Liang Qichao and Singapore 梁启超与南洋

While Liang Qichao never set foot in Singapore, he was closely linked with the place. In fact, his mentor Huang Zunxian was once the Chinese envoy to Singapore. When Liang and Kang Youwei led the Hundred Days of Reform in 1898, Khoo Seok Wan, who was in Singapore at the time, monitored the situation in Beijing closely and responded accordingly. When Kang and Liang went into exile and established the Chinese Empire Reform Association, Khoo even founded a newspaper to establish solidarity and provide financial support to the exiles. Evidently, the overseas Chinese in Singapore remained strongly connected to the changes that were happening in China. 

Twenty years later, Liang became a key figure behind the May Fourth Movement in China. This movement, along with the cultural awaking it represented, also resonated strongly with the Chinese community in Singapore. 

This lecture explores Liang’s vision of China’s reformation and its ties to the Singaporean community. 

尽管从未来到新加坡，梁启超对此地关系密切。他的重要人生导师黄遵宪，就曾出任新加坡公使。1898年，当康有为、梁启超推动的百日维新发生时，身处新加坡的邱菽园关注北京的变革，并做出回应。当康梁启超流亡海外、发起保皇会后，邱提创办报纸声援、提供资金支持这些流亡者。新加坡的华人社群与中国的变革紧密相关。 

二十年后，梁启超又成为推动五四运动的重要幕后人物。而五四运动以及它代表的文化启蒙，同样在新加坡激起广泛回想。 

这次演讲正是像探讨，梁启超代表的中国变革与新加坡社会的关系。