The postcard above was sent in 1907 from Singapore to the Custom House of Shanghai via Hong Kong. The Custom House, called 江海北關 in Chinese, in operation at that time was a red-brick building facing the Huangpu River. Completed in 1893 and located at the Bund (外灘), the centre of European powers, this western architecture …
Someone who is “on active service” participates in military action as a member of the armed force, like the sender of the above mail. The sender must have something very urgent to tell the recipient so, besides posting by air, he also added a note – “Chop, chop!” Originated in Pidgin English, chop-chop can still …
A quick reminder of the various meanings of “Chop” – a seal, a stamp, a trademark, a permit, an order, or an official document. The word could also combine with other words to form new meanings. In the article “Chop,” we saw the expression chop dollar, where chop referred to a mark. Other compounds were …
Kopi is a popular drink in Singapore and Malaysia. However, visitors may find it mind-blowing when it comes to ordering the drink because there are different combinations of milk, sugar, teh ‘tea’, and peng ‘ice.’ For example, the multilingual coffee sachet above indicated “Kopi-O Kosong” – kopi stands for ‘coffee’ in Malay; O refers to …
Before we travel to a different place, one of the first things we do is to check up on the currencies of our destinations. Today, this can be done quickly with an app or on the internet; however, such information was not so readily available one hundred years ago. This was perhaps why postcards like …
Strolling along the narrow streets in Canton city in the olden days, the first thing that caught your attention must be the signboards hanging outside shops. On these rectangular boards, you would see characters telling you the sorts of goods the shop sold. As you can see from the postcard above, there were ivory carvings, …
Titled “A coolie of Hongkong”, this postcard presented an unusually stylish and calm posture of a coolie. The sender of the postcard explained the coolie’s duties: “This is a common sight here – everything is carried by coolies they put the pole over their shoulders & a basket on each end. That’s how my coal …
“Boy, go catchee two piecey tea.” – This is perhaps the best way to describe this photograph. The Chinese man standing in the middle, though looked rather mature, was designated “Boy”. The class of personal servant in British Indian and Hong Kong, Canton, and Shanghai was called “boy” without connotation of youthfulness. According to the …
The letter above, dated 1973, was sent from Macau to Canada. At the end of the letter, Christine told the recipient that: “Since my Amah left after 15 years services – we decide the housework between the two of use – so by 10 pm we make a [bedding] for our warm beds.” An amah …
At the back of the photo above was written “Frank Arthur & servants. 3 years old!” Have you ever wondered who these Indians were? To answer this question, we have to go back to 17th century India. Founded in 1600, the English East India Company (EIC) had its private armies and dominated over the economy …