黃奕本与杜文良

黃奕本 Wee Ek Poon (d. 1922) and 杜文良 Toh Boon Liang

Ancestral place 南安 · Tomb dates Tianyun renxu year 天運壬戌 (Republic 11, 1922) · Lao Sua

Tomb of Wee Ek Poon 黃奕本. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Tomb of Toh Boon Liang 杜文良, with the header 鳯棲 at the top. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Close-up of 囻 on the Wee stone. 囻 is the People's form of 國. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Close-up of 民囯 on the Toh stone. 囯 is the King's form of 國. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.


The two stones side by side: Toh Boon Liang 杜文良 (left) and Wee Ek Poon 黃奕本 (right). Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Tomb inscriptions:

Wee Ek Poon stone:
民囻故考諱奕本黃公墓
卒天運壬戌年二月十五日
南安十七都埔头下山

Toh Boon Liang stone:
鳯棲
天運壬戌年元月
民囯顕考諱文良杜公
孝男
連秋
千秋
奉

Summary: Two stones stand side by side at Lao Sua, both dated to the renxu year 壬戌 of the Tianyun 天運 reckoning, which is 1922. 黃奕本 (Wee Ek Poon) died on the 15th day of the 2nd lunar month, 13 March 1922, and his stone gives his ancestral place as Nan'an 南安, 17th du 十七都, Putou 埔头, Xiashan 下山. The stone of 杜文良 (Toh Boon Liang) is dated the 1st lunar month of the same year, carries the header 鳯棲 across the top, and names the filial sons 連秋 and 千秋. Both stone titles begin with the Republic 民國, but write 國 in two different forms: 囻 on the Wee stone and 囯 on the Toh stone. This is the subject of the first STEM Lesson 1 - The Evolution of 國 Country.

Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文

碑文	Transcription / Meaning
Wee Ek Poon 黃奕本 stone
民囻故考諱奕本黃公墓	Centre: Tomb of the late father, personal name 奕本, Mr Wee 黃. 民囻 is the Republic 民國, with 國 written in the People's form
卒天運壬戌年二月十五日	Right side: died on the 15th day of the 2nd month, Tianyun year renxu 壬戌 (13 March 1922)
南安十七都埔头下山	Left side: ancestral place, Nan'an 南安, 17th du 十七都, Putou 埔头, Xiashan 下山
Toh Boon Liang 杜文良 stone
鳯棲	Header across the top, read right to left. 鳯 is a variant of 鳳, so 鳳棲 reads "phoenix perches"
天運壬戌年元月	Right side: 1st month, Tianyun year renxu 壬戌 (28 January to 25 February 1922)
民囯顕考諱文良杜公	Centre: The late father, personal name 文良, Mr Toh 杜. 民囯 is the Republic 民國, with 國 written in the King's form. 顕 is a variant of 顯
孝男 連秋 千秋 奉	Left side: filial sons 連秋 and 千秋 respectfully (set up the stone)

Notes
1. 國 is written in two different forms in the same Republic title. On the Wee stone it is 囻, with 民 (people) inside the enclosure, the People's form. On the Toh stone it is 囯, with 王 (king) inside the enclosure, the King's form. The forms and their history are set out in STEM Lesson - The Evolution of 國 Country.
2. 天運 (Tianyun) is used here together with the sexagenary cycle year 壬戌 instead of a Republic year number. The Republic wording 民國 appears in both stone titles.

Burial Register 埋葬記錄

Field	Wee Ek Poon 黃奕本	Toh Boon Liang 杜文良
Final Resting Place	Lao Sua	Lao Sua
Name
Age
Nationality
Date of death	15th day, 2nd lunar month, 1922 (13 March 1922), per tomb
Date of burial
Block / Plot

Leads to Check

• Burial register entries for both men, to fill in the table above.
• Whether Wee Ek Poon and Toh Boon Liang were related or from the same village.
• The meaning of the header 鳯棲 on the Toh stone, and whether it names a place.

Sources 資料來源

• Tomb inscriptions and photographs by Raymond Goh, Lao Sua.
• STEM Lesson - The Evolution of 國 Country, S.T.E.M., October 2026.

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About this record. This entry is part of Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.) 新加坡墓碑銘集录, a specialised digital documentation project and archive recording historical tomb inscriptions in Singapore, with a focus on Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场 and other early Chinese burial grounds. Each record transcribes the original Chinese inscription, gives an English translation, cross-checks it against the burial register, and adds a short biography drawn from contemporary newspapers and archival sources.

Cite this entry as:
Raymond Goh. "Wee Ek Poon 黃奕本 (d. 1922) and Toh Boon Liang 杜文良." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2026/10/blog-post.html. Accessed [date].

Keywords: Wee Ek Poon, 黃奕本, Toh Boon Liang, 杜文良, Nan'an, 南安, Putou, 埔头, Lao Sua, 鳯棲, 民囻, 民囯, 國 variant characters, Tianyun, 天運, renxu 1922, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.

Lao Sua Name - Toh 杜 Name - Wee 黃 Year - 民初 STEM Lesson