This is not the same as before. With various laws that prevent foreign intervention or penetration, and the overall national security awareness is improved, no matter what kind of funding and leading ways to affect our cultural development, which country wants to pass.It's not so easy.
The "CulturePaedia" website, which focuses on the diversified characteristics of the local Chinese community, has planned years and finally launched on July 25.The establishment of this cultural infrastructure is an important milestone at the Chinese Cultural Center of Singapore.
This Chinese -English bilingual website, which aims to reflect the unique identity of Singapore Chinese, can be said to be a local Chinese culture knowledge base. At the start -up stage, there are eight major themes, namely community, language and education, mass culture and media, folklore, folklore, folk customsWith faith, literature, art, music, and performing arts, about 80 experts and scholars and folk researchers are invited to contribute nearly 150 articles to record, sort out and discuss the phenomenon, content and development context of Singapore Chinese culture in orderThe form of multimedia is presented to the public.The opening of the website is only the first step. This knowledge base will continue to enrich the content and develop more themes.
Like many people who care about Chinese culture, I agree with the establishment of this website.On January 12, 2013, I was invited by the Singapore Zongxiang Guild Hall and delivered a keynote speech at a integrated camp held in Malacca.In this speech entitled "Hua News Agency -Looking back from 2030", I sent high hopes for the China Cultural Center, which was not established at the time.
I said at the time: "With this cultural full -time department, the Chinese News Agency can carry out some long -term cultural construction work. For example, by setting up research funds and providing scholarships, cooperating with local academic institutions, combined with university scholars and folks, and folksThe power of cultural workers conducts research on local or Southeast Asian Chinese issues, and systematically sort out some folk culture of the local Chinese.However, it has developed a strong local characteristics; on the other hand, with the attention and interest of history and tradition in recent years, our historical and cultural workers and journalists have also tapped a lot of valuable historical materials, such as about XinhaiRevolutionary, Chinese Anti -Japanese War, Chinese political and cultural celebrities in the local area, etc., and the re -discovery of some important inscriptions and graves.Before, you must quickly study and sort out ... "
I also said: "If it is properly operated and managed, the Chinese Cultural Center can become an important hub for developing and enhancing local Chinese culture, a pillar of an important spiritual spirit of the Chinese News Agency, and assisting the Chinese News Agency to realize the vision of 2030.(For details, see the World Affairs Ren Jun, published in 2023)
How much the creation of the Chinese Culture Encyclopedia meets my wish and makes me feel relieved.But this is not just my own thoughts. There are many like -minded people. For example, Associate Professor Ke Siren, who had participated in the establishment of the Chinese Department of Nanyang University of Science and Technology, said in an interview with the United Zard on August 19 that he found that the Chinese culture in Singapore recently found thatThe center's portrayal and thinking about the status of Singapore's identity echoed his position over the years.He emphasized: "The diversity of Chinese language is different from a single and strong China center."
After the promotion ceremony of the cultural encyclopedia website, the Hua nationality center held a symposium entitled "Singapore Volkswagen Culture and Media".I am one of the lecturers, but what caused me to be interesting and inspired was another lecturer, Professor Rong Shicheng from the Chinese Department of the National University of Singapore.
History of Singapore Cold War is worth studying
In his speech and question, he mentioned the "Cold War" several times.He reminded the audience that during the Cold War, Singapore, as a "place for soldiers,", film, opera and publishing culture, with the support of different political forces.
He explained that during the Cold War of East and West, Hong Kong and Singapore were the two most important cultural battlefields in Asia. Hong Kong was the main production place, and Singapore was an important market. Many movies, opera, music, novels, and publishing wereIt is related to the political investment of "behind", and resources come from Beijing and Washington.At that time, DC (Cathay) and Shao were right -school film companies, and the Great Wall, Phoenix and Xinlian were pro -Beijing, left and right.Americans have invested in many popular novels and romance novels in Hong Kong. They are part of the anti -communist cultural strategy and can be bought in Singapore.
He believes that the history of the Cold War in Singapore is worth studying, and pointed out that the "production" and communication of culture are inseparable from politics.Unfortunately, this is not the theme of the symposium, and time does not allow him to play further.
His words brought culture to political level.To some extent, Ke Siren's interview with the Morning Post also has the same significance.
This is not the first time I have heard the relationship between the Cold War and Singapore.Rong Shicheng's conversation reminds me of a academic report on the Cold War of the Cultural Cultural Culture in the region three years ago.
This theme is "Boundary Line and Line: Overseas Chinese Research International Academic Symposium" forum, which was held by Nanyang University of Science and Technology on October 2 and 3, 2021. There are many reports proposed within two days, but leave me for meThe deepest impression is the invisible publicity of Associate Professor Xu Weixian in the Chinese Department of the university: from the Asian Foundation File (1955 to 1970), he watched the pure literary journal "Banafeng".
In this paper, Xu Weixian used the archives and other original materials of the US -governmental organization "Asia Foundation" to explore how the US Central Intelligence Agency secretly funded the cultural activity of Ai Lian in Xinma and founded the banana wind.At the beginning and end, trying to solve the mystery of the famous pure literary journal banana and US aid history.
Although I have heard about the special background of Youlian, I have heard of it in the past, but this is the first time I learned that there is such a matter from a local scholar's academic report.I have more understanding of this book office that I patronize from time to time and the journal I familiar with.A few months ago, he met with the author and asked him about this paper. He also accompanied another papers published in 2023 The Asian Foundation's Cold War in Xinma -Yilian Press and "Student Weekly"For example.The content of the two texts is different from the details, but the theme and central argument are about how the Central Intelligence Agency has supported and dominated the Asian Foundation's funding and dominating Youlian, banana wind and student weekly newspapers.After reading it carefully, I feel that they are all compatible academic papers. They have made rigorous verification and meticulous sorting on the official documents and other original materials referenced, and are authoritative.
"The Central Intelligence Bureau has secretly funded Youlian Publishing House"
One of the papers is written like this: "This article uses the Asia Foundation file to explore the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 1955, secretly funding Aiyuan Publishing House's cultural culture in XinmaThe beginning and end of the activity and banana wind; through interpretation of the agreement, letters and reports of the two parties, as well as the content of banana wind, and compare it with the memories of the senior management of Youlian in their later years, so as to discriminate the autonomy of the U.S. aid history and the autonomy of the publication.It was found that the United States repeatedly reviewed the benefits, publication content and work efficiency of Friends, and intervened and criticized Friendship and Banafeng.Invisible propaganda 'strategy, readers generally cannot see the propaganda behavior of members of Friends involved in the Cold War of the Cultural Cold War.P>
Xu Weixian and Rong Shicheng's two scholars said that I had a feeling of pouring.
I heard XuPrior to Victoria's paper, although I knew the cold strategy that happened in the US -Soviet camp, it was unconscious for us.
Of course, I know that the style of Cathay Pacific, Shao, Great Wall, and Phoenix movies is very different, and even clear, but there are so many, as long as it is a good scene, I can't read it;At that time, the more common "progress" book bosses, but from time to time, I went to Friends to browse, completely "no doubt about him"; as for literary and books, there is a wide range of interests, banana winds, romance public novels, "health literature and art", andMartial arts novels, detectives, and spy novels, and even red banns, do everything, do not reject realism and modernist literature. If you like it, you can see it. He is a "cultural omnivator".
At that time, the choice of culture and art of different factions was casual and casual.Many people are the same as me.
According to Xu Weixian's thesis, the senior management of Youlian and Banana winds, from beginning to end, have been taboo and even deny their relationship with the Asian Foundation.Therefore, the customer group of Youlian and the readers of the banana wind and even the author even editors will not know. They are based on their interests and hobbies for literature and art, patronize Youlian Books and support banana winds.As Xu Weixian said in the papers: "Youlian has almost created half of the half of the 20th century in the second half of the 20th century, and of course its contribution cannot be wiped out and underestimated."
But he emphasized: "Although the Cold War is not the only perspective of interpreting the friendly ecology of Friends.Why is a realistic camp necessary for a long time. "
Indeed, the Cold War should not be the final criterion of Youlian or banana wind, but it is important to clarify this historical fact.Understanding this important journey, not forgetting to come, it is very helpful to objectively recognize the current cultural ecology; Wen Hi knowing Xin also helps us to take a good way.
The Cold War has become history with the end of the Cold War of the United States and the Soviet Union, but the game between the great powers has never stopped.And Singapore is still a "place for soldiers", and the influence of China and the United States will still be "inherited."
The Cold War that the Central Intelligence Bureau was secretly ignited in Singapore's independence, and even before Malaya independence, we had no autonomy at that time.This is not the past. As various laws that prevent foreign intervention or penetration have been in place, and the overall national security awareness is improved, no matter which country wants to pass on what kind of funding and leading ways, it is not so easy to affect our cultural development.
Under our autonomous development, local Chinese culture has formed its own characteristics. Although it is mainly inherited from Chinese culture, it has accumulated for a long time, but has accumulated for a long time, and a collision of communication with other cultures and other western culture in this regionAfter that, it developed into a unique Chinese culture with the same color of the Nanyang color that is not the same as other Chinese cultural districts today.It is not only an important feature of the identity of the local Chinese, but also an indispensable ingredient in Singapore's multicultural construction.
When the Prime Minister Huang Xuncai talked about the inheritance of Chinese culture at the National Day mass meeting, he described it very vividly that Singapore's rich diversified culture is like a plate of Hainan curry rice.Nyonya curry chicken, and Indian curry spices, and finally drizzled with Chinese marinade.
This dish is like the formation of local Chinese culture. It is not easy to come by for a long time. We should cherish it.
Although Singapore has been independent, as a highly open country, and in the absence of social media, various foreign influences are still impacting us all the time.How to ensure that our unique cultural and identity will not be eroded by various domestic and foreign factors in the unpredictable geopolitics and internal social changes, which shakes the foundation of Singapore's social root, which we cannot take it lightly.
The author is the editor -in -chief of the United Morning Post
