Twin Angels Getaway: the Chan Clan House - United Under One Roof 陳氏書院

先欣賞圖片, 有空再補上文字敘述

It looks like a temple but it's NOT one.

This place is usually included in a tourist's guide book to Kuala Lumpur, so don't be surprised when you see more foreigners than locals in the building. The building structure and outward appearance looks like a temple but it is not. Just like when we see a church, we will just say "it's a church" instread of knowing if it's a Catholic or Protestant. Same thing here.

So what is this? It has a very loooong name. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you the Chan She Shu Yuan Clan Association, Kuala Lumpur & Selangor. In short, we called it the Chan Clan House. So it's about the Chan's family business. But technically, it's about all Chinese from different dialects who carry the surename of Chan (陳), so the family also includes Chen, Tan, Chin, Ting, Tang and many more. After all, Chan (陳) is one of the most common East Asian family names, ranks 5th most common surname in China (2007) and the most common surname in Singapore (2000) and Taiwan (2010).

It's Clan House, so there must be a lot of interesting stories behind the walls. Yes, there are plenty, and it started all the way back to the year 1894....

In 1894, a great Malaya Chinese businessman and philanthropist Chan Sow Lin (陳秀蓮) was invited to the opening ceremony of Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou, China. He was so impressed by the majestic architecture of Southern Cantonese style that applied on this building. He wished to have such a place for the Chans to gather in Kuala Lumpur. He went back to discuss with the Chan family regarding the plan. It so happened that the British government had 7 shoplots agrarianized and put up for auction, and without any hesitation Chan Sow Lin bought it with 500 strait dollars.

He hired some craftmen whom had sculptured the Chen Clan Academy, Guangzhou to build a similar building, which is later the Chan She Shu Yuan of Kuala Lumpur. They imported bricks, roof tiles and ceramic from Guangzhou and stone pillars from Malacca. The construction work started in 1896, established by four founders: Chan Sow Lin, Chan Xin Xi, Chan Chun and Chan Choy Thim. Everything went smooth according to schedule, but this was just calm before storm.

A big storm of financial crisis came from no where and swept the region in late 19th centuries. Chan Sow Lin's business got a great hit and this lead to the suspension work of Chan She Shu Yuan, and also his death in 1902. The others, took a dip in their business, too. Luckily in 1906, one of the founder Chan Choy Thim completed the construction, in the return of the vow for good fortune.

Now you can still see the potraits of the four pioneers on the wall of Chan She Shu Yuen, from left to right, Chan Sow Lin, Chan Chun, Chan Xin Xi and Chan Choy Thim.

Chan She Shu Yuan started not only as a clan house but also an academy for the Chan family to educate their youngster. You will get to see a few hundred-year-old tablets with beautiful calligraphy hanging on the wall. Some written as the unity of bloodline (敦宗睦族), culture conservation and education (文化寶庫, 功宏化育, 百年樹人).

There is actually a story behind these tablets.
In 1990s, there was an old man from China who visited the clan house. He asked the people in the clan house why he didn't see the precious double tablets which used to hang on the wall. The clan's person in charge was surprised as he never heard of such thing. He went to look for the old worker who used to take care of the clan house and asked him about the matter. He was told that the tablets were kept in the store room. He quickly went to the store room and found out that some of the tablets were bored through by termites. He managed to save some and repaint them. Now they are hanging on the wall.

What are they? Why are they so important and precious? Well, most of them are presents from the other clan house or association as a friendship and relationship. They are all more than a century old now.

No matter you're good at sculpture art or not, this is a place where you can find a lot of fine carving. The craftmenship in the clan house is no doubt a masterpiece. From the big shrine of ancestral worshiping to the feather on the crane, you can see all the details.

Brick carving is another kind of art your should not missed when you pay a visit to Chan She Shu Yuan, one of the oldest clan house in Kuala Lumpur. You can't imagine how lively the sculptures are until you see it with your own eyes. Especially when you see them under the sun, it looks like as if they really MOVE (though it's just your illusion. haha).

The brick carvings tell a lot of stories. Some are folklores and some are historical incidents. It is said to be a way to entertain the ancestors in heaven and also moral values to tell the youngsters.

Scroll down for more pictures.