Tan, Chee Lay

In pre-independent Singapore, the development of literature in the Chinese language saw a tension between developing a literary voice rooted in the experience of the local and responding to the influence from “motherland” China. Tan Chee Lay from the Nanyang Technological University highlights the nuances of the three debates which shaped literary trends and schools of thought in local Chinese writing as Singapore’s Chinese literati sought to establish an authentic and unique voice.