MacRitchie water tomb – investigations

[Anonymous]

The water tomb at MacRitchie has been associated with a romantic/tragic story involving a rich girl Fann and a man Lok. Fann died when her parents objected to her relationship to Lok because she was betrothed to Tai, a rich family son. Fann was buried at MacRitchie (which was a sloping hill then) whereas Lok subsequently died and was buried in Bukit Brown.

However, the inscription on the tombstone told a different story.

清妣太孺人 – The first word refers to Ching Dynasty. 光绪02 We know it is 1876.

妣 – This word means that the deceased is the mother of the person who erected the tomb

太孺人 – This is a honourable title given to ladies who married respectable husbands, 孺人 means lady

月浦 looks like a village in Shantou, where there are many 佘 family. The lady surname is 范, name is 慈 ? the 3 letter is not so clear.

男 – she has 3 sons, the names are engraved there as well.

---

Doesn’t fit in the romantic tragic story I am afraid. If I have chance, I might trace the history of 佘, 范, such as (月浦佘氏族谱) but at present, doesn’t look appealing to me to research further, other than the fact it is a solitary tomb at a place before the construction of then Thomson road reservoir (now MacRitchie reservoir).

---

By the way, there are two small tortoises on the altar. Never hear anyone mentioned before..

[Anonymous]

I wrote aboput this in Moblog:

In a book to be released soon by the Singapore Heritage Society on cemeteries in Singapore, there is an essay entitled: ‘The Death of Cemetries in Singapore’ by Mr Kelvin Tan, which explained on his research done on this particular tombstone.

This tomb was first highlighted in a NewPaper report in Novv 2003, and has since caught the attention of most people in Singapore.

Mr Kelvin wrote:

…….From its inscription, the tomb belongs to a Madam Fan (no maiden name given) who died on the 24th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar in the 2nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (possibly 6 January 1877). Madam Fang was the wife of a 7th rank Qing dynasty official named Seah. It is quite possible that Madam Fan was the wife or concubine of the fabulously wealthy Teochew tycoon Seah Eu Chin (1808-1884) or his eldest son Seah Cheo Seah especially since the Seah family’s Chin Chun Estate was known to be the vicinity.[2] She was probably a Hakka while her husband was almost certainly a Teochew. The tomb was erected for her by three ‘sons’ Hock Hai, Ren Shou and Tai Tai who were most probably not her biological children but ‘sworn brothers’ of her children.[3] Other than this information, the tomb remains a major enigma to all those who pass by it. While no one has come forward to claim any connection to the tomb, it is clear that someone sweeps and maintains the grave.

[2] This prospect was raised by my Society’s Exco member Ng Ching Huei. More research remains to be done to ascertain the veracity of this speculation.
[3] I am most grateful to my Society’s Exco member Ng Ching Huei for helping me with translating the tomb inscriptions.

So could Mdm Fan identity be confirmed? Investigations into her real identity ight not be easy as in the past people can be known by their (1) Dialet name (2) Courtesy name & (3) Chinese name, and with just a surname to go by, it might prove to be an uphill task. Perhaps the linkage might come from investigating through the names of the 3 sons & Mr Seah Eu Chin/Seah Cheo Seah.

This is indeed interesting enough and API would welcome any theories on this issue.

[Anonymous]

My observations almost tally with Kelvin Tan,

let me see :

Seah Eu Jin (1805 – 1883) he is from Guangdong Teng Hai Province ( 澄海县月浦村,今属汕头市) has 4 sons and 3 daughters. Seah Shi Seah (died 1885), Liang Seah (1850 – 1925), Poh Seah (died 1939)while Song Seah died early in China (1910). Seah Eu Jin married Tan Ah Hun’s daughter (Kapitan of Perak) in 1938. His wife’s small brother followed from Perak to Singapore. He is none other than Tan Seng Poh (Seng Poh Rd/Lane named after him)

Eldest son of Eu Jin, Shi Seah has several sons – Eng Kiat, Eng shui etc
Second son Liang Seng has at least 5 sons – Eng Ren, Eng Zhuo, Eng Kong
so we are left with the 3rd son Song Seng or 4th son Poh Seng

Therefore there is high possiblity that she is concubine of Eu Jin.

1) Eu Jin is still alive when she died. Who else can give her such a big grave. Eu Jin’s estate is also nearby.

2) We associate 太孺人 as a older lady than 孺人. Doesn’t look like she is wife of one of Eu Jin’s son who are still young in 1876 esp the 3rd and 4rd son.

3) Eu Jin is from 月浦. The tomb mentioned the names of the 3 sons which may not be the real sons.

By the way 太孺人 does not mean wife of 7th rank Ching official. It initially is, but later on, it become a title for wife of respectable persons.

---

Above just my initial investigative analysis based on available data now.

[Anonymous]

I now know why in the past nobody mention the turtles. IT WASN”T THERE AT ALL !

See picture taken by me yesterday and picture taken in the past several years ago.

Closer look at the tortoise

The two tortoises are heavily covered with algae and look old. Doesn’t look like planted recently. Also I tried to remove them, but it struck there as if somebody glued it.

What do you think of the tortoises?

[Anonymous]

besides those tortoises being really cute and lovable (i love tortoises, besides my labrador pup in the past), i would think that someone, quite likely a grandchild or great grandchild, would have placed it there.

either out of superstition, or due to some request after listening to perhaps a feng shui master… or even a stranger who got a favour and returning it with a little gift.

or perhaps just a child, who placed the tortoises out of love for the demise.

maybe it’s not glued. i see it covered with moss so thickly, it would have been stuck there, through all the rain and the sun and the harsh weather, maybe it’s stuck.

what does the feng shui study talk about having tortoises with regards to tombstones?

[Anonymous]

in fengshui terms, tortoise is one of the lucky animals, including dragon, phoenix, jilin etc. It also symbolise longevity due to the long life span of the tortoise. It can also be used to correct sha chi.

I think most probably it is implanted there recently by some joggers and not necessary by the Seah/Fan family descandents. It does not serve any fengshui purpose, and the dilapidated condition of the grave will negative any other possible “good” effect.

In fact one of the guardian stones have already been broken and stacked behind the main grave stone.

---

Just found out than Tan, the eldest daughter of Tan Ah Hun, died of smallpox a few months after the marriage to Eu, and Eu married the sister later, who gave birth to Eu’s 4 sons and 3 daughters. She died in 1905. Tan Ah Hun, being the Kapitan (Chinese leader) of Perak will be rich and powerful and no doubt helped Eu in his business. His son Tan Seng Poh become as famous as Eu.

---

[Anonymous]

Flow Chart of Seah Family and Possible Candidate for the water tomb

Some interesting news of the Seah Family. Seah Liang Seah wanted to preserve his family fortune for future generations. Did he succeed?
(Source : Straits Times 13 Dec 1996)

[Anonymous]

Very interesting read!
Thanks for posting this up!
Hope everyone has a clearer picture now. 😀

[Author]

Posts

[Anonymous]

The water tomb at MacRitchie has been associated with a romantic/tragic story involving a rich girl Fann and a man Lok. Fann died when her parents objected to her relationship to Lok because she was betrothed to Tai, a rich family son. Fann was buried at MacRitchie (which was a sloping hill then) whereas Lok subsequently died and was buried in Bukit Brown.

However, the inscription on the tombstone told a different story.

清妣太孺人 – The first word refers to Ching Dynasty. 光绪02 We know it is 1876.

妣 – This word means that the deceased is the mother of the person who erected the tomb

太孺人 – This is a honourable title given to ladies who married respectable husbands, 孺人 means lady

月浦 looks like a village in Shantou, where there are many 佘 family. The lady surname is 范, name is 慈 ? the 3 letter is not so clear.

男 – she has 3 sons, the names are engraved there as well.

---

Doesn’t fit in the romantic tragic story I am afraid. If I have chance, I might trace the history of 佘, 范, such as (月浦佘氏族谱) but at present, doesn’t look appealing to me to research further, other than the fact it is a solitary tomb at a place before the construction of then Thomson road reservoir (now MacRitchie reservoir).

---

By the way, there are two small tortoises on the altar. Never hear anyone mentioned before..

[Anonymous]

I wrote aboput this in Moblog:

In a book to be released soon by the Singapore Heritage Society on cemeteries in Singapore, there is an essay entitled: ‘The Death of Cemetries in Singapore’ by Mr Kelvin Tan, which explained on his research done on this particular tombstone.

This tomb was first highlighted in a NewPaper report in Novv 2003, and has since caught the attention of most people in Singapore.

Mr Kelvin wrote:

…….From its inscription, the tomb belongs to a Madam Fan (no maiden name given) who died on the 24th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar in the 2nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (possibly 6 January 1877). Madam Fang was the wife of a 7th rank Qing dynasty official named Seah. It is quite possible that Madam Fan was the wife or concubine of the fabulously wealthy Teochew tycoon Seah Eu Chin (1808-1884) or his eldest son Seah Cheo Seah especially since the Seah family’s Chin Chun Estate was known to be the vicinity.[2] She was probably a Hakka while her husband was almost certainly a Teochew. The tomb was erected for her by three ‘sons’ Hock Hai, Ren Shou and Tai Tai who were most probably not her biological children but ‘sworn brothers’ of her children.[3] Other than this information, the tomb remains a major enigma to all those who pass by it. While no one has come forward to claim any connection to the tomb, it is clear that someone sweeps and maintains the grave.

[2] This prospect was raised by my Society’s Exco member Ng Ching Huei. More research remains to be done to ascertain the veracity of this speculation.
[3] I am most grateful to my Society’s Exco member Ng Ching Huei for helping me with translating the tomb inscriptions.

So could Mdm Fan identity be confirmed? Investigations into her real identity ight not be easy as in the past people can be known by their (1) Dialet name (2) Courtesy name & (3) Chinese name, and with just a surname to go by, it might prove to be an uphill task. Perhaps the linkage might come from investigating through the names of the 3 sons & Mr Seah Eu Chin/Seah Cheo Seah.

This is indeed interesting enough and API would welcome any theories on this issue.

[Anonymous]

My observations almost tally with Kelvin Tan,

let me see :

Seah Eu Jin (1805 – 1883) he is from Guangdong Teng Hai Province ( 澄海县月浦村,今属汕头市) has 4 sons and 3 daughters. Seah Shi Seah (died 1885), Liang Seah (1850 – 1925), Poh Seah (died 1939)while Song Seah died early in China (1910). Seah Eu Jin married Tan Ah Hun’s daughter (Kapitan of Perak) in 1938. His wife’s small brother followed from Perak to Singapore. He is none other than Tan Seng Poh (Seng Poh Rd/Lane named after him)

Eldest son of Eu Jin, Shi Seah has several sons – Eng Kiat, Eng shui etc
Second son Liang Seng has at least 5 sons – Eng Ren, Eng Zhuo, Eng Kong
so we are left with the 3rd son Song Seng or 4th son Poh Seng

Therefore there is high possiblity that she is concubine of Eu Jin.

1) Eu Jin is still alive when she died. Who else can give her such a big grave. Eu Jin’s estate is also nearby.

2) We associate 太孺人 as a older lady than 孺人. Doesn’t look like she is wife of one of Eu Jin’s son who are still young in 1876 esp the 3rd and 4rd son.

3) Eu Jin is from 月浦. The tomb mentioned the names of the 3 sons which may not be the real sons.

By the way 太孺人 does not mean wife of 7th rank Ching official. It initially is, but later on, it become a title for wife of respectable persons.

---

Above just my initial investigative analysis based on available data now.

[Anonymous]

I now know why in the past nobody mention the turtles. IT WASN”T THERE AT ALL !

See picture taken by me yesterday and picture taken in the past several years ago.

Closer look at the tortoise

The two tortoises are heavily covered with algae and look old. Doesn’t look like planted recently. Also I tried to remove them, but it struck there as if somebody glued it.

What do you think of the tortoises?

[Anonymous]

besides those tortoises being really cute and lovable (i love tortoises, besides my labrador pup in the past), i would think that someone, quite likely a grandchild or great grandchild, would have placed it there.

either out of superstition, or due to some request after listening to perhaps a feng shui master… or even a stranger who got a favour and returning it with a little gift.

or perhaps just a child, who placed the tortoises out of love for the demise.

maybe it’s not glued. i see it covered with moss so thickly, it would have been stuck there, through all the rain and the sun and the harsh weather, maybe it’s stuck.

what does the feng shui study talk about having tortoises with regards to tombstones?

[Anonymous]

in fengshui terms, tortoise is one of the lucky animals, including dragon, phoenix, jilin etc. It also symbolise longevity due to the long life span of the tortoise. It can also be used to correct sha chi.

I think most probably it is implanted there recently by some joggers and not necessary by the Seah/Fan family descandents. It does not serve any fengshui purpose, and the dilapidated condition of the grave will negative any other possible “good” effect.

In fact one of the guardian stones have already been broken and stacked behind the main grave stone.

---

Just found out than Tan, the eldest daughter of Tan Ah Hun, died of smallpox a few months after the marriage to Eu, and Eu married the sister later, who gave birth to Eu’s 4 sons and 3 daughters. She died in 1905. Tan Ah Hun, being the Kapitan (Chinese leader) of Perak will be rich and powerful and no doubt helped Eu in his business. His son Tan Seng Poh become as famous as Eu.

---

[Anonymous]

Flow Chart of Seah Family and Possible Candidate for the water tomb

Some interesting news of the Seah Family. Seah Liang Seah wanted to preserve his family fortune for future generations. Did he succeed?
(Source : Straits Times 13 Dec 1996)

[Anonymous]

Very interesting read!
Thanks for posting this up!
Hope everyone has a clearer picture now. 😀

[Author]

Posts