The Sian Teck Tng Temple @ Cuppage Road founded by Master Ma Choon Qing in 1883

[Cecil Lee]

The Sian Teck Tng Temple @ Cuppage Road.. seems to be like frozen in time and surrounded by modern buildings.
Fortunately, the Central Expressway CTE that was built way back in 1982+ was built "around" it and was not torn down for this expressway...
Photos was taken during the T.O.P. of Waterscape at Cavenagh Condo across the highway

The Sian Teck Tng temple was founded by Master Ma Choon Qing in 1883

[Cecil Lee]

Source & Credit:

Source & Credit: Extract from the above

TO SEEK GOOD MERIT IN AN ORCHARD

I was on Cuppage Road with a friend when we decided to stop at this interesting building that looked like a slice of Singapore history that had been frozen in time while everything else around it advanced. Certainly not something you expect to find so near the Orchard shopping belt area.

Turns out the building was founded by a Master Ma Choon Qing and it was named the Sian Teck Tng Zhai Tang (vegetarian convent). Sian Teck Tng was originally established in 1883 for poor widows and female orphans as a safe haven for them to worship Buddha and live a virtuous life. The current building was built in 1902. The land was donated by Yu Shuang Cheng and Yu Wen Jiang. The building of Sian Teck Tng Zhai Tang was led by Master Ma and Ong Tiang Soon. Master Ma later became the abbot of the temple.

Master Ma was a Taoist priest with ancestral home in Chaoyang, Guangdong. He was working in a sugar cane plantation before becoming a priest in Penang's temple "Ji Le Xiang". At the age of 24, he came to Singapore as an evangelist and founded Tanglin Tong Sian Tng in 1892. Master Ma also founded a similar hall in 1894 at Devonshire Road called Tong Sian Tng (Hall of Common Goodness) for male devotees. 

Ong Tian Soon was the largest cash donor with 1000 dollars for the building. Tian Soon was the son of tycoon Ong Eu Hai, one of the three founders of Seh Ong Sua cemetery. In 1924, the temple underwent a major renovation and Tian Soon was again the largest cash donor with 400 dollars. The funds for the temple was donated by well-wishers and devotees. Their names were all recorded on two large commemorative stone tablets that flank the main entrance. 

The building comprised several large Straits Colonial style houses on one side and a large temple garden on the other. At one time, the convent used to house an estimated 40 widows and unmarried women who served the temple by reciting scriptures and performing religious rites. This Chinese temple used to be frequented by residents of nearby Emerald Hill and some called it Tanglin Temple and now it’s often referred to as Cuppage Temple.  

The temple honours the "feminine" deity of Hood Cho, also known as Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy. Therefore the most important days of the temple are the Hood Cho Seh or Guan Yin festivals, which fall on the nineteenth day of the second, the sixth and the ninth lunar months. All food - served daily for the residents and for visitors during the celebrations - is strictly vegetarian, and it is still prepared in the old kitchen, with two large pans over a gas flame.

 With changing times, it was inevitable that the temple will be affected. A large portion of its land was acquired by the government for the construction of the Central Expressway, and nowadays the hum of constant passing traffic provides the accompaniment to the prayers and chanting. My wish is that this beautiful fragment from the past find a way to survive in future of Singapore.

The next time if you happen to be shopping nearby, why don’t you drop by for a look.  

“All old building become crypts the moment they're finished, a shrine to a time that's already dead.”
- Krystal Sutherland