Tan Teck Neo
Tan Teck Neo, MBE (born 18 December 1877 – February 27, 1978), also known as Mrs. Lee Choon Guan, was a Peranakan socialite and philanthropist.
Early life
Tan was born in Singapore, Straits Settlement. She was the third and youngest daughter of Peranakan Chinese businessman Tan Keong Saik. [1] Along with her sisters, she was one of the few girls in Singapore to receive English education in the late 19th century, and from 1885, she was personally tutored by Sophia Blackmore, who would eventually found Methodist Girls' School.[2][3] In 1900, she married the widowed Peranakan businessman Lee Choon Guan, becoming his second wife.[4]
Life
In 1915, she set up and became the first president of the Chinese Ladies' Association, a group of 23 women from other prominent families in Singapore. It was the first charity in Singapore to specifically champion the social needs and self-enrichment of Chinese women, encouraging girls and women to connect outside of their homes.[5] Outside of charity and advocacy, the association also assisted in the First World War, canvassing to raise $6000 for a fighter plane representing Malayan women for the British troops. Tan also personally volunteered with the British Red Cross.[6] Her efforts in the war and other charitable actions led her to become the first Chinese woman to be awarded a Membership of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1918.[7]
In Singapore, she was a popular socialite who would frequently host esteemed guests at her family residence, the Mandalay Villa, in Katong.[8] These guests have included important community leaders, like then Chief Justice Sir James William Murison, and Malay royalty, including the Sultan and Sultana of Johore, at her birthday celebrations.[9]
Philanthropy
Tan was an ardent supporter of women's causes in Singapore, with many of her contributions towards helping women and children, particularly young girls.[10] She was posthumously inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame in 2018 for her philanthropy and pioneering community work.[11]
St Andrew's Mission Hospital
Tan, along with her husband, donated $5000 each towards the building fund for St Andrew’s Mission Hospital, which then primarily served the poorest local women and children, being situated in Chinatown.[6] She was invited to lay the foundation stone at its opening.[12]
Singapore Po Leung Kuk
Tan was a patron of Singapore Po Leung Kuk, initially an organisation that rescued victims of prostitution that eventually became a home for vulnerable young women.[13] She funded their activities and would invite women and girls from the home to visit her Mandalay Villa home.[6]
Educational causes
Tan set up an endowment fund for Singapore Chinese Girls' School, which then served mostly the Straits Chinese community, and funded scholarships for midwives. At the Chinese Ladies' Association where she presided, they provided classes on domestic skills for women.[14]
References
- ^ "Ceramic teacups". www.roots.gov.sg. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
- ^ Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO). "TLOW | School's Out". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lee, Kip Lee (2001). "The Peranakan" (PDF). The Peranakan. Singapore: The Peranakan Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Wong, Hong Yi (2009). "Lee Choon Guan". Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Chinese Women's Association : 100 fabulous years. Editions Didier Millet (First ed.). Singapore. 2015. ISBN 978-981-4385-69-5. OCLC 911240532.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c Ooi, Yu-lin (August 2019). "Converging Cultures: Developments in Philanthropy, Singapore 1867-1919" (PDF). Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Cua, Genevieve (5 December 2017). "Building a legacy of giving". Business Times.
- ^ Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala (2017). "Mandalay Villa | Infopedia". Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "MRS. LEE CHOON GUAN". The Straits Times. 19 December 1931. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Tan Harper, Marina (August 2019), SHAPING PHILANTHROPY FOR CHINESE DIASPORA IN SINGAPORE AND BEYOND: FAMILY, ANCESTRY, IDENTITY, SOCIAL NORMS, p. 92
- ^ "5th Singapore Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & International Women's Day Dinner – SCWO". Singapore Council of Women's Organisations. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Davison, Julian (July–September 2017). "Swan & Mclaren Pioneers of Modernist Architecture" (PDF). Biblioasia. 13 (2): 26.
- ^ Xinyi, Hong (2020). The Istana. SG: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited. ISBN 978-981-4868-80-8. OCLC 1130901790.
- ^ "Great Peranakans Fifty Remarkable Lives" (PDF). National Heritage Board (Singapore).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)