追本溯源 (1906 至 1942年) Our Roots (1906 to 1942)

追本溯源 (1906 至 1942年)

二十世纪初，新加坡各籍贯的乡亲会馆纷纷设立学堂以解决孩童的教育问题。在福建领袖陈武烈（陈笃生曾孙）的呼吁下，福建会馆成立了筹备委员会，并在林清渊、刘金榜、陈嘉庚等福建商人的支持下，于1906 年11月18日兴办了一所属于福建人的学府——道南学堂。“道南”二字为清朝末代皇帝溥仪的太傅陈宝琛所提，意味着把儒家的传统道德伦理思想传到南洋。

道南学堂是海峡殖民地的第一所福建现代学府，也是新加坡最早的现代华校之一。 学生除了学习儒家典籍，也学习语文、历史和地理，每周还有三小时的体育课——所有科目都以福建方言授课。

1909年，道南学堂开始招收福建以外，不同籍贯的学生。同一年，陈嘉庚先生建议扩充道南学堂以容纳更多的学生，并率先捐款2千元用于修建新校舍。糖业大亨黄仲涵先生也慷概解囊，捐款1万元购得新校舍的土地。1910年，福建社群筹募了4万元善款，新校舍的建造工程正式动工。1912年，道南学堂搬迁至位于 39号亚美尼亚街的新校舍，并改称道南学校。

1916年，道南成为海峡殖民地第一所以华语为教学媒介语的学校。

1942至1945 年第二次世界大战爆发，日军攻占了新加坡，道南学校被迫停课。

Our Roots (1906 to 1942)

In the early 20th Century, Singapore’s Chinese dialect groups began to set up schools for primary education. Tan Boo Liat, leader of the Hokkien community and Tan Tock Seng’s great-grandson, proposed founding a modern Hokkien school. The idea was received enthusiastically, and donations from the Hokkien community followed. Prominent businessmen and philanthropists such as Lee Cheng Yan, Low Kim Pong and Tan Kah Kee also donated to the cause which led to the school being founded on 18 November, 1906. The Hokkien Huay Kuan agreed to provide an annual subsidy to Daonan Xuetang or ‘Tao Nan Study Hall’, as named by Chen Baochen, a tutor of Puyi, last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Tao Nan School was the first Hokkien modern school in the Straits Settlements and one of Singapore’s first modern Chinese schools. The early batches of students studied Mandarin, History, Geography and Confucian classics, and did three hours of weekly Physical Education – all of it in Hokkien.

In 1909, the school was the first Chinese school in Singapore to welcome students from every dialect group and new firsts were yet to come. Tan Kah Kee suggested that the school move to house the growing student population in 1909. He contributed $2,000 while sugar tycoon, Oei Tiong Ham, donated $10,000 to acquire the land for the new campus. With $40,000 raised by the Hokkien community, construction began in 1910, and Tao Nan School moved to 39 Armenian Street when construction was completed in 1912.

In 1916, Tao Nan School became Singapore’s and the Straits Settlements’ first Mandarin-medium school.

The school was closed during the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945 when the Japanese took over the school.