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éå°å¹³ä¸ æ°å å¡ç»éª - National Library Singapore
éå°å¹³ä¸ æ°å å¡ç»éª - National Library Singapore
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Director’s<br />
Column<br />
Welcome to another exciting issue of BiblioAsia. In this issue, we introduce a new section “Spotlight”.<br />
The article featured provides an overview of <strong>Singapore</strong>’s education system from 1819 to 1970s<br />
by examining the various policies and papers that were published since the founding of modern<br />
<strong>Singapore</strong>. These are available for reference at the Lee Kong Chian Reference <strong>Library</strong>, <strong>National</strong><br />
<strong>Library</strong> <strong>Singapore</strong>.<br />
Three of our Lee Kong Chian Research Fellows — Prasani Weerawardane, Khoo Sim Lyn and Tay<br />
Thiam Chye — have completed their fellowship and we are pleased to publish their research findings<br />
in this issue.<br />
Prasani Weerawardane gives an account of three Chinese Buddhist monks, Faxian, Xuan Zang<br />
and Yijing, and their travels from China to India in their quest to locate the Buddhist Tripitaka.<br />
Much closer home, Khoo Sim Lyn introduces us to children’s books in English which depict World<br />
War II in <strong>Singapore</strong>. She has highlighted some interesting titles such as Roise’s War by Rosalind<br />
Sharbanee Meyer and Aishabee at War by Aisha Akbar, which are available for research at the Lee<br />
Kong Chian Reference <strong>Library</strong>. By using the faction as the unit of analysis and a simple model based<br />
on narratives, Tay Thiam Chye examines why politicians leave a dominant party.<br />
The Ya Yin Kwan (Palm Shade Pavilion) Collection was donated to the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Library</strong> by<br />
Tan Yeok Seong in 1964. The collection covers a broad spectrum of subjects such as philosophy,<br />
education, economics, archaeology, ceramics, geography, history and culture. From the collection,<br />
one can obtain insights into the perspectives of various writers on Southeast Asia and the Chinese<br />
overseas from the 18 th century to the mid-1960s. Find out more about the Ya Yin Kwan Collection<br />
from this issue of BiblioAsia. The collection, located at Level 10 of the Lee Kong Chian Reference<br />
<strong>Library</strong>, is available for research and study only.<br />
Pantuns or traditional Malay verses (quatrains) are important social and cultural sources of<br />
reference of the Malays. We are pleased to present an article written in Malay, which features some<br />
interesting pantuns. In this issue, we also highlight some Chinese books and resources on Deng<br />
Xiaoping, former leader of the Communist Party of China, and his visit to <strong>Singapore</strong> in 1978, which<br />
are available at the Lee Kong Chian Reference <strong>Library</strong>’s Chinese Collection.<br />
The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Library</strong> Board has recently published a bibliography with the Centre for Liberal<br />
Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, titled <strong>Singapore</strong> Literature in English:<br />
An Annotated Bibliography. Edited by Professor Koh Tai Ann, this is the first annotated and<br />
comprehensive bibliography on <strong>Singapore</strong> English literature. Read a review of this bibliography in<br />
this issue.<br />
This year’s Heritage Road Show commemorates 50 years of <strong>Singapore</strong>’s self-governance by<br />
tracing the journey of <strong>Singapore</strong>’s history from 1959 till 2009. Look out for the interesting events<br />
we have lined up for you. Last but not least, do make it a point to view the exhibition Early Travels<br />
and Voyages in Southeast Asia located at Level 10 of the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Library</strong> from 25 March to 24<br />
September. The exhibition tells the story of voyages and travels made by early Europeans, Arabs,<br />
Indians and Chinese to <strong>Singapore</strong> and the region.<br />
Happy reading! We look forward to your comments and feedback.<br />
Ms Ngian Lek Choh<br />
Director<br />
<strong>National</strong> <strong>Library</strong>