Chinatown: An Album of a Singapore Community

Close to the commercial heart of Singapore lies a nucleus of living which has, even now, retained a special character. Games of Chinese chess still progress on five-foot-ways; medicinal herbs for every imaginable malady can be purchased; old men and women huddle in darkened alleyways and congested cubicles; and shortly before the lunar new year the whole of Singapore seems to jostle together in one frenzied scramble to buy pussy willows, and sweetmeats and other delicacies. All this, and more, is Chinatown. But what of the past and its secret society conflicts, strenuous lives of labourers, small-time entrepreneurs struggling to survive, and the vibrant entertainment conglomerate of theatres, restaurants and brothels which it once was? This album proffers a candid look at the humble beginnings of the Chinese settlement, and later proceeds to examine Chinatown through groupings of main streets, logically related to each other through common economic and social activities. Via a montage of stills, it not only brings into focus what is constantly being transformed, but documents what is true and relevant of past and present. This book is, then, a commitment to memory - of scenes and images from Chinatown, which was and still is a viable dynamic community.

Published 1983.

Binding of book is intact. Signs of age and wear, scratches and tears around edges of covers. Residue from price tag on back cover. Tanning and foxing around edges of book. Heavy foxing on first few, and final few pages of book, latter is especially severe. Otherwise most pages in good condition, at most yellowing and with some foxing.