At 3 p.m., March 28, 2017, Dr. Ou Qingchi, Singaporean Chinese writer and Editor in Chief of Singaporean Chinese literature, visited Research School for Southeast Asia Studies of Xiamen University and delivered a speech “An Outline of the Development in the History of Singaporean Chinese Thought”.

Dr. Ou Qingchi first talked about the historical background of the development of Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese thought, and argued that the development of Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese literature can best reflect the connotation of the Chinese thought in a particular period. Overseas Chinese literature, which originated in the May Fourth period, was closely related to the historical development of China. He believed that Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese literature can be roughly divided into ten stages, in which the overseas Chinese depicting themselves as emigrants or Southeast Asians throughout history. When Chinese emigrants first arrived in Singapore, the homesickness for their homeland occupied the mainstream. But with the integration of overseas Chinese into the local life, they tended to look at themselves as Southeast Asians. However, with the development of China and the memory of the traditional culture, the overseas Chinese was showing new vitality in recent years.

During the speech, Dr. Ou Qingchi recalled the process of his acculturation to the Chinese traditional culture, and had a feeling that Chinese culture was in the decline in Singapore and Malaysia. In the process, both the governments’ lack-of-foresight cultural policy and the historical reality-the weakening of Chinese language played a role. Singaporean Chinese literature aimed to retain memory for Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese literature, and also attempted to retain the literary flame of Overseas Chinese literature. For any ethnic group, language is the most important cultural carrier. Therefore, the revival of Chinese literature is of great significance for preserving family memory and national sentiment.