as illiterates, people who have no knowledge of computer applications are said to be computer illiterates, and people who are unaware of the law are described as legal-illiterates. As for people who do not know about history, for lack of a better term, we shall refer to them as “history-illiterates”。
In Singapore, education is widespread and few are illiterate； rules and regulations are spelled out clearly and not many can claim to be unaware of them； computers are commonplace and a growing number of people are learning to use them. Sadly, the same cannot be said about history. There seems to be embarrassingly far too many Singaporeans who are ignorant of history.
I am not suggesting knowledge about ancient Greece or Rome or The legendary Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns in China - just our own history is enough to make many stumble. For instance, many well-educated Singaporeans will say, matter-of -factly, that we have a very brief history - only slightly more than a hundred years！
How do they arrive at this figure？ The answer is very simple. To them, the history of Singapore began in 1819 - when Stamford Raffles landed here. But where does this leave the pre-Raffles days？ Do we “delete” Singapura that existed from the 12th to 13th centuries from our history books？
Before Raffles came to Singapore, we belonged to the Johor Sultanate. Is this not part of our early history？ And prior to Singapura, there was the Temasek period. If we do not acknowledge this, many schools and even the highest presidential award that carry the name Temasek will need to have it replaced with something else.
Under what circumstances was Singapore ceded to Britain （Singapore officially became a British colony in 1824） ？ Why was there a Sultan living in Singapore and an Istana Kampong Glam？ Ask any Singaporean the answers to these questions and you are likely to draw a blank.
Some years back, there was a survey on whether Singapore could possibly rejoin Malaysia. Guess what？ There were junior college students who said that Singapore was never a part of Malaysia. Merger was a significant milestone in our history and it happened only 30 over years ago, yet quite a number of students did not know about it.
Ask any Chinese national this question： “How long was the War of Resistance Against Japan？” and you will find that even a child can tell you it lasted eight long years.
How long was the Japanese Occupation of Singapore？ Many Singaporeans will say “three years and eight months”。 Unfortunately, this is not quite correct. The answer is three years and six months. Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 Feb, 1942, the Japanese surrendered on 15 Aug, 1945, and the British troops returned to Singapore on 5 Sept the same year. So three years and eight months is obviously wrong and we have no reason to be so “generous” to the Japanese troops by extending their rule by two months.
Of course, it is not a case of Singaporeans not being able to do simple sums. Before Independence, we were used to treating Singapore and Malaysia as an entity. So, three years and eight months is right if the counting begins from 8 Dec, 1941, the day Japanese soldiers landed in Kota Baru, Kelantan. But it was only two months later that Singapore was seized.
I have cited a few examples to show that it is not uncommon for Singaporeans to be completely ignorant, know a little, or possess wrong information about our history.
But why is it important to know history？ Some people may wonder. To understand the present of a nation and its people, you need to know its past. And knowing both its present and past will help you know its future. Have we not been reminded often enough not to be rootless floating weeds？ And our roots are our history - not knowing our history is not knowing where our roots are.
I am not sure if we should feel a sense of sadness, regret or shame. There is just too much emphasis on utilitarianism in our society. Money is often the yardstick of what we choose to learn and what we choose to ignore. “Knowing history is not going to make me richer, I'd rather learn to speculate in the stock market,” many would predictably say so.
We cannot create an overall climate that encourages the learning of history if such a myopic and mercenary attitude persists. And people who could not care less about history will have a perfect excuse： “So what？ I'm not the only one who is ignorant！”
（The writer is an executive reporter of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh）
大家努力掃除史盲
韓山元
不識字的人叫文盲,對法律無知的人叫法盲,對電腦一竅不通的人叫電腦盲。那么,歷史知識一片空白的人當(dāng)然應(yīng)稱為史盲。
看看咱們新加坡,教育發(fā)達,文盲極少；法紀嚴明,法盲不多；電腦普及,電腦盲有減無增。說起史盲,真不好意思,新加坡似乎是太多了。
太遠的古希臘羅馬不提,太久的三皇五帝也不說,就講講新加坡自己的歷史吧,本地就有不少受過高深教育的史盲,開口閉口就說新加坡的歷史非常短淺,怎么短淺？他們說,只有一百多年！
怎么算出新加坡的歷史只有百多年？原來他們是從萊佛士1819年登陸新加坡那時候算起。那么,萊佛士還沒來,新加坡就沒有歷史嗎？12至13世紀的新加坡拉（Singapura）王朝要從新加坡史冊“開除”嗎？
萊佛士來之前,新加坡屬于柔佛王朝,這難道不是新加坡歷史的一部分嗎？比新加坡拉更早還有淡馬錫時代,如果不承認有這時代,新加坡好多以淡馬錫為名的學(xué)校、總統(tǒng)頒賜的功績勛章,都要改名了。
新加坡是怎樣割讓給英國的（1824年正式成為英國的殖民地）？這過程怎么跑出一個長住在新加坡的蘇丹？為什么在甘榜格南還有座蘇丹王宮？這些歷史問題,隨便問一個新加坡人,有哪個說得清楚？
幾年前曾經(jīng)做過一次新加坡是否有可能重新加入馬來西亞的調(diào)查,居然有初級學(xué)院學(xué)生說：新加坡不曾是馬來西亞的一部分。不過是三十多年前的事,而且是新加坡歷的大事,居然有好多學(xué)生不知道。
隨便問一個中國人：中國抗日戰(zhàn)爭打了多少年？小孩都知道是八年。
問問新加坡人,日本統(tǒng)治新加坡有多久？很多人的問答是三年八個月。這是錯的。新加坡被日本統(tǒng)治實際上是三年六個月,從1942年2月15日淪陷到1945年8月15日日本投降,9月5日英軍重返新加坡,怎么算都算不到三年八個月,我們沒有理由“慷慨”多送兩個月給日軍。
之所以有這樣的錯誤,當(dāng)然不是由于新加坡人連簡單的算術(shù)都不會,而是在新加坡獨立之前,我們習(xí)慣將新馬當(dāng)作一個整體,從1941年12月8日日軍在吉蘭丹的哥打¤魯?shù)顷懩翘焖闫鸬饺毡就督?經(jīng)過三年八個月。這樣講沒有錯,但是新加坡被日本攻占是兩個月后的事,因此,說新加坡被日本統(tǒng)治三年八個月就不對了。
這只是幾個例子,對自己國家的歷史幾乎是一無所知,或所知甚少,所知有誤,這是一個普遍現(xiàn)象。
歷史知識難道很重要？要了解一個國家、民族的現(xiàn)在,就必須知道它的過去,知道了過去和現(xiàn)在,就不難知道它的未來,你說歷史重要不重要？不要做無根的浮萍,這話我們聽得還少嗎？什么是根？根就是歷史。不學(xué)點歷史知識,怎么知道根在何處？
我不曉得這是不幸、遺憾還是慚愧,反正我們的社會太講究功利,該學(xué)習(xí)什么,不學(xué)習(xí)什么,往往都要拿到金錢的天平來衡量。好多人這么說：學(xué)歷史幫不了我賺大錢,學(xué)它干嗎？不如學(xué)學(xué)怎樣炒股票。
如果新加坡人這種短視的、功利主義的態(tài)度不改,全社會仍缺少一個重視歷史學(xué)習(xí)的大氣候,史盲們就可以毫無愧色地大聲說“吾道不孤”！
In Singapore, education is widespread and few are illiterate； rules and regulations are spelled out clearly and not many can claim to be unaware of them； computers are commonplace and a growing number of people are learning to use them. Sadly, the same cannot be said about history. There seems to be embarrassingly far too many Singaporeans who are ignorant of history.
I am not suggesting knowledge about ancient Greece or Rome or The legendary Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns in China - just our own history is enough to make many stumble. For instance, many well-educated Singaporeans will say, matter-of -factly, that we have a very brief history - only slightly more than a hundred years！
How do they arrive at this figure？ The answer is very simple. To them, the history of Singapore began in 1819 - when Stamford Raffles landed here. But where does this leave the pre-Raffles days？ Do we “delete” Singapura that existed from the 12th to 13th centuries from our history books？
Before Raffles came to Singapore, we belonged to the Johor Sultanate. Is this not part of our early history？ And prior to Singapura, there was the Temasek period. If we do not acknowledge this, many schools and even the highest presidential award that carry the name Temasek will need to have it replaced with something else.
Under what circumstances was Singapore ceded to Britain （Singapore officially became a British colony in 1824） ？ Why was there a Sultan living in Singapore and an Istana Kampong Glam？ Ask any Singaporean the answers to these questions and you are likely to draw a blank.
Some years back, there was a survey on whether Singapore could possibly rejoin Malaysia. Guess what？ There were junior college students who said that Singapore was never a part of Malaysia. Merger was a significant milestone in our history and it happened only 30 over years ago, yet quite a number of students did not know about it.
Ask any Chinese national this question： “How long was the War of Resistance Against Japan？” and you will find that even a child can tell you it lasted eight long years.
How long was the Japanese Occupation of Singapore？ Many Singaporeans will say “three years and eight months”。 Unfortunately, this is not quite correct. The answer is three years and six months. Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 Feb, 1942, the Japanese surrendered on 15 Aug, 1945, and the British troops returned to Singapore on 5 Sept the same year. So three years and eight months is obviously wrong and we have no reason to be so “generous” to the Japanese troops by extending their rule by two months.
Of course, it is not a case of Singaporeans not being able to do simple sums. Before Independence, we were used to treating Singapore and Malaysia as an entity. So, three years and eight months is right if the counting begins from 8 Dec, 1941, the day Japanese soldiers landed in Kota Baru, Kelantan. But it was only two months later that Singapore was seized.
I have cited a few examples to show that it is not uncommon for Singaporeans to be completely ignorant, know a little, or possess wrong information about our history.
But why is it important to know history？ Some people may wonder. To understand the present of a nation and its people, you need to know its past. And knowing both its present and past will help you know its future. Have we not been reminded often enough not to be rootless floating weeds？ And our roots are our history - not knowing our history is not knowing where our roots are.
I am not sure if we should feel a sense of sadness, regret or shame. There is just too much emphasis on utilitarianism in our society. Money is often the yardstick of what we choose to learn and what we choose to ignore. “Knowing history is not going to make me richer, I'd rather learn to speculate in the stock market,” many would predictably say so.
We cannot create an overall climate that encourages the learning of history if such a myopic and mercenary attitude persists. And people who could not care less about history will have a perfect excuse： “So what？ I'm not the only one who is ignorant！”
（The writer is an executive reporter of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh）
大家努力掃除史盲
韓山元
不識字的人叫文盲,對法律無知的人叫法盲,對電腦一竅不通的人叫電腦盲。那么,歷史知識一片空白的人當(dāng)然應(yīng)稱為史盲。
看看咱們新加坡,教育發(fā)達,文盲極少；法紀嚴明,法盲不多；電腦普及,電腦盲有減無增。說起史盲,真不好意思,新加坡似乎是太多了。
太遠的古希臘羅馬不提,太久的三皇五帝也不說,就講講新加坡自己的歷史吧,本地就有不少受過高深教育的史盲,開口閉口就說新加坡的歷史非常短淺,怎么短淺？他們說,只有一百多年！
怎么算出新加坡的歷史只有百多年？原來他們是從萊佛士1819年登陸新加坡那時候算起。那么,萊佛士還沒來,新加坡就沒有歷史嗎？12至13世紀的新加坡拉（Singapura）王朝要從新加坡史冊“開除”嗎？
萊佛士來之前,新加坡屬于柔佛王朝,這難道不是新加坡歷史的一部分嗎？比新加坡拉更早還有淡馬錫時代,如果不承認有這時代,新加坡好多以淡馬錫為名的學(xué)校、總統(tǒng)頒賜的功績勛章,都要改名了。
新加坡是怎樣割讓給英國的（1824年正式成為英國的殖民地）？這過程怎么跑出一個長住在新加坡的蘇丹？為什么在甘榜格南還有座蘇丹王宮？這些歷史問題,隨便問一個新加坡人,有哪個說得清楚？
幾年前曾經(jīng)做過一次新加坡是否有可能重新加入馬來西亞的調(diào)查,居然有初級學(xué)院學(xué)生說：新加坡不曾是馬來西亞的一部分。不過是三十多年前的事,而且是新加坡歷的大事,居然有好多學(xué)生不知道。
隨便問一個中國人：中國抗日戰(zhàn)爭打了多少年？小孩都知道是八年。
問問新加坡人,日本統(tǒng)治新加坡有多久？很多人的問答是三年八個月。這是錯的。新加坡被日本統(tǒng)治實際上是三年六個月,從1942年2月15日淪陷到1945年8月15日日本投降,9月5日英軍重返新加坡,怎么算都算不到三年八個月,我們沒有理由“慷慨”多送兩個月給日軍。
之所以有這樣的錯誤,當(dāng)然不是由于新加坡人連簡單的算術(shù)都不會,而是在新加坡獨立之前,我們習(xí)慣將新馬當(dāng)作一個整體,從1941年12月8日日軍在吉蘭丹的哥打¤魯?shù)顷懩翘焖闫鸬饺毡就督?經(jīng)過三年八個月。這樣講沒有錯,但是新加坡被日本攻占是兩個月后的事,因此,說新加坡被日本統(tǒng)治三年八個月就不對了。
這只是幾個例子,對自己國家的歷史幾乎是一無所知,或所知甚少,所知有誤,這是一個普遍現(xiàn)象。
歷史知識難道很重要？要了解一個國家、民族的現(xiàn)在,就必須知道它的過去,知道了過去和現(xiàn)在,就不難知道它的未來,你說歷史重要不重要？不要做無根的浮萍,這話我們聽得還少嗎？什么是根？根就是歷史。不學(xué)點歷史知識,怎么知道根在何處？
我不曉得這是不幸、遺憾還是慚愧,反正我們的社會太講究功利,該學(xué)習(xí)什么,不學(xué)習(xí)什么,往往都要拿到金錢的天平來衡量。好多人這么說：學(xué)歷史幫不了我賺大錢,學(xué)它干嗎？不如學(xué)學(xué)怎樣炒股票。
如果新加坡人這種短視的、功利主義的態(tài)度不改,全社會仍缺少一個重視歷史學(xué)習(xí)的大氣候,史盲們就可以毫無愧色地大聲說“吾道不孤”！