History

The search for Ma Tinghui took 12 years.

The search for Ma Tinghui: An ordinary soldier, an extraordinary life [Photo story]

Photo collector Zou Dehuai takes us through the search for Ma Tinghui, a former teacher and interpreter for the Allies with the Chinese Expeditionary Force during World War II, who also suffered much during the Cultural Revolution. While the images of him were only found after his death, his legacy lives on among his family and students.
Lin Liyun was an interpreter for Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in the 1970s.

Lin Liyun: The legendary interpreter for Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai [Photo story]

Lin Liyun was born in Taiwan, grew up in Japan, and eventually found herself in the company of none other than Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, as she interpreted for them at various events and occasions. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gathered Lin’s oral history, and now sets out her fascinating story.
In 1938, Germany produced a Japanese historical film depicting the Japanese monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi) travelling to Chang’an in the Tang Dynasty to study Buddhism and bringing it back to Japan.

[Photo story] From admirer to conquerer then equals: Japan's evolving relations with China over the centuries

Relations between China and Japan have not been easy, especially given Japan’s history of invading China and colonising Taiwan. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us a look into that period of strife and struggle.
Near the end of the Qing dynasty, Sun Yat-sen and three of his friends were collectively known to the Manchu government as the Four Bandits (四大寇). The picture shows the four friends (from left) Yang Heling, Sun Yat-sen, Chen Shaobai, and You Lie, with Guan Jingliang standing behind. This photo was taken at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (香港华人西医书院), established in 1887, now the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong.

[Photo story] Taiwan and the ROC: Same, yet different

Taiwan’s current situation is the result of historical factors and developments, including Sun Yat-sen’s revolution and the ensuing rivalry between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao re-examines that era with his collection of old pictures.
In 1914, after the Japanese army violently suppressed the resistance movement by the indigenous Taiwanese, they gathered the survivors and pointed their bayonets at their captives as instructed by the Japanese army photographer, facing the camera in a pose of victors.

[Photo story] The historical aftermath of Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan

Japan’s colonisation of Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War is a chapter of history that the Chinese would rather forget, along with the pain and suffering that the Japanese inflicted on the people of China and Taiwan. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao gives us an idea of that period.
A multiracial dragon dance at the media preview of the Chingay Night Fiesta 2016, held at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, on 4 February 2016. (SPH Media)

Wang Gungwu: What does it mean to be ethnically Chinese in Singapore?

Speaking at a recent talk co-organised by Yale-NUS College and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Professor Wang Gungwu gave a lecture titled "What Does it Mean to be Ethnically Chinese in Singapore?", pondering what Singapore is, what “Chinese” means, and finally, what it means to be Chinese in Singapore. This is an edited transcript of his speech.
On 29 June 1942, Madame Chiang Kai-shek was at a ceremony in Chongqing in recognition of the valour of the pilots of the Doolittle Raid, to boost the morale of the Allied forces.

[Photo story] The Doolittle Raid and the historical bonds between China and the US

Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao recounts the details of the Doolittle Raid, named after US Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, which saw US and Chinese soldiers fighting together against the Japanese in their first and biggest joint action in WWII.
An illustration in Puck magazine describing China-US relations, 1880s. The US is depicted as Uncle Sam in an armoured vehicle loaded with equipment, facing a Chinese riding a dragon, with neither giving way.

[Photo story] The saga continues: 100 years of China-US relations

For over a century, China and the US have been in a tug-of-war of sorts, involving economics, geopolitics, culture and values. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao sums up 100 years of friendship and rivalry between arguably the two most powerful countries in the world at the moment.
Nantah's first graduation ceremony, 1960. (SPH Media)

Memories of graduating in a tent at Nanyang University

Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai thinks back to the first time he attended a university graduation — in a tent. However, the solemnity of the event still shone through, in a fitting tribute to the effort of the graduates, as well as the travails of that storied university called Nanyang University (Nantah), and all that it came to represent.