This collection of eight short stories combines Catherine Lim’s sharp powers of observation with her insightful comments on the conflicts, both internal and external, brought about by love in the lives of men and women in modern-day Singapore. The result is a vibrant assortment of stories and voices brimming with courage, deep introspection and heartfelt emotion. Powerful and riveting, this collection is sure to captivate your mind and tug at your heartstrings and with its relentless prose and evocative charm.
30 stories about ordinary Singaporeans at their best and worst, their joys and griefs and angers, their dreams fulfilled or lost. They are tales about the awesome human condition and the even more awesome human spirit, interweaved with the author’s vignettes of her nearly 50 years in Singapore, such as how she came from Malaysia to live in Singapore and her run-in with then prime minister Goh Chok Tong. Stories include: The Quitter Who Stayed A Sock on the Jaw, a Blow on the Solar Plexus The Taximan Cometh A Writer’s Roller Coaster Ride The BKBC (bo kia bo chap) Interview Little Red Dot A Good Man in Singapore Elvis Presley Gave Me a Winning 4D Number Thanks , but No Thanks, Censorship! The Sixth C About the Author Catherine Lim is Singapore’s celebrated fiction author and prominent political commentator. She has written almost 20 books across various genres – short stories, novels, reflective prose, poems, political and satirical pieces. Known for writing about Singapore society, she has crossed swords several times with the establishment over her political commentaries. In this latest book, she rolls out the birthday champagne for Singapore and celebrates her adopted country’s 50th birthday
--Selected by The Straits Times as a Classic Singapore Play in 2014-- The swinging 1960s. A nightclub in Singapore. A one night stand that turns into true love. Or not? In Mimi Fan, Singapore playwright Lim Chor Pee weaves together a haunting tale about love, escapism and broken hearts searching for healing. Through the story of a teenage bar girl, Mimi Fan, whose destiny clashes with Chan Fei-Loong, an English-educated overseas Singaporean who has returned home to work, Lim brings to the fore some undeniable and searing truths: true love requires courage, it can be painful, and it can haunt you, despite your best efforts to ignore it. Written by Singapore’s pioneer playwright Lim Chor Pee in 1962, Mimi Fan is considered Singapore’s first English-language play written by a local. It was first staged by the Experimental Theatre Club in 1962 and then restaged by Theatreworks in 1990.
From the playfully satirical pen of Catherine Lim comes the wild, weird and wacky world of O Singapore! This is modern-day Singapore where the campaigns and directives of the unremittingly competent leadership come face to face with the undeniably human fads, foibles and follies of the local people. Using uniquely Singaporean traits as focal points, Lim takes us through the dizzying whirl of these merry collisions with consummate wit and comic inventiveness. The Series This title is being reissued under the new Marshall Cavendish Classics: Literary Fiction series, which seeks to introduce some of the best works of Singapore literature to a new generation of readers. Some have been evergreen titles over the years, others have been unjustly neglected. Authors in the series include: Catherine Lim, Claire Tham, Colin Cheong, Michael Chiang, Minfong Ho, Ovidia Yu and Philip Jeyaretnam.
A boy is given a girl’s name so that he can escape the attention of malignant ghouls. A devout Catholic priest is suspected of hanky-panky with a submissive Chinese wife when she gives birth to an albino child. A young girl student dies before her English examinations, but still manages to write an out-of-point essay for the Cambridge Syndicate. From societal superstitions and the imagination come these 15 tales of the paranormal. The Series This title is being reissued under the new Marshall Cavendish Classics: Literary Fiction series, which seeks to introduce some of the best works of Singapore literature to a new generation of readers. Some have been evergreen titles over the years, others have been unjustly neglected. Authors in the series include: Catherine Lim, Claire Tham, Colin Cheong, Michael Chiang, Minfong Ho, Ovidia Yu and Philip Jeyaretnam.
A true disciple is filial; has fraternal love; is vigilant and trustworthy; cares for the community; seeks the company of the virtuous, and pursues knowledge." Di Zi Gui, or The Student's Code of Conduct, has its origins from this line in Analects of Confucius. Inspired by it, Chinese scholar Li Yuxiu of the Kangxi era formulated seven categories of instruction for his disciples' conduct in relation to people and the environment. This set of instructions became Xun Meng Wen, or Lessons for Beginners, and was later revised and renamed as Di Zi Gui by Jia Cunren, a Qing scholar. Long regarded as an essential text for moral instruction, the classic serves as one of the most widely-used texts in educating generations of young Chinese. Its wisdom remains relevant and stands tall as a beacon in a sea of relentless change in today's world. With illustrations depicting modern-day context, this book attests to the classic's insight and practicality, rendering it a must-read that promises the essentials of all human relationships.
With this collection of short stories, Lim delves beneath Singapore’s prosperity and coded decorum to reveal genuine people facing difficult issues that are normally strictly taboo in Asia, such as the mother who discovers her son is gay; the daughter who learns her two mothers are lesbians; and the niece who finds her dead uncle dressed in his wife’s clothes.
The period between 1840 and 1949 was a tumultuous one for China. The last Qing Emperor officially abdicated the throne in 1912 and the years following that were full of trials and tribulations. Sun Yat-sen was an important figure who had a major role in shaping China's modern history. There were also many other players in the fight for political power in China. Yuan Shikai, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were just some of them. This engaging book provides readers with descriptive articles and information on key figures and events that occurred in China from 1840 to 1949. Understanding the impact they had on China's modern history will give readers a better grasp of China's politics today.
Did you know that if your surname is Ji and Jiang, it would mean that you are actually a descendant of the legendary emperors? And interestingly, the predecessors who fled from the despotic King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty named themselves after the things that saved them: Li, which stood for the wild fruit muzi, and Lin, the forest which was a hide-out from the king! Find out more fascinating details about 100 Chinese family names: * Difference between surnames and clan names. * Stories related to the most common surnames: Li, Wang, Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, and more. * Naming traditions; names and fortune; manner of addressing. As the book covers the entire span of recorded Chinese history from the past to the present, you will find it an eye-opener as a reference manual and a delightful source of little-known facts.
A stolen clutch bag triggers a chain of events that winds its way towards Sungei Road. A $100,000 reward for a missing girl sets off a separate chain of events that also converges upon Sungei Road. And at Singapore's renown ‘Thieves' Market’ in Sungei Road the two chains are entangled in a chance meeting that brings together a teenage street gang and a private detective. They are forced into a hasty, uneasy alliance to take on an international criminal syndicate. But are wits and street skills enough to prevail over the power and ruthlessness of organised crime?
Singapore has just come out of World War II, Jade Pearl’s mother has mysteriously died and her father is penniless. She is later taken to the Chu family to work as a maid and her sister, as a child-bride. A marriage is held, plots are uncovered, and a deep, dark secret is exposed.
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. The Asian continent can be further classified into five regions—West Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Each of these regions has witnessed the rise and fall of many great civilizations throughout the centuries. West Asia, for example, had nurtured one of the world's first civilizations—the Mesopotamian civilization which dates back to the Neolithic period. East Asia too had seen the rise of the Chinese, Japanese and Korean civilizations since 5,000 years ago. Who are the great conquerors of the ancient land? How have these civilizations influenced the world we live in today? This book gives a quick overview on the expansive history of each Asian civilization. Little-known aspects of Asian history and culture will no doubt enthrall readers. Let's read on to find out more!
An unemployed university graduate girl and an Occupy Wall Street terrorist leave in their wake a string of violent murders and newspaper headlines that catch the imagination of the Depression-struck Singapore. Singaporeans are proud to have been held up by them; to their victims, the duo is doing what nobody else has the guts to do. To the law, the two are terrorists who deserve to be gunned down where they stand.
Until the Los Angeles Olympics just over 20 years ago, China had never won an Olympic gold medal; today, she is one of the major medal contenders. China's sudden emergence as a sporting super power came as a surprise to many people. In reality, she has a long history of sports. Polo, wrestling, soccer, diving, acrobatics, martial arts, archery, marathon races, tug of war, swimming, ice skating and weight lifting were all popular sports in ancient China. Some sports were invented by the Chinese; others such as polo and marathon-style racing were developed by the different ethnic groups on the borders of the country and became popular within China as well. This book will enhance your appreciation of China as a sports nation and champion. Take a journey to rediscover the origins of various sports through Chinese history. Get set to enjoy the Beijing Olympics 2008 with all its fanfare!
A mother finds out her son is gay; a daughter finds out her two mothers are lesbians; a niece stumbles upon the body of her dead uncle dressed in his wife’s sarong kebaya; and an old man’s nascent feelings for a Filipino maid lead him back to his suppressed art. "The Man Who Wore His Wife’s Sarong", Suchen Christine Lim’s short stories of the unsung, unsaid and uncelebrated in Singapore, delve beneath the sunlit island’s prosperity and coded decorum. Her characters chip away prejudice and sculpt it into acceptance of the other. Previously published in part as "The Lies that Build a Marriage" (shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2008), this new collection contains five additional stories.
This book consists of three celebrated short story collections and an early novel, each reflecting Lim{u2019}s prowess as a storyteller chronicling a society in transit, where multiethnic characters struggle with their identities as the past and the present intersect, mingle and clash. The Serpent{u2019}s Tooth (1982) : Within each family lie the proverbial skeletons better left untouched, lest the truths uncovered become to horrifying. The Serpent{u2019}s Tooth is fraught with dashed hopes and wasted efforts, where characters grope around desperately in the murky depths of self delusion, where hands reach beyond the grave and resurface to haunt. They Do Return{u2026}but gently lead them back (1983): 15 tales of the paranormal. Unlike the bloodthirsty, melodramatic tales favoured at gatherings, the substance of these are commonplace, stories behind the ghost stories: of relationships that death cannot sever; of personalities so forceful they invade the land of the living after death; of rituals and customs, the unexplained and the unexpected. Characters so close to home that you start believing{u2026}O Singapore!: Stories in Celebration (1988): From the playfully satirical pen of Catherine Lim comes the wild, weird and wacky world of O Singapore! This is {u2019}90s Singapore where the campaigns and the directives of the unremittingly competent leadership come face to face with the undeniably human fads, foibles and follies of the Singaporean people. The Woman{u2019}s Book of Superlatives (1993): Catherine Lim beguiles the reader with a startling contrast: the deification of women in ancient myths, against the degradation of women at the hands of their men. Time and again, an unwonted bond of sisterhood appears, and is affirmed in a final fateful collision.
Chinese opera is one of the world's oldest dramatic forms and a well-loved treasure of Chinese culture. It is a wonderful combination of dance, music, literature, poetry, singing and dialogue, acrobatics and martial arts to create a unique form of acting that includes "singing, speaking, acting and acrobatic fighting". Find out more fascinating details about Chinese opera: * Why is the clown mask so colourful? * Who is the "big painted face"? * What does it signify when an opera performer stands on the table? Origins of Chinese Opera is definitely an eye-catching book complete with pictures and comics vividly portraying various opera genres popular in China. You will be fascinated by how the art form is able to transform and adapt itself to appeal to the sophisticated audience of our digital era.
This book unravels the mystery behind Chinese martial arts, or wushu, an exotic branch of traditional Chinese culture. It traces how the rough and ready brawls of Chinese cavemen matured into the polished gongfu of Shaolin and Wudang warriors. But the art of gongfu is more than just martial abilities - it is also about a philosophy and chivalry code. This volume sheds light on the legend of Bruce Lee and the Yue Maiden Sword.
The Three Character Classic is perhaps the oldest textbook in the world that is still in use in schools today. First written in the late 13th century and updated several times since then, the book was the mainstay of primary school education in China. Times have changed dramatically in the past 700 years but the Three Character Classic remains relevant today. The book outlines in a mere 1,000 words all the academic knowledge that was considered important for students to learn in traditional China. It discusses morals, general knowledge, history, literature, philosophy and education. This edition, vividly illustrated by Chan Kok Sing, contains the original text in both Chinese characters and hanyu pinyin for children to read aloud. It has a modern English translation as well as cartoon illustrations and notes depicting the meaning of each verse. Young readers will get to learn much about China's history and even more importantly, various morals and good study habits that the Three Character Classic emphasises.
First published in 1978 by Pan Pacific Book Distributors, Ricky Star is about a man who strives for career and financial success at the expense of everyone else around him, including even his wife and daughter. At first successful in his endeavour to climb a series of corporate ladders and becoming very rich, Ricky is, in the end, forced to reckon with his past misdeeds and indiscretions.
Talk about Chinese culture and images of dragon boats, lion dances, red packets and mandarin oranges readily come to mind. Their common thread is that they are all considered auspicious symbols by the Chinese. This charmingly illustrated book takes you on a journey of discovery of many others: * Animals: Phoenix, tortoise, tiger, bat, toad, spider, deer, elephant, horse, crane, carp, goldfish and others. * Plants: Pine, bamboo, plum peony, peach, orchid, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, gourd and others. * Objects: Treasure bowl, money tree, copper coin, ruyi, mirror, seal, Chinese knot and 'tower of wisdom'. * Home items: New year couplets, dumpling, glutinous rice ball, fish, chopsticks, longevity noodles and others. * Words: Happiness, wealth, longevity, Eight Immortals, combined characters, auspicious numbers and greetings. Understanding the appeal of these symbols will help you to appreciate the arts and crafts displayed in Chinese homes and workplaces.
On the way to her wedding to the son of a wealthy Singaporean family, Yin Ling sees a dead baby - a bad omen. Her marriage is necessary for it will give her money to pay for her mother's cancer treatment, but it means denying her dreams, until the day an American professor awakens them again.
The word 'harem' often conjures up images of beautiful, half-dressed oriental women lounging in some stately pleasure dome, waiting for the opportunity to satisfy their masters. And in some ways this was not far from the truth. Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong had 40,000 women in his harem, while the Qing emperors would fill their harem with the most eligible girls in the country for both pleasure and procreation. Some emperors were blessed with empresses who led their dynasties to prosperity and stability. Many emperors, however, found out that they had taken on more than they expected with the arrival of talented, ruthless and ambitious beauties. Wu Zetian was one such woman. Arriving in the harem of Tang Emperor Taizong as a sweet-faced 14-year-old, she went on, through treachery and murder, to become empress. This book tells the stories of the outstanding, the outrageous, the glorious as well as the tragic empresses and concubines of the Chinese palace.
This volume marks the recovery and first combined publication of the stories of Arthur Yap, one of Singapore's most accomplished and important writers. A hitherto neglected facet of Yap's opus, his eight short stories are deceptive in their simplicity, housing within their sparse prose a complex engagement with Singapore society from which he wrote. With his signature minimalistic style, Yap simultaneously perplexes readers with stories of seemingly plotless ambiguity, yet draws them in with familiar characters playing out situations that still resonate in twenty-first century Singapore today. Angus Whitehead's introduction highlights literary nuances in the stories and frames the stories within the wider backdrop of social change of Singapore at the time of Yap's writing. The meticulous critical apparatus make this book of interest to not only the general reader but also students of Singapore and Southeast Asian literature in English.
Johnnie looks forward to weekends when he visits his grandmother, who lives outside the city of Singapore in a little house in an orchard, with only her animals for company. Based on the author/artist's childhood memories.
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