Feng Shui & Singapore - looks like it came out of Ripleys "You'd better believe it!"
Did you always believe that it was only the poorly-educated Singaporeans who
believed in feng shui and all that unscientific mumbo-jumbo? Well, I did
until I started to pay attention to the conversation around my parents'
dinner table. Then I discovered that maybe I did not know as much as
I
thought I did. So, here goes .....
WHY PLANT TREES?
Ever wonder why Singapore is known as a Garden City. Why would Singapore go
around planting trees? After all, m
aintaining a Garden City is very
expensive. Well, here's the answer --if you were to look at Singapore from
the top, Singapore resembles a crab, with its mouth the Singapore river and
its back facing Malaysia . We all know that cooked crabs (that means dead
crabs) are red, the colour of barren ground. But a live crab is basically a
dark shade of green. So, by planting trees, you make Singapore look
green and not red, and therefore alive.
TWO PROMINENT DISTRICTS
Lee Kuan Yew runs Tanjung Pagar while Goh Chok Tong is in Marine Parade. If
you look at Singapore as a crab ag
ain, these two locations are situated at
the positions where the claws of a crab will be. We know the strongest parts
of a crab are its claws, so there they are.
HOW SINGAPORE WAS CONQUERED
To kill a crab, you stick the chopstick at the side of the crab...which is
exactly where the Japanese attacked and conquered Singapore.
KALLANG RIVER CLEAN-UP
Why clean up a river that spells different memories for many
Singaporeans
and was one of the reasons for our prosperity in the early years? During the
80's recession, we had just completed the Benjamin Sheares Bridge which
happens to suspend over the Singapore river, the mouth of the crab. This is
as good as tying the mouth of the crab, thus choking it ... which explains
the recession. In order to get out of it, one way was to clean up the river
so that the mouth is clean and wealth can flow in without obstruction.
Sounds unbelievable? But it seems logical, doesn't it?
NBC
Here's another thing for you to think about whether you believe it or not.
Please reach into your pocket and search for a one-dollar coin, and take a<
B>good look at it. It is round, no doubt, but it also has a unique Octagonaldesign - which is an important symbol in Chinese Geomancy or feng shui. Thisis where the story of this coin begins. On the island of Singapore lived avery influential man named Lee. He is very particular about feng shui, i.e.man's balance with nature. There is a particular day and also ti
me of dayto inaugurate any important event. There is also a particular colour of dress,when it comes to important occasions, and so on. He has a feng shui mentor -a famous monk, a particular Venerable who died recently. Lee would seek theadvice of this Venerable, whenever he had to make an important decision. Theone-dollar coin came into circulation at the time of the MRT construction onthe island (check the date if you don't believe me). The story goes that theVenerable had advised Lee that MRT tunnelling work would be bad for the fengshui of the island, its prosperity, etc. Firm however on pushing ahead withthe project, Lee asked if there was anything that could be done tocircumvent the bad feng shui. 'Yes', replied the Venerable, 'but it may beimpossible to implement'. Said Lee to the Venerable - please speak. The
Venerable then said that EVERY household on this island must have or mustdisplay a 'pak kwa' or a symbolic octagonal (8-sided) object. Oh no,there would definitely be racial riots. How could Lee force every household tohave a 'pak kwa' then at home? Hehheh... said the wise Lee - I have anidea. I know how to make EVERYBODY like to have as many 'pak kwas' aspossible and so our one-dollar coin was born. NEXT CHAPTER ... But then, the economy didn't do quite as well as expected after thecirculation of the one-dollar coin. Remember the '85/86 recession?? So theHonorary V
enerable was consulted again. He said that whilst the one-dollarcoin did symbolise the pak kwa, it was of no use if everyone had it in hispocket and failed to DISPLAY it. So the next novel idea was born - the ROADTAX LABEL If you recall, it used to be round and now, it's OCTAGONAL and itis DISPLAYED. Maybe now, you think this explains the many years of boomingeconomy Singapore had been experiencing. However, with the recent turmoil in the region and now that the Venerable*is no longer around, what shall we do next? Know any feng shui experts? *By the way, the monk mentioned is the ex-head of a temple. When he passedaway several years ago, Bishan Park was born because his temple was notallowed to be blocked by any HDB flats.
Did you always believe that it was only the poorly-educated Singaporeans who
believed in feng shui and all that unscientific mumbo-jumbo? Well, I did
until I started to pay attention to the conversation around my parents'
dinner table. Then I discovered that maybe I did not know as much as
I
thought I did. So, here goes .....
WHY PLANT TREES?
Ever wonder why Singapore is known as a Garden City. Why would Singapore go
around planting trees? After all, m
aintaining a Garden City is very
expensive. Well, here's the answer --if you were to look at Singapore from
the top, Singapore resembles a crab, with its mouth the Singapore river and
its back facing Malaysia . We all know that cooked crabs (that means dead
crabs) are red, the colour of barren ground. But a live crab is basically a
dark shade of green. So, by planting trees, you make Singapore look
green and not red, and therefore alive.
TWO PROMINENT DISTRICTS
Lee Kuan Yew runs Tanjung Pagar while Goh Chok Tong is in Marine Parade. If
you look at Singapore as a crab ag
ain, these two locations are situated at
the positions where the claws of a crab will be. We know the strongest parts
of a crab are its claws, so there they are.
HOW SINGAPORE WAS CONQUERED
To kill a crab, you stick the chopstick at the side of the crab...which is
exactly where the Japanese attacked and conquered Singapore.
KALLANG RIVER CLEAN-UP
Why clean up a river that spells different memories for many
Singaporeans
and was one of the reasons for our prosperity in the early years? During the
80's recession, we had just completed the Benjamin Sheares Bridge which
happens to suspend over the Singapore river, the mouth of the crab. This is
as good as tying the mouth of the crab, thus choking it ... which explains
the recession. In order to get out of it, one way was to clean up the river
so that the mouth is clean and wealth can flow in without obstruction.
Sounds unbelievable? But it seems logical, doesn't it?
NBC
Here's another thing for you to think about whether you believe it or not.
Please reach into your pocket and search for a one-dollar coin, and take a<
B>good look at it. It is round, no doubt, but it also has a unique Octagonaldesign - which is an important symbol in Chinese Geomancy or feng shui. Thisis where the story of this coin begins. On the island of Singapore lived avery influential man named Lee. He is very particular about feng shui, i.e.man's balance with nature. There is a particular day and also ti
me of dayto inaugurate any important event. There is also a particular colour of dress,when it comes to important occasions, and so on. He has a feng shui mentor -a famous monk, a particular Venerable who died recently. Lee would seek theadvice of this Venerable, whenever he had to make an important decision. Theone-dollar coin came into circulation at the time of the MRT construction onthe island (check the date if you don't believe me). The story goes that theVenerable had advised Lee that MRT tunnelling work would be bad for the fengshui of the island, its prosperity, etc. Firm however on pushing ahead withthe project, Lee asked if there was anything that could be done tocircumvent the bad feng shui. 'Yes', replied the Venerable, 'but it may beimpossible to implement'. Said Lee to the Venerable - please speak. The
Venerable then said that EVERY household on this island must have or mustdisplay a 'pak kwa' or a symbolic octagonal (8-sided) object. Oh no,there would definitely be racial riots. How could Lee force every household tohave a 'pak kwa' then at home? Hehheh... said the wise Lee - I have anidea. I know how to make EVERYBODY like to have as many 'pak kwas' aspossible and so our one-dollar coin was born. NEXT CHAPTER ... But then, the economy didn't do quite as well as expected after thecirculation of the one-dollar coin. Remember the '85/86 recession?? So theHonorary V
enerable was consulted again. He said that whilst the one-dollarcoin did symbolise the pak kwa, it was of no use if everyone had it in hispocket and failed to DISPLAY it. So the next novel idea was born - the ROADTAX LABEL If you recall, it used to be round and now, it's OCTAGONAL and itis DISPLAYED. Maybe now, you think this explains the many years of boomingeconomy Singapore had been experiencing. However, with the recent turmoil in the region and now that the Venerable*is no longer around, what shall we do next? Know any feng shui experts? *By the way, the monk mentioned is the ex-head of a temple. When he passedaway several years ago, Bishan Park was born because his temple was notallowed to be blocked by any HDB flats.
