Tan Teck Soon
Singaporean intellectual (1859–1922)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tan Teck Soon (simplified Chinese: 陈德顺; traditional Chinese: 陳德順; pinyin: Chén Déshùn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Tek-sūn; 1859 – 25 November 1922) was a Chinese intellectual and writer active in Singapore. He was the son of missionary Tan See Boo.
| Tan Teck Soon | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳德順 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈德顺 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early life
Tan was born in 1859 in Singapore. His father was Chinese missionary Tan See Boo. His mother, Yeo Geok Neo, was an alumna of the Chinese Girls' School.[1] Tan attended Raffles Institution and was particularly proficient in Chinese studies.[2] As a teenager, Tan often helped his father to translate his letters to overseas missionaries from Chinese to English.[3] In 1873, he became the first Straits Chinese recipient of the Guthrie Scholarship for Chinese boys, which allowed him to further his studies at the Anglo-Chinese College in Xiamen, China.[2]
Career
After completing his further studies, Tan returned to Singapore to work as a civil servant. He subsequently joined the private sector, serving as part of Kim Ching & Co's consulate in Thailand.[2] Tan was also an active member of the Singapore Chinese Educational Institute, the Straits Chinese Christian Association, the Anti-Opium League, and the Chinese Philomathic Society.[4]
In 1893, Tan co-founded the Straits Philosophical Society, whose membership was limited to 15 and required one to be of "distinguished merit", a university graduate, or a member of a European learned society; alongside Lim Boon Keng, who was admitted into the society in 1895, Tan was one of its two Chinese members.[4] In 1894, Tan and Presbyterian minister Archibald Lamont purchased the Daily Advertiser, which Tan had been the editor of since 1890. Tan also co-authored a book on Chinese expatriates in Singapore, titled Bright Celestials: The Chinaman at Home and Abroad (1894), with Lamont.[4]
Tan frequently wrote for the Straits Chinese Magazine, a quarterly journal that ran from 1897 to 1907. In 1898, together with Lim Boon Keng and Chinese scholar Khoo Seok Wan, Tan established the Chinese-language newspaper Thien Nan Shin Pao; he served as its general manager from 1898 to 1905.[5]
Later years
Tan withdrew from public life in his later years.[6] He became increasingly drawn to Buddhism and was a supporter of the Maha Bodhi Society founded by Sri Lankan revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala.[7] Tan died on 25 November 1922 at the age of 63.[8]