By Mei Kuan
Did you know that some of the best friends and most trusted allies of Dr Sun Yat Sen, whose revolutionary efforts ended the Qing regime and paved the way for China today, hailed from Perak?
You can now read the full story that links the migrant Chinese communities in Kinta Valley to Dr. Sun and details of their significant yet untold support of Dr. Sun via the book titled, “Road to Revolution: Dr Sun Yat Sen and His Comrades in Ipoh”.
Authored by Ipoh-born Chan Sue Meng, it was published in print by the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in English in December 2013 and translated into Chinese in April 2015.
Readers are in for a treat as a 72-page flip ebook of the English version, complete with map and video, is released recently. The ebook, which is based on the original print edition, is produced by Sue Meng Heritage in 2020.
Chan Sue Meng, founder of Sue Meng Heritage and fifth-generation descendant of Lee Guan Swee, friend and supporter of Dr Sun explained, “Everything in the ebook has kept to the integrity of the original book, including the title. We took the time to add some pages in order to make the flip book more seamless and produce a beautiful viewing experience.”
In the foreword, Wang Gungwu, university professor of National University of Singapore, shared his delight when told of Sue Meng’s discovery of her ancestral links with Dr Sun’s revolution.
Also from Ipoh, Wang observed, “She has not been content to pursue her family’s story but has pushed to find new dots to connect. For example, she has located the family of Dr Wong I Ek, not only a supporter of the revolution but also three years Dr Sun’s junior when they were together at the Hong Kong Medical College in 1890-92. What had been a name on a list, or at the foot of a photograph, is beginning to take on flesh and blood.”
Meanwhile, Wong Sin Kiong, associate professor of the Department of Chinese Studies from National University of Singapore added, “Particularly praiseworthy are Sue Meng’s presentation of some of her great-great-grandfather’s letters and artifacts, as well as her discovery of community organisations that were neglected in the past; for instance, the intimate relationship between the Lok Lum Club and the Kuomintang. The greatest contribution of this book, however, is the mapping out of Dr Sun and his revolutionaries’ trail in Ipoh, allowing the reader to embark on a tour to these historical sites.”
Part of ebook sales will be set aside for upkeep of the first-of-its-kind heritage marker trail of Dr Sun Yat Sen and his comrades in Ipoh, which kicked off its first phase of installation last December. An initiative of Sue Meng Heritage, the team is a responsible tourism development company that aims to support the community in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Priced at SGD 12.00, the full version of the ebook can be purchased at www.suemengheritage.com
