80th Anniversary of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution
80th Anniversary of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, 10 Charity Halls Jointly Exhibit Their Treasures
October 31, 2022
To celebrate its 80th anniversary, the birthday of Master Song Dafeng, and the 20th anniversary of managing the Blue Cross Rainbow Nursing Home, the Blue Cross Charitable Institution will hold a charity cultural exhibition, a charity academic seminar and an exchange meeting at Zuihualin Club, allowing the audience to get a glimpse of the little-known Teochew charity culture.
The Blue Cross Charitable Institution will celebrate its 80th anniversary, the birthday of Master Song Dafeng, and the 20th anniversary of managing the Blue Cross Rainbow Nursing Home on November 9 (Wednesday). The Association will hold a special charity cultural exhibition to display the "treasures of the town hall" of its 10 charity halls, including a medal engraved with the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Chairman of the Federation, Mr Lim Sai Tee, said: “Singapore’s Teochew shanties are rich in rituals, music and celebrations. The items used in the shanties showcase the essence of Teochew craftsmanship, especially embroidery, pewterware and woodcarving. The bilingual exhibition, jointly curated by the Federation and its 10 shanties, will showcase the shanties’ history, philanthropy and cultural heritage, giving visitors a glimpse into the little-known culture of Singapore’s Teochew shanties.”
It is reported that each charity hall will provide two to five artifacts of historical value, some of which are even a hundred years old. According to the association, one of the precious exhibits is a pure gold medal awarded by the British colonial government to commemorate the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Other exhibits include religious instruments such as the vajra of Xiu De Charity Hall, and the championship trophy won by Tong Jing School under Tong Jing Charity Hall in the Singapore Basketball Association Cup Basketball Championship in 1962.
In addition to the cultural exhibition, the Blue Cross Charitable Institution will also hold a charity hall academic seminar and exchange meeting. The three speakers of the academic seminar are Cai Zhixiang, a visiting professor of the Department of History of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Li Zhixian, a doctor of philosophy from the National University of Singapore, and Dr. Wang Hui, who graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
General Manager Yang Xunzhong said: "The three speakers will introduce the attributes and development direction of the Teochew Charity Hall in Singapore, the redemption rituals and religious charity of local charities after the war, the development history and good deeds of the transnational charity network of Teochew Charity Hall, etc.
The collection of corpses, medicine and rescue services were initiated during the Japanese occupation period
Treasurer Dr. Yu Wenyuan said that the exchange meeting will be hosted by Lin Xidi and some senior predecessors of the charitable hall. "They will share how the charitable hall serves different communities, how to attract and cultivate talents to pass on the good deeds of the predecessors, etc., and answer questions from the public. ”
Speaking of the founding of the Blue Cross Charitable Institution, Acting Chairman Zheng Bingshan introduced that the Blue Cross Charitable Institution was established in 1942 during the Japanese occupation. At that time, food and medicine were scarce, and the bodies of the sick and dead people were lying on the streets without anyone to bury them. The predecessors of the charity halls then asked for permission from the "Syonan Special City Welfare Department" (i.e. the Health Bureau) at that time, and the five charity halls of Pujiu, Xiude, Tongjing, Tongfeng and Nan'an jointly established the Blue Cross Charitable Institution to take on the work of burying corpses, providing medical treatment and medicine, and emergency treatment.
After the surrender of the Japanese army, the other five charity halls Tongde, Baode, Nanfeng, Zhonghong and Chongfeng also joined the Blue Cross Charitable Institution one after another.
Vice Chairman Xu Junsen explained that the reason why the general association is called "Blue Cross" is because the "Red Cross" symbolizes relief and assistance, and the "Black Cross" represents the collection and burial of corpses. The overlapping of the two crosses is the "Blue Cross", which means that both charity tasks are taken care of. Vice Chairman Chen Yicheng added that the Blue Cross Charitable Institution and the member charity organizations are generally divided into two parts: the "Relief Department" is responsible for providing medical treatment and medicine, and the "Relief Department" is responsible for providing medical treatment and medicine. The "Economic Department" is responsible for worshiping Buddha, chanting sutras and saving lonely souls.
The 80th anniversary celebration dinner was held at Zuihualin Club, with 50 tables and an estimated 500 people in attendance. It is the largest physical event held by the Blue Cross Charitable Institution since the outbreak of the epidemic. Vice Chairman Chen Yifeng said: "The board of directors saw that the epidemic was stabilizing in April this year, and with the new board of directors taking office, it decided to set up a preparatory committee to start planning the 80th anniversary celebration. Because it is the 80th anniversary, we originally wanted to set up 80 tables, but we were worried about the instability of the epidemic, so we decided to only set up 50 tables and control the number of people within 500. ”
Plan to organize a delegation to Fujian and Chaoyang to visit the hometown of Patriarch Song Dafeng
Talking about the current situation of the Association and various charity halls, the second vice chairman Chen Keren revealed that the epidemic in the past two years has prevented the charity halls from holding celebration activities or ceremonies, providing chanting services, etc., resulting in an average reduction of 20% to 30% in the income of each charity hall. "Despite this, our charity work and nursing homes continue to operate as usual and have not been affected. "
Deputy General Manager Sheng Yongcheng said that the association plans to expand exchanges with overseas charity halls in the future. After China opens up, a group will be organized to visit the hometowns of Song Dafeng in Fujian and Chaoyang. Social Li Wenyou introduced that Song Dafeng had served as an official for several years in ancient times, but because of the corruption of the government, he decided to give up his official position and become a monk, traveling around. When he traveled to Chaoyang, drought and plague were raging, so he set up an altar to pray for the people and cure diseases, and at the same time vowed to build a bridge for the locals. After his death, this monk from Fujian became a god worshipped by Chaozhou people.
Deputy General Manager Pan Zhezhong hopes that the government will allow the Blue Cross Charitable Institution to manage more nursing homes. "In addition to doing more good deeds, we can also provide better career development for employees.
The co-organizers of the cultural exhibition, academic seminar and exchange meeting are Nanhua Chaozhou Opera Society and Yang Qilin Chaozhou Cultural Research Center, which will be held in the exhibition hall and conference room on the fourth floor of Zuihualin Club. The cultural exhibition will be held from November 5 to 13, from 10 am to 5 pm. The academic seminar will be held on November 6 (Sunday) from 10 am to 12 noon, and the exchange meeting will be held on the same day from 2 pm to 4 pm. The public does not need to register in advance. Admission is free.
