Heng Pang Kiat is featured in several books and also in numerous newspaper articles.This has greatly helped me in forming a picture of his life, achievements and contributions to Singapore society in its early years.
Title: 潮侨溯源集 Malaiya chaoqiao tongjian [The Teochews in Malaya] Year: 1950 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/g017 ISBN: 978-1-879771-05-5 Author: Pan Xingnong, Singapore Original publisher: Nandao chubanshe (Nan Tao Publishing Company) Current publisher: Global Publishing, Co. Inc.
The Teochews in Malaya is a book published in traditional Chinese script (fántĭzì - 繁体字). Even though it is a very old book, after some investigation and difficulty,I was able to purchase a rare softcover copy of the book from World Scientific. The store is apparently now offering an electronic version (E-copy).I have to admit, my reading of traditional Chinese characters is quite limited, but I still wanted a copy for keeping and reference.
The author of this book chronicles the Teochew diaspora in the 1800s and early 1900s in Malaya (now modern Malaysia and Singapore),mostly the Straits Settlements under British rule.There is quite a bit of information on Heng Pang Kiat predominantly from page 71 onwards.
Heng Pang Kiat is mentioned here along with other pioneering Chinese luminaries such as Thio Thiau Siat, a prominent tin miner and businessman in Southeast Asia;Foo Chee Choon, an eminent tin mining tycoon in Perak; and Yap Ah Loy , the third Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur,who played an important role in developing Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre during the 19th century.
This book is already quite hard to obtain, and there is a stark possibility that it is already out-of-print, and may never be reprinted once the remaining stock copies are sold.I would grab a copy from World Scientific while you can...
Title: Emerald Hill - the Story of a Street in Words and Pictures Year: 1984 ISBN: 9971917092, 9789971917098 Author: Lee Kip Lin, Singapore Publisher: National Museum Singapore
This book on Emerald Hill by well-known local Singaporean architect, the late Lee Kip Lin,has a write-up on Heng Pang Kiat and his shop house developments along Emerald Hill Road in Singapore.A silk painting of Heng Pang Kiat dressed in traditional Chinese regalia is found on page 88.The book and the author are discussed in greater detail in the section on Emerald Hill and Heng Pang Kiat
This is sadly no longer in-print, so it can be difficult to obtain a copy of this book. Occasionally used copies still turn up for sale at Amazon UK
Title: Ethnic Chinese Business in Asia - History, Culture and Business Enterprise Year: 2014 ISBN: 978-9814317528 Author: Yen Ching-hwang (Yan Qinghuang 顏清湟) (1937 - ), University of Adelaide, Australia Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd
This book is a great read by an Emeritus Professor from the University of Adelaide, on how the very successful and illustrious Chinese business pioneers made their wayfrom humble beginnings to the new frontier in South-East Asia.
On pages 75 to 76, Professor Yen describes Heng Pang Kiat as "a prominent Teochew merchant in Singapore".He states that Heng Pang Kiat worked as an apprentice in a cloth shop in Singapore after he arrived from China (using the Teochews in Malaya book as a reference).What follows is an interesting insight into what it meant to be an apprentice in the historical context of early Malaya.
The author describes the apprenticeship as a place where successful Chinese entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia learned the ropes of the business fundamentals from a relativeor kinsman who was either a shop owner, business partner or owner-manager. Ther relationship was mainly paternalistic but could sometimes be oppressive.The apprentice was to be obedient, respectful and faithful towards the employer, like a father-son relationship, while the employer would be caring and show the ropes of the business.The typical apprentice was paid only a token stipend and had to work long arduous hours. There was no fixed period of apprenticeship as it would vary with the type of business.Once the apprentice had gained enough experience and built a good relationship with the employer, he could be promoted to a formal employee status.This would eventually lead the employee to help the employer expand his business, or leaving altogether to start his business on his own.When his business would in turn, become successful and required more help, he would do the same thing by taking on his own apprentices and the process would repeat itself.Professor Yen suggests that this low-paid, long hour and paternalistic apprentice system could have been regarded as a hidden means of employer's exploitation of cheap labour,or as a necessary training process to shape the prospective businessmen's character. It may have also been the only accepted way of training the next generation of businessmen,remembering that there were no easily accessible business schools in those days.
This book is written more like a historical dissertation but I think it would be very useful for anyone of us who are in business.Plus the very cool fact that Heng Pang Kiat is mentioned in it.There are many interesting business insights in this book on how and why these early pioneers were so successful, almost like a treatise on the "business school of hard knocks". I feel this is a great book on anyone interested in the Chinese ethos of doing business and the paths to success in life.You may still be able to get a copy of this interesting book from Amazon UK
Title: An Introduction To The Culture And History Of The Teochews In Singapore Year: 2018 ISBN: 9789813239371 Author: Tan Gia Lim, Singapore Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Curious about her own heritage, the author discovered that there were very few books written in English about the Teochews in Singapore.
Heng Pang Kiat is mentioned on Page 56 under the paragraph entitled Textile and Piece Goods.The author describes Heng Pang Kiat as a 'later successful textile merchant', along with Tan Yong Siak, Tan Teck Joon, Teo Eng Hock, Leow Chia Heng and Yeo Chan Boon. The author stated that many of the Teochew piece good merchants became Chinese community leaders, with Heng Peng Kiat and Leow Chia Heng serving as members of the Chinese Advisory Board. A number also became founding members of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce when it was established in 1906.
The Governor of the Straits Settlement Sir Cecil Clementi set up the Chinese Advisory Board of Singapore in the year 1889 in order to facilitate communicationbetween the colonial government and the Chinese community. The Chinese Advisory Board board comprised of the Chinese Protector and a representative Chinese bodyfrom each dialect groups to advise the colonial government on Chinese affairs.
The Teochews were assigned five out of 17 places on the Chinese board, and early Teochew representatives wereSeah Liang Seah, Tan Yong Siak, Low Cheang Yee and Koo Ngee Choo.
Heng Pang Kiat served on the Chinese Advisory Board from 1922 to 1929, alongside other prominent Teochews includingLau Long Teng (1921), Leow Chia Heng (1921 - 1929), Seah Eng Tong (1921 - 1941), Tan Thuan Hian (1921 - 1925), Tan Tsz Yew (1924 - 1930) and Tan Guan Chua (1929 - 1941).Later board members who were of Teochew descent, included Lee Wee Nam (1930 - 1941), Lee Kim Soo (1931 - 1934), Low Peng Soy (1934 - 1938),Tan Chin Hian (1937 - 1939) and Lim Soo Siam (1938 - 1941).
In a later section, the author also talks about the postal and remittance service for immigrants in colonial Singapore to send letters and money to China.This makes an interesting relevant read as Heng Pang Kiat was involved in this (although not mentioned in this section of the book).According to the author, by 1887, there were 49 Chinese remittance agencies, of which, 34 were operated by Teochews.
This book is easy reading and a great insight into our Teochew heritage.You can get a copy of the book here
www.HengPangKiat.com This is a not-for-profit website about my great-grandfather Heng Pang Kiat - an important Chinese Teochew pioneer in Singapore CPC 2023 Any Amazon UK affiliate program commissions via this family website will be used to help offset its maintenance