Friday, March 25, 2011

80年前的华校课程

1960年代入小学前,父亲遵从隔壁房涛伯的建议,买了三本红色小册子作为我的开学礼。这三本书是《三字经》,《千字文》,《训蒙幼学诗》。


(三字经)

涛伯是清末秀才,学问渊博,由涛伯教我以广东话朗读似乎最恰当不过。当时我上过幼稚园,只学会人、手、爸爸、妈妈等几个汉字,那些莫名其妙的生字词汇,怎么努力都是枉然。涛伯念一句,我跟一句,一个星期下来,生搬死记,勉强停留在第一页,小脑袋不晓得挨了多少巴掌;由秀才来教我都毫无进展,简直是死鱼一条。活了几十年后的今天,依旧只记得第一页:

《三字经》
人之初 性本善 性相近 习相远
苟不教 性乃迁 教之道 贵以专

《千字文》
天地玄黄 宇宙洪荒 日月盈昃 辰宿列张
寒来暑往 秋收冬藏 闰馀成岁 律吕调阳

《训蒙幼学诗》
天子重贤豪 文章教尔曹 万般皆下品 惟有读书高
幼小须勤学 文章可立身 满朝朱子贵 尽是读书人

幸亏进入小学后学习并非如此乏味。从小学到中学十年流逝,教科书没有三字经千字文,也没有四书五经。问老师何谓四书五经,其实也没有答案。后来才辗转明了四书是指《论语》、《孟子》、《大学》和《中庸》;五经是指《诗经》、《尚书》、《礼记》、《周易》、《春秋》,简称为“诗、书、礼、易、春秋”。其实本来应该有六经,还有一本《乐经》,合称“诗、书、礼、乐、易、春秋”,但后来亡于秦末战火,只剩下五经。

多年以后,我怀着几分好奇,如果在1960年代,涛伯还秉持着旧时代观念,以为学校跟清朝年代一样,通过教导《三字经》,《千字文》,《训蒙幼学诗》来达到启蒙的作用,在更早的年代,新加坡的华校是否真的专学四书五经,准备有朝一日状元登科?

(1930年的学校课程)

19世纪的私塾与学堂沿袭着科举制度,士农工商,以学士为上,教导三字经、千字文、四书五经、百家姓和珠算。20世纪的新加坡华校则在蜕变中,以中文教导现代学科知识。早期民办华校设立于1905-1910年间,如养正、启发、道南、端蒙、育英。华校发展最蓬勃的年代是在1930-1949年间,200余间庙宇学校、会馆学校、乡村学校等相继成立。

1880-1909:10所新华校
1911-1919:14
1920-1929:30
1930-1940:76
1941-1944:5 (日战时期)
1945-1949:117
创校日期不明: 101
(1930年所使用的教材)

1931年的端蒙校刊详细记载了所使用的教科书与课程的编排,大量采纳商务印书馆和中华书局的新式教材,告别八股文的年代。至于英文教学,比重约占20%。传统华校提倡德智体群美五育,由此推断,不难理解那个时代也有课外活动,以篮球、乒乓与排球为主导,还主办校际交流赛呢!

(1930年的华校课外活动)

(1930年校际交流赛)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Pulau Tekong

Today’s Pulau Tekong is used exclusively as a training base for the Singapore Arm forces. It is home to the Basic Military Training Centre. In mid-1970s when I had my first camping on the island as a student, it was occupied by civilians who settled there for generations. We shared the wells with the local Malays who lived near our camp sites. I first tasted the challenge of using a bucket to scope water from the well. Also for the very first time, I saw men and women bathing themselves naked under the coconut trees.

In 1978 when I enlisted to Singapore Polytechnic, we called one of our classmates as Tekong simply because he came from Pulau Tekong. During weekdays, he stayed with his uncle in Bedok. Every morning, he caught bus number 2 to North Bridge Road, and changed to bus number 209 to Singapore Polytechnic (Dover Road campus). He had to spend more then 3 hours on public buses during school terms. During weekends, he would take a bumboat from Changi Point back to his hometown.


(Tekong's fun time. c.1979)

In 1981 when I served my national service, Pulau Tekong was occupied by a mixed of civilian residents and training troops. Pulau Tekong camp I and camp II were also used for reservists’ in-camp training for a short period during my national service days of which I was posted there as trainer for several months. Life on the island was rather boring. We had nothing better to do at night apart from gathering around the small canteen to watch TV programmes. Although the signal reception was poor, it was better than none. For many army boys, the main attraction would be to “xian-tau” with the canteen girl.

The canteen girl was about 20 years old then and like a blossom flower. She liked to wear white collarless T-shirt and green colour skirt. Sometime she pretended to be angry when being disturbed by the guys but turned to happy face once the guys apologised and bought more bottled drinks from her. The same scene kept repeating night after night. Those were the days for most of us in that growing up years.

Occasionally, we would explore the island for its beautiful nature and looked up for durians when the season was right. Most of the durian trees belonged to the local owners. It was illegal to pick those durians under their charge. We were mindful of the SAF acts and would only pick those durians at no-man land. Tekong durians were simply first class probably due to the soil and the sea breeze. They tasted better than D24.





(Pulau Tekong - places that seldom explored. According to Mr Brown who left a comment for this article, the rock of the 4th picture is Batu Berleher (rock with a neck) c.1982)

At that time, we could travel to Pulau Tekong via bumboat from Changi Point or via RPL next to the Commando Camp at Hendon Road. The travelling times for bumboat and RPL were about 25 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively. Of course our preferred travelling mode was to pay $1.50 for the bumboat so that we could spend 20 minutes more on Singapore main land. On return trips, sometime we would stop at Tekong jetty and had a sumptuous meal at Tekong Seafood Restaurant before headed back to main land.

Whether spending my days on Pulau Tekong as a trainee or as a trainer, the common denominator was no training on Thursday night. There was a rumour spreading around that on a particular Thursday night, a soldier went missing during route march. The very next day when his lifeless body was found, his internal organs were exposed, citing the speculation that it was the work of supernatural being or might be just stomach rupture. Since then, his spirit would fly around the island on every Thursday night where many soldiers claimed that they had seen what not supposed to be seen. Whether ghostly encounter did happen was questionable because soldiers started to imagine and hallucinate about thing when under certain stress conditions. Nevertheless, it had become a classic Pulau Tekong ghost story.

Pulau Tekong appears in the Franklin and Jackson's 1828 Singapore map as Po. Takung where Takung might be a direct translation from the Malay word "tukar" which carries a meaning as “change”. The early name could have arisen because Pulau Tekong served as a trading station for both residents from nearby Pulau Ubin and the state of Johor.

(Franklin and Jackson's 1828 Singapore map. Po. Takung (Pulau Tekong) is at the top right hand corner)


(Pulau Tekong - the missing scenes)

Today’s Pulau Tekong is much larger then what it used to be because of land reclamation and joining Pulau Tekong Kechil with the main Tekong island. Land reclamation work at Pulau Tekong and Pulau Tekong Kechil had caused discomfort for Malaysia. Malaysia referred the reclamation issue to International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in July 2003. Subsequently, the tribunal ordered a year-long joint study on the issue. The conflict was resolved in April 2005 following a signing of agreement between the two countries. The agreement includes modifications of the island in "Area D". The signed agreement was sent to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for final judgment.

(Land reclamation 2003)

There are two other significant events occurred on Pulau Tekong. On 29 May 1990, national servicemen spotted a family of three runaway Asian elephants. These elephants swam 1.5 km across the Straits of Johor and landed on Pulau Tekong. On 10 June, all three elephants were captured and relocated back to the jungle in Malaysia.

In March 2004, Pulau Tekong was the hiding place for three armed robbers. They fled from Malaysia, sparking off a massive manhunt involving RSAF helicopters, commandos, ground surveillance radar, troops from the 2nd Singapore Infantry Regiment and the Singapore Police Force. All three were caught by police officers; two by members of the Gurkha Contingent and one by the Police Coast Guard. They were later charged with illegal entry to Singapore.

Friday, March 11, 2011

车窗内

坐在车窗旁,惯性的向车窗外眺望。车窗过处,一树一景在脑海轻轻掠过,仿佛不留痕迹。一分一秒间,上演着多少人世间不同的故事,有更多的故事在茫茫中撒落一地,被遗忘,鸟过水无痕。

以前中学的华文课本册册皆好料,读了萧红的‘火烧云’后阅读似散文似小说的《呼兰河传》,就有这股很强烈的时过境迁的感受。1980年代依然硕壮的萧军应邀到世界贸易中心新加坡华文书展的讲座上发言,直接面对萧军,实在无从想象这个血性汉子和多愁善感的萧红怎么结为夫妻,又怎么从恩爱到离异。或许五四时代的文人对爱情对精神的追求比当代人更自由奔放。

(火烧云,摄于我家窗口。2010)

萧红在落难期间对初访的萧军说,能坐下来谈一会儿吗?萧红像对朋友一样,很坦率地说了她的经历。在谈话中,萧军无意中发现萧红搁置在桌上的一首短诗,巧妙的把两人撮合在一起:

“这边树叶绿了,那边清溪唱着。姑娘啊,春天来了,春天到了。”

萧军曾经很形象地比喻过他和萧红。假如说萧红是小夜曲的话,萧军是交响乐。假如说萧红的灵魂是蓝色的话,萧军的灵魂是红色的。假如萧红是月亮,萧军是太阳。

萧军萧红经历了六年的情感跋涉后最终分手。

(萧红塑像)

当今的地铁列车设计不一样,我们不必侧头看窗外。我们面对面坐着,窗外事不关己的故事就发生在对面的乘客身后,看景看人,也被人看。

你看过车窗内的自己吗?地铁驶入隧道,窗外漆黑一片,玻璃窗化身为一面明镜,车窗外的风景赫然就是车窗内的自己!

就这样孤芳自赏着,陡然间发现原来额头上已经多添火车路,半辈浮生,还有没有梦?

跟LTF谈起转业的决定,I want to design my own remaining life,有说不出的洒脱。刚从事这份爱舰爱岛爱海洋的职业的时候,适逢流行《潇洒走一回》的年代,不介意以青春换取明天。起伏间21个年头流逝,宛如经历过另一段婴儿诞生到成长的过程,确实是天地悠悠,过客匆匆。在潮起潮落中曾见证了生死白头,红尘滚滚中聚散终有时。

曾经跟LTF分享过禅宗的故事。客观现实中世事变化无常,人间并无定法,要在这生生不息、变化不断的大千世界保持几分清醒,还真不容易。更多的时候,由于我们心中未能发挥理性的作用,只能与动物一样,本能地适应或响应外在世界的要求,对自己的处境缺乏清醒全面的认识。北禅宗神秀认为人生入世,要时时刻刻照顾自己的心灵和心境。你我皆凡夫俗子,必须通过不断的渐修,使自己理性的智慧逐渐发育成长,以抗拒外界的种种邪魔和诱惑:

“身是菩提树,心为明镜台。时时勤拂拭,勿使惹尘埃。”

师弟惠能认为万物皆有佛性,人生必须抱持出世的态度,才能达到佛法的至高境界。世间万物无不是一个空字,心本来就是空的话,就无所谓抗拒外面的诱惑,任何事物从心而过,不留痕迹:

“菩提本无树,明镜亦非台,本来无一物,何处惹尘埃。”

惠能得到五祖弘忍的衣钵后连夜远走南方,神秀在第二天知道了这件事后,曾派人去追惠能,但无功而返。隐居十五年后,六祖惠能在粤北曹溪宝林寺(韶关南华寺)开山传法,成为禅宗的南派。

(粤北曹溪宝林寺(韶关南华寺))

跟LTF说纵使客观现实在变化,这21个年头的付出是实实在在,用真情换回来的。岁月中不经意地自由行了一趟,很多时候在往前冲,追逐窗外的世界。还是到了近年来才明白回首的内涵,多看看自己,多了解自己,知道自己从哪里来,才知道该往哪里去。

回首不是叫岁月停滞。相反的,回首是为了走更远的路。如今我不介意调整心态,潇洒地离开,不需带走一片云彩。过去的,似乎如呼兰河传,曾经发生在地球上某个角落的故事,很快的就会被人遗忘。 过去的,仿佛如萧军和萧红,缘聚则生,缘尽则散;时代中的小插曲,在列车轻轻摇荡后,一切都会抛在脑后,不留尘埃。

油然想起我们年轻时意气风发,围着圈圈,曾经一块儿唱过的歌:我爱这蓝色的海洋,军港之夜,略带伤感的故乡的老酒,遐思无限的小白船....。多年以后,原来都曾经亲身尝试过了,当年的梦都曾经身历其境,....不是梦。

Friday, March 04, 2011

80年前的校刊

2007年9月,本着成人之美的心态,为启志学校一群老人制作一份喜相逢特辑,担任义务摄影师兼专辑制作人。启志学校位于Paya Lebar大成巷,五十年前关闭,半世纪后竟能奇迹般地找到整四十名同学,聚集一堂。自此他们每一年农历新年期间在Chin Swee Road红星酒楼捞起,半世纪后延续前缘。

http://navalants.blogspot.com/2007/12/blog-post.html

没有旧照片,没有旧校址,一切都是朦朦胧胧,甚至连学校名称到底是启志还是启智大家都有争议。民间办学,惨淡经营,校长兼校工,上课兼打钟,为的是让附近的孩子有机会当个读书郎,学习文化五育,代代相承。最后大家一致同意“启智”只是德智体群美中的五育之一,“启志”更具教育的宏观与愿景,最后一致锁定“启志学校”为正身。

完功后心中反而有点愁绪,1906年(光绪32年)慈善家兴师办学,为同乡服务。我不是同乡人,还是在62年后得到好处,度过十年黄金岁月。从1906年直至我入学期间学校经历过什么大小事,我几乎一无所知,因此纳闷。

学友惠梅神通广大,不晓得从哪儿找来影印成PDF的1931年校刊,作为2011年开年贺礼。时空交错80年,或许照片中人还健在。真情厚意,叫我感激得五体投地。

(1931年校刊封面与目录)

301页的校刊秉承那个年代的中国文风,制作严谨,修学六年的毕业生的文章美术作品都叫我汗颜,相比之下才明白什么叫做江河日落,语文能力一代不如一代,传统华文老师皱眉头,但不得不向现实妥协。驾驭语文的技巧,确实并非通过今日的考试标准,及格率与AB等亮眼成绩来衡量的。

(文章与美术作品)

1937年7月7日中日战争全面爆发,新加坡成为中国海外最大的后援基地,在爱国侨领陈嘉庚的领导下,各阶层华人热烈响应,支持中国抗战。据国民政府的统计,自1937至1941年,来自新加坡的捐款约占中国军费的三分之一。1942年2月15日,经过一个星期的抗战,新加坡沦陷,近13万英澳军队向3万日军投降。日军进攻新加坡时,华人组织义勇军积极作战,华人无私的奉献成为日军忌恨的对象,展开残酷的报复,估计有约五万华人在肃清行动中遭到杀害。

http://navalants.blogspot.com/2009/07/3-of-3.html

翻阅1931年的校刊,爱国情操早已显示。其中郑振文老先生指出中国四分五裂,国忧国难,扶危救亡,端赖教育。十年树木,百年树人,前人为同乡子女的教育惨淡经营,后人继续努力,办学宗旨理念鲜明。
(校董)

(全校师生合影)

(教职员)

想起在纽西兰农村小住时,牧羊人教导我赶羊的要领是照顾跑在最后的那头羊,确保它不会掉队。虽然落在后头的那头羊会拖慢羊群的节奏,但是如果置之不理,每回牧羊都会有跑在最后的一头羊,到头来羊群四分五裂,越来越单薄。同样的,教育如牧羊,不是为了筛选精华而让落后的弱势群体掉包的短线经济效益。“教学如扶醉人,扶到东来西又倒。....学生一字未达,一义未解,为师者都必须使其了然,不可因学生鲁钝难与言而敷衍从事。”

郑振文老先生以19世纪的意大利为借镜,为大家上了一节历史课。意大利是古罗马帝国的核心,文艺复兴运动的发源地,欧洲资本主义的摇篮。但是,自从中世纪以来,它曾长期陷入四分五裂、内乱不息的局面。从16世纪起,西班牙、奥地利和法国先后入侵意大利。意大利人民为争取民族独立和国家统一,经历了几个世纪的英勇斗争。1815年维也纳会议后,意大利被肢解为八个封建邦国和地区,除撒丁王国外,均直接或间接受奥地利统治。1848至1870年间意大利人民反抗奥地利统治,争取民族独立和国家统一,前后发动三次意大利独立战争(The Wars of Italian Independence ),最终在1870年获得胜利,使意大利摆脱长期受外族压迫和分裂割据的局面。

梁启超在《少年中国说》中特别提起玛志尼(1805—1882):玛志尼者,意大利三杰之魁也。以国事被罪,逃窜异邦。乃创立一会,名曰“少年意大利”。举国志士,云涌雾集以应之。卒乃光复旧物,使意大利为欧洲之一雄邦。夫意大利者,欧洲之第一老大国也。自罗马亡后,土地隶于教皇,政权归于奥国,殆所谓老而濒于死者矣。而得一玛志尼,且能举全国而少年之,况我中国之实为少年时代者耶!堂堂四百余州之国土,凛凛四百余兆之国民,岂遂无一玛志尼其人者!
(毕业生合照)

郑振文老先生借用玛志尼对意大利独立的贡献,认为只有通过教育,中国才会重现曙光。“罗马者,非一日之罗马也”,对1931年端蒙学堂600名学生而言,教育使历史更辉煌!或许这也代表着那个年代民间的办学精神。