Not many know that a small island like Penang could be a source of great support to the birth of the largest nation in the world, Republic of China. Sun Yat Sen widely regarded as the Father of modern China and the first president of the Republic of China is not only revered in China Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, but also in other countries like Malaysia and Singapore where there are many Chinese descendants. Educated as a physician, Sun Yat Sen was a political and revolutionary leader who had experienced many failed uprisings in his efforts to overthrow the corrupt Qing dynasty. Facing many pressures from the side of the British government, the doubt from other overseas Chinese fellows and the failed uprisings did not make the revolutionist give up. Instead, as a political refuge, he fled to Singapore and Malaysia to gain support from overseas Chinese revolutionists. It was in Penang that he gained most support. So it is not a strange thing if we can also find a memorial hall of Sun Yat Sen in Penang too. The memorial center is an exhibition of dioramas that depict the life and activities of Sun Yat Sen in Penang.
We accidentally found the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Center and then explored the site. The memorial center is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm and closed on Sundays. The admission fee is about 5 MYR if I am not mistaken. Located at Macalister Road, Georgetown, the memorial hall is housed within the Penang Philomatic Union Building, which was a reading club started by the Tung Meng Hooi (Chinese revolutionary alliance), a political party established in Tokyo. It was Goh Say Eng who opened the Penang branch of the party. The memorial hall was inaugurated and opened for public on 21 November 2010 by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and former Chief Minister of Penang, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Little is known about the life and activities of Dr. Sun while he was in Penang, therefore, a memorial center to commemorate the history was established.
The entrance gate to the memorial center
Dr. Sun Yat Sen came to Penang for the first time in 1905 where he was warmly welcomed by the leaders of the overseas Chinese community, Goh Say Eng and Ooi Kim Kheng, in a club house for the Chinese merchants called Xiao Lan Ting which later housed the PPU. Dr. Sun established the Penang Philomatic Union (PPU) on 19 December 1908 to organize overseas Chinese communities to support the revolution in China. When he realized that his greatest support came from the party members in Penang instead of Singapore, he moved his political party Tung Meng Hooi from Singapore to Penang in 1910. He then initiated the Penang conference at number 404, Dato Keramat Road where he delivered his first speech about the revolutionary vision and planned new strategy for the revolution. The day after it an emergency meeting was conducted at the PPU to garner financial support from among the overseas Chinese communities to purchase weapons and other military necessities for the revolution. Eventually, he successfully collected enough money to finance the second Guangzhou Uprising (also known as Yellow Flower Mound Revolt 黄花岗起义) on 27 April 1911. Though the revolt was crushed, it triggered the Wuchang Uprising ( 武昌起义) on 10-10-1911, which led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the formation of the Republic of China (中华民国). the date of uprising is celebrated as Double Ten day (双十节), which is the national day of Taiwan, and memorial day for the mainland China, People Republic of China (PRC) as Anniversary of Wuchang uprising( 武昌起义纪念日). Sun Yat Sen gave honorable credit to the overseas Chinese as the Mother of the Revolution. The PPU was renovated in 2002 to house the memorial center as a place where young people can learn the historic role of Penang in Chinese revolution.
In front of the building at the front courtyard stands the sculpture comprising three men, Sun Yat Sen in the middle and behind him are two his most faithful supporters, the first chairman and vice chairman of the PPU, Goh Say Eng and Ooi Kim Kheng. The statue portrays the undying spirit and commitment of the overseas Chinese communities to fight for justice and revolution.
The memorial center is housed within the Penang Philomathic Union building
The history board of the Penang Philomathic Union
Inside the memorial center is a three-dimensional exhibition of mud figurines made by local craftsmen that portray the life stories of Sun Yat Sen.
The portrait of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the Founding Father of modern China
The diorama of scenes of life in the late Qing dynasty
The miniature portraying the examples of the injustice, debauchery and economic hardships under the Qing Dynasty rule
The diorama illustrates the situation at the Penang Conference when the political leaders were planning strategies for the new uprising
The diorama of the Emergency Meeting which was held a day after the Penang Conference
The “One Man Changed China” statement is also found at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall in various places
At the heart of the memorial center lies the statue of Sun Yat Sen
The three famous principles of Sun Yat Sen
The statue of Sun Yat Sen with the board over it written “Tian Xia Wei Gong”
At the back of the statue is a room where visitors can sit and relax while enjoying the serenity of the memorial center
Visiting the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Center in Penang has really given me new insights into how big the influence of Sun Yat Sen is. I realized that he is not only revered in China mainland but also in other parts of Asia. His revolutionary idea inspires many Chinese people worldwide to remember their motherland and contribute to its welfare. Sun Yat Sen is indeed the one man that changed China.
Sources:
Personal experience and additional information from other online articles
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