I refer to Tan Dawn Wei’s piece, “China’s surprise blockbuster Dear You is a love letter to the Nanyang generation” (June 7), and would like to share my experience as part of a family of Singaporeans living in Hong Kong.
Curiosity led me to Guangzhou to watch the film Dear You and to visit its qiaopi (remittance letters) exhibition at the Guangzhou Huaqiao Museum recently.
Looking at the faded letters on display, I reflected on my background as a Singaporean who was surrounded by aspects of Teochew culture growing up. Like many in my generation, I never mastered the dialect or grasped our complex immigrant history.
Ironically, it was moving to Hong Kong, a metropolis renowned for its Cantonese identity, that bridged this cultural gap.
Hong Kong’s proximity to mainland China enticed my family to take frequent weekend trips to our ancestral city of Swatow. Nourished by the easy access, my children developed a greater cultural awareness than I ever did at their age. They know far more about Teochew customs like the fierce Yingge dance, the Chu Hua Yuan coming-of-age ritual, and traditional delicacies like wu mi guo.
Living here also sparked my curiosity about Hong Kong’s role in the global qiaopi network. In the film, characters used Hong Kong dollars to send money home. I found out that Hong Kong functioned as a vital free port during the colonial period, receiving remittances from overseas Chinese across the Nanyang region and forwarding them onwards to Canton province, where our Cantonese, Teochew, and Hakka communities hailed from.
Hong Kong’s cultural hybridity is also palpable in Kowloon City. While famous today as “Little Thailand”, it was a major hub for Teochew immigrants after WWII. By the 1970s, many local Teochew residents married Thai women or partnered with Thai merchants, weaving a unique dual community. It is perhaps the only place where the Teochew Hungry Ghost Festival and the Thai Songkran Festival are celebrated with equal gusto, mirroring the Thai-Teochew blended world shown in Dear You.
Living away from Singapore has taught me that culture is not static. It migrates, adapts, and takes root in unexpected soils. Watching my children embrace these traditions in Hong Kong, I firmly believe our dialect traditions and stories are worth passing on.
Ian Tan