Chan Chor Min Tong (traditional Chinese: 陳佐勉堂) is a Buddhist vegetarian hall located in Balestier, Singapore. It is separated into two locations, one at 2 Jalan Kemaman and another at 3 Bassein Road. Built by the Cantonese philanthropist Chan Chor Min in 1926 and 1936 respectively, the hall hosted migrant Chinese workers with no family or means of support in Singapore. From being a place of lodging to now being a place of worship, Chan Chor Min Tong is significant as a representation of the vegetarian hall culture as well as the migrant origins of Singapore.
Vegetarian halls
Chan Chor Min Tong was a vegetarian hall, also known as a zhaitang (齋堂). Vegetarian halls practice a form of Chinese fasting religions (齋教) that is known as the Great Way (Xiantiandao, Chinese: 先天道). This religion was a folk layman religion that was considered to be heterodox and was suppressed by China. Thus, the ideology spread to countries in South East Asia to avoid persecution. In these halls, worshippers would only consume a vegetarian diet as a form of spiritual purification and practice Buddhist rituals. However, these worshippers were not monks and were rather laymen, with one main master of the house acting as the primary caretaker.
Context
Singapore faced an influx of immigrants in the early 20th century after World War I. These immigrants were the main population of Singapore's workforce and consisted of not just men but also women. These women swore off marriage and left their homes in order to find work. Unfettered by the trappings of traditional marriage, they were free to gain their independence through finding work and becoming self-sustainable. They most likely took inspiration from the 19th-century independence movement in the districts of Guangzhou, China, where the mahjie and samsui women in Singapore also originated from. Thus the majority of them were likely to speak the Cantonese dialect.
Alone, they gathered together and lived in these vegetarian halls as a community. The vegetarian halls offered a place to stay for these migrants with no homes or relationships with kin, provided that they would convert, and practice the vegetarian diet and the Buddhist rituals. They also had to remain single and abstain from sex. It was not free of charge, as they still had to find work or do chores to stay. These places established a community amongst these immigrants, bounded by their oaths to care of each other. This was important, especially since most would probably never return to their hometown again due to financial costs. As part of a community, they were assured that through old age and then in death they were not alone and that the necessary funeral rites would be performed for them.
At the same time, Balestier was also slowly evolving to be a relatively affluent residential neighborhood. This invited many wealthy philanthropists to buy land and erect religious institutions. This resulted in the creation of many Chinese religious institutions like the Thong Teck Sian Tong Lian Sin Sia Buddhist-Taoist temple and the Fei Hsia Tsing She Buddhist temple in Balestier.
History
In 1926, Chan Chor Min Tong was founded by Master Chan Chor Min. The first temple was a one-story terrace house built at 2 Jalan Kemaman Rd and housed migrant men. A decade later in 1936, the second temple was built as a two-storey terrace house at 3 Bassein Road. This temple housed the migrant women instead.
In the 1940s just before World War II, the old master Chan passed away, and the current master took over his duties.
During the 1960s–1970s, the last residents in both halls have all passed away and Chan Chor Min Tong ceased being a place for lodging.
Present day
Today, both halls are maintained by a trust as religious halls, and only opens its doors to visitors during Chinese New Year. The Jalan Kemaman site is only open on the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year, while the Bassein Rd site is open for the first 3 days.
The visitors are usually the elderly who have been coming for decades, as well as their families. Many of the adults there are also continuing the tradition. They were brought to the temple by their parents, and are now bringing children of their own there as well. As Chan Chor Min Tong is mainly a Cantonese enclave, most of the visitors converse in Cantonese as well.