thong, second son of Mr and Mrs Tan Chian to Miss Cheok Sye Huay, second daughter of Mr and Mrs Cheok Cheng Kee will take place in the reformed style at 2 pm on Sunday Jun 16, 1929, at Lochaber, No. 19 Scotts Road






Second son Tan Beng Thong married Cheok Sye Huay, second daughter of Cheok Cheng Kee. 


Tan Beng Kee married Miss Chua Bee Neo, the youngest daughter of Chua Hing Zing. 


The engagement is announced between Mr. Tan Beng Kee, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Tan Chian of 36 Cairnhill Road, and Miss Chua Bee Neo, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chua Hong Ing of 96 Owen Road. The marriage will take place on Dec 2, 1924

Page 4 Advertisements Column 1

Malaya Tribune, 10 June 1939, Page 4




Tan Beng Wah married Chew Kheok Kim, the only daughter of Chew Cheng Sun (Chew Cheng San). 


Syonan Shimbun, 9 Nov 1944, Pg 2 



Page 2 Advertisements Column 1

Shonan Times (Syonan Shimbun), 25 December 1944, Page 2





Tan Hock Seng, the eldest grandson, married Miss Happy Lim Keng Wah, the second daughter of Lim Seow Eng and Tay Keng Guan. 


Extracted from Tan Kah Kee—The making of an overseas Chinese legend


Banking Corporation representatives went to see the Governor for the last time on 30 January 1942 to inquire about the war situation in Singapore. The governor gave them the impression that the British could do little to help them evacuate to safety, as their aeroplanes and vessels had been withdrawn to Sumatra. Yap Geok-twee then asked the governor whether the Chungking government had communicated with him and asked him to evacuate them. The governor gave a flat answer: “No.”

This meeting prompted Tan Kah Kee’s supporters to draw up a contingency plan for evacuation in the event of an impending Japanese assault on Singapore. It was Ng Aik-huan and Lau Boh-tan who quickly arranged the use of two motor launches belonging to their friend Tan Kwee-chian for the purposes of eventual evacuation. As there was news from Tan Kwee-chian that the British were to requisition his motor launches, the evacuation plan was immediately put into action at 2:00 a.m. on 3 February 1942, with the two motor launches quietly moving out from the beach at Beach Road and heading for Sumatra. The evacuation was so hurried and secretive that Tan Kah Kee did not have time to say goodbye to his children and relatives.

Of the two motor launches, the smaller one carried Tan Kah Kee, Lau Geok-swee, Tan Kwee-chian (the owner of the boat), and Tan Eng-ghee, the eldest son of Tan Lark-sye, while the larger one was loaded with some of the most wanted men—Ng Aik-huan, Hu Yu-chih, Lee Tiat-ming, Yu Da-fu, Chang Chu-k’un—and many other anti-Japanese activists and their families. For Tan Kah Kee, the choice of Sumatra was logical enough, as it was geographically closer to Singapore than China and India. Moreover, Tan Kah Kee intended to move on from there to either India or Australia as his retreat; he had no intention of remaining.

Within two weeks of Tan Kah Kee’s departure, Singapore fell to the Japanese, and with it began the history of Syonan. For the British, it was easily and singularly their most humiliating military defeat in modern times, with 130,000 of their troops taken as prisoners of war. These were made up of some 35,000 Englishmen and Scots, 15,000 Australians, 65,000 Indians, and about 15,000 assorted troops, mostly Malays and some Chinese. For the civilian Chinese population, they suf—






陳貴賤先生·

福建思明禾山人·久客石叻坡·以設置汽機·製造板柴為業·出品之巨·幾冠全南洋·廠號再興·垂數十年矣·鄰處尤多支廠·獲息之豐·與日俱增·此次我國抗日·對於星華籌賑會·為出錢出力之一人·購公債及應諸雜輸將·多至二三十萬元·嘗遊歷歐美·至紐約時·聞其急·猶電滙萬元·交星華籌娠會·至於公債·隨購隨作為獻金助國·並不希企他日之償還·籌會凡遇有不得己之虧空帳目·非暗中墊補·不能了事者·先生常引為己任·嘗曰·捐貲何必題名·但使諸當事者·不生困難·則鄙人無時不可量力爲此項之墊補也·其避名隱德如此·先生又曰·自抗戰以來·敵力日衰·我力日強·其故皆因我國民團結一致·將士用命·而僑衆後方助欵數萬萬·亦與有力·然今日之勝·祗達其基礎·深望我前線後方·各迫進一步·則勝利眞真非我莫屬矣·又曰·凡人只知有身有家·而不知有國者·請觀猶太人云云·其言足貫金石·先生慈祥慷慨·輸將於公益事業·如國內災祲也·教育也·一切恤濟賙急也·頗難計算·至應朋友之請求·憐孤寡之貧苦·扶持諸顚危·贊助諸坷坎·尤非筆墨所能形容·先生春秋五十有九·花甲之壽已屆·身體康強·神氣十足·為善之報也·子女孫會尤甚多·畧列之·子明源·明儀·明基·明通·明華·明德·明偉·女雙喜·雙月·雙鳳·雙珠·男女孫十餘人·而長子仲子三子·已能助先生爲一切商事·民國廿七年·曾遊歷歐美數十國·到處人皆歡迎之·歐美文明·無不領畧·惟不到日本·蓋其時日已入寇於我·故惡之也·先生於禾山公會為正總理最久·華僑中學·福建會館·中華總商會·崇本崇正二學校·怡和軒·棲鴻閣·工商補習學校·星華籌賑會等·皆為最重要職員·此其梗概·他不盡列也·又先生以助國多資·林主席曾贈一金鼎·亦榮之至也

Extracted 南洋名人集傳

Mr. Tan Kwee Qian (Chen Guijian), a native of Heshan, Siming, Fujian, has long resided in Singapore. He established steam-powered machinery and engaged in the manufacture of firewood planks (sawmill) with output so great as to nearly lead the entire Nanyang (Southeast Asian) region. His factory, “Zai Xing” (Re-Rising), has stood for several decades, with many branch works in the vicinity. His earnings have been abundant and ever increasing.

In our nation’s current War of Resistance against Japan, he has been one of those who both contributed funds and exerted personal effort to the Singapore Chinese Relief Fund. He purchased government bonds and met various levies and contributions amounting in total to two to three hundred thousand yuan. While traveling in Europe and America, when he arrived in New York and heard of the urgent need, he cabled a remittance of ten thousand yuan to the Singapore Chinese Relief Fund. As for public bonds, whenever he bought them, he at once treated them as donations to aid the nation, having no expectation of any repayment in the future. Whenever the Relief Committee encountered inescapable shortfalls in its accounts that could not be settled without someone quietly covering them, he would often take it upon himself to do so. He often said, “Why must donations be inscribed with one’s name? So long as those in charge are not placed in difficulty, I, for my part, will at any time, within my means, make up such deficits.” Such was his avoidance of fame and hidden virtue.

He also said, “Since the outbreak of the war, the enemy’s strength wanes daily while ours grows daily. This is because our people are united as one, our officers and soldiers obey orders unto death, and the overseas Chinese in the rear have given tens of millions in support—this too has great effect. Yet today’s victories only lay the foundation. I earnestly hope that both our front line and our rear will each press one step further; then victory will truly be ours alone.” He further said, “If a person knows only self and family and does not know the nation exists, let him look at the Jews,” and so on—his words could imprint on metal and stone.

The gentleman is benevolent and generous, contributing to public causes—disaster relief within the country, education, all forms of succor and emergency aid—beyond easy reckoning. In response to friends’ requests, he has pitied the poor among orphans and widows, supported those in peril, and assisted those facing obstacles—things ink and brush cannot fully portray.

The gentleman is fifty-nine years of age; his sixtieth year is at hand. He is robust in body and full of vigor—surely the reward of doing good. He has many children and grandchildren; to list them briefly: sons Beng Guan, Beng Ghee, Beng Kee, Beng Thong, Beng Wah, Beng Teck, and Beng Hui; daughters Shuangxi, Shuangyue, Shuangfeng, and Shuangzhu; and more than ten grandsons and granddaughters. His eldest, second, and third sons are already able to assist him in all commercial affairs. In the 27th year of the Republic (1938), he traveled through scores of countries in Europe and America; everywhere people welcomed him, and he grasped the breadth of European and American civilization—only he did not go to Japan, for at that time Japan had already invaded our land, and thus he despised it.

Mr. Tan has served the longest term as chief director of the Heshan Association. At the Chinese High School, the Fujian Association, the General Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Chongben and Chongzheng schools, the Yihexuan, the Xihongge, the Industrial and Commercial Evening School, the Singapore Chinese Relief Fund, and other bodies, he has held the most important posts. This is the outline; the rest is not fully listed. Moreover, because of his many contributions to national aid, Chairman Lin once presented him with a gold tripod vessel—an honor indeed.