1

MPU3123: TAMADUN ISLAM DAN TAMADUN ASIA

GROUP NO 53 – Chinese Civilizations

SENARAI NAMA KUMPULAN

BIL NO. ID NAMA CATATAN

1 0322741 Lim Hong Wei

2 0326733 Lim Siew Ni

3 0322790 Lim Win Kee

4 0322180 Lim Woo Leon

5 0323214 Lim Xiu Qing

6 0323680 Loh Mun Tong

7 0323551 Loh Wen Jun

8 0321995 Loo Siah Mong

9 0322074 Loon Jing Wei

10 0323315 Low Wing Chun

11

12

13

14

15

PENILAIAN

ASPEK PENILAIAN MARKAH

PENGENALAN ( /3)

HASIL KAJIAN

RELEVAN DAN TEPAT

HURAIAN JELAS DAN TERSUSUN

PERBINCANGAN DAN PERBAHASAN

JURNAL PERJALANAN

( /4) ( /4) ( /10) ( /4)

KESIMPULAN ( /3)

BAHASA DAN FORMAT ( /2)

MARKAH KESELURUHAN ( /30)

PENILAIAN OLEH

NAMA : FADHILAH RAIHAN BINTI LOKMAN

2

Acknowledgement

In performing our assignment, we had to take the help and guideline from some of the

respected person, who were deeply deserve our greatest gratitude. The completion of

this assignment gives us a lot of pleasure. Besides that, we would also like to show our

gratitude and thanks Ms. Fadhilah Raihan, our lecturer for giving us a good guideline for

the assignment which we had to choose a historical site based on a Chinese civilization.

We would also like to thanks our great leader for organizing and plan our trip on a time

where all of us are available. Since, some of us are from different course and are quite

busy with other works. It is not easy to plan a suitable time for all of us. After that, we

would also like to thank our leader for organizing the transportation to our destination.

Thus, we feel very grateful that all of us agree on the chosen site which was located

quite far from here, which was known as Cheng Hoon Teng temple located in Melaka.

Moreover, we also feel proud that we manage to divide our work and all of us had

contributed the work to complete this assignment. We still managed to gather

information and reference about the temple during our site visit. Last but not least, since

we were not from the same course and did not know each other well, we still managed

to communicate and interact among each other. Hence, this could actually get us to

know each other well.

3

Table of Content

No. Title Page No.

1 Acknowledgement 2

2 Introduction 4

3 Location plan and site context

5

4 Objectives of study 6

5 Research Findings - History of Cheng Hoon Teng

Temple - Architecture - Materials used and restoration - Temple layout structure - On site activities

7-8

9

10

13

14-16

10 Travel Journal 17-22

11 Conclusion 23

12 Reference 24

13 Appendix 25-26

4

INTRODUCTION

In this assignment, we are required to choose a historical site in Malaysia and discover a

civilization that exists in Malaysia with a group report. Chinese civilization is a culture

that comes from china. China was one of the cradles of human race, not only the most

populous but also one of the oldest in the world. Archaeological studies have revealed

that around 5,000 years ago the Chinese entered the stage of patriarchal society. Not

only did villages begin to appear but also the initial forms of cities began to become

evident.

First of all, the historical site that we chose was Chen Hoon Teng temple located at No

25 Jalan Tokong, Melaka is the oldest and finest Chinese temple in Malaysia and

Singapore. With a long illustrations history it is also the most well-known. The Abode of

Green (Merciful) Clouds is also known locally as Kwan Yin Teng, the main Deity revered

being Kwan Shih Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.

Besides, it is also a historical site that is dedicated to the vision of Cheng Hoon Teng’s

founders and the determination of its devotees to preserve their unique bastion of culture

and heritage. Throughout the site visit to Chen Hoon Teng temple, we know that the

temple was first built by the Chinese Kapitan Tay Kei Ki alias Tay Hong Yong in the

1600s. During the Portuguese/Dutch era to 1824, Kapitans China was appointed as

leader of the Chinese community in Malacca. Among the most prominent Kapitans

China were Kapitans Tay JKie Ki, Li Wei King, Chan Ki Lock and Chua Su Cheiong.

They were respectively responsible for the founding, extending, rebuilding of the temple

to its present appearance and also for the purchase and enlargement of the Bukit Cina.

5

Location Plan and site context

Address:

25, Jalan Tokong, 75200 Melaka

Jonker Walk Masjid Kampung Kling

Xiang Lin Si Temple

6

Objectives of Study

This study was conducted to examine the perceptions and views of students in terms of

strengthening the teaching and learning of Islamic Civilization and Asia Civilization

(TITAS) by

1. Identify and review the student's perception of aspects of the course, the content and

the layout of the syllabus, student workers, teaching methods and evaluation.

2. Instilling pride towards different cultures which had been shaped since our

forefathers that now became the identity of the civilization of Malaysia today.

3. To understand whether different races of civilization had different influences on each

other that is historically significant and meaningful.

4. To examine the context of a historical site to understand the different factors that

affects the rise and fall of a civilization in terms of politics, economy and social.

5. To examine the evolution of cultures of a civilization to able to identify the major

differences in terms of period and time.

7

Research Findings

History of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Cheng Hoon Teng is the oldest formal Chinese temple in South East Asia. “Cheng Hoon

Teng” means “Temple of Clear Clouds” in Chinese. It was founded by the Chinese

Kapitan Tay Kie Ki alias Tay Hong Yong in 1645 during the Dutch colonization of Melaka.

The Kapitan position was created by the Portuguese as a head administrator to the

locals.

Portrait of Kapitan Tay Kie Ki

8

The temple served its purpose as the official administrative centre and a court of justice

for the Kapitans. It also served the community’s religious needs.

Besides Kapitan Tay, he was assisted by other prominent Kapitans who played an

important role in building the temple. They are Li Wei King, Chua Su Cheong and Chan

Lak Kua. In 1704s, Kapitan Chan Ki Lock began the construction of the main hall. In

1801, Kapitan Chua Su Cheong was responsible for rebuilding of the main hall while the

Kapitans and Teng Choos after him contributed towards the aesthetic and structural

additions of the building. “Teng Choo” is the title given to the head of the temple after the

British abolished the Kapitan system in 1824. Teng Choo assumed some of the

Kapitan’s responsibilities.

The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple marks a historical milestone on 28 September 1949. The

Parliament passed the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple Incorporation Ordinance 1949 which

meant that the temple was officially sanctioned by an Act of Parliament, guaranteeing

the temple’s future and its role as guardian of the community’s spiritual and cultural

heritage. A Board of Trustees was formed to preserve the temple. Tun Sir Tan Cheng

Lock, became one of the first trustees. The other trustees then were Poh Kim Tiong,

Chan Teck Chye, Loh Kim Swi, and Chee Guan Chiang.

The second historical milestone was in 1962. Seck Kim Seng ordained Houn Jiyu-

Kennett, the founder of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives and a Zen nun from

England in this temple. In 2003, the Temple was awarded a UNESCO award for the

outstanding architectural restoration.

9

Architecture

When the Chinese migrated to the Malay Peninsula, they brought along their culture and

heritage. Cheng Hoon Teng's architecture reflects the skills of migrant builders and

craftsmen from China's southern provinces, mainly Fujian and Guandong.

The building conforms strictly to the principles of feng shui, incorporating the

fundamental belief that every aspect of life is closely related to attaining perfect harmony

with nature. According to granite tablets, the temple was carefully laid out to ensure a

view of the river and high ground on either side.

While the Cheng Hoon Teng is representative of the more peasant Southern temple

form

there are features that depart from the usual Southern temples found in Malaysia.

Its roof slope attempts to attain a steeper incline than the generally lower and

flatter Fujian form. The flag masts are of dramatic height, beckoning attention.

The temple has three bays rather than one found in most temples, whilst most of the

columns

are not circular and is in timber rising from stone bases. Here there is an extensive use

of lacquer. All these elements indicate the uniqueness of this architectural masterpiece.

10

Material used and restoration

Materials

Cheng Hong Teng Temple, located in Malacca, is considered as the earliest Hokkian

temple architectural building in Malaysia. The temple is being constructed mainly by

brick, timber and terracotta roof tiles. Nevertheless, in 1997, restoration took place when

the condition of the temple was deteriorating. This is because one of the main beams in

one of the side bays collapsed. So, for more specialized work, artisans from both local

and China were involved throughout the restoration process.

One of the building materials which were used on the roof is timber. In the restoration of

the roof, about 75 percent of the timber had been replaced to so as to maintain the

stability of the structure. Furthermore, custom-made steel hoisting frame was used to

replace the damaged beams and pieces thus the replacement of the circular timber

purling which were hand-carved by the carpenters and the ends were capped with the

copper sleeves.

Restoration

Cheng Hoon Teng temple has 3 phases. The first phase is the outer prayer pavilion and

main prayer building. Next, the second phase is the auxiliary building and main entrance

gate and for the third phase is the opera theatre.

The last major work that were completed was in 1963 however time and the weather

aggravated the condition and the state of the building had become a matter of serious

concern and the Board of Trustees felt it was necessary to carry out a major restoration

to the temple. The collapse of a beam in 1997 underscored the urgency and a

restoration committee was set up to ensure the building’s successful restoration.

The restoration started off with the roof. As the temple has three different structural

wooden truss systems, these hint at the possibility of construction over the different time

periods. Proper assessment of roof structure damage was made after removing the tiles.

The extent of decay and insect infestation proved more serious than expected and the

termites appeared to be the main problem. Therefore, a temporary roof structure was

11

erected over the whole of the main building to ensure work could be carried out without

interruption from weather. The sloping ridges of the main temple building cracked in

varying degrees due to timber deterioration and weathering. The ridges had to be lifted

to allow damaged purling to be removed, and new ones inserted. For this, a strong

hoisting structure of heavy duty steel hollow sections was customized for a confined site.

A careful study was carried out on the materials to ensure that they were of the same character and quality.

12

Moving on to the beam, before the new beams could be used, they had to be certified by

FRIM experts as being sufficiently dry and meeting standard timber specifications.

Bringing down decayed timber involved skill and extreme caution as it require a complex

operation that is made more difficult by the nature of the site. Most decay occurred at the

topside, mainly due to rain and moisture. Damaged parts were removed and the affected

areas are treated. Before installation, new beams were protected against termites,

especially at points of direct contact with other structure. Once all the beams and battens

had been replaced, reconstruction started on the valley area between the main temple

building and the prayer hall.

With the main temple fully restored, the auxiliary buildings and the main entrance under

phase 2 of the restoration works. Work commenced in April 2003 and was completed in

May 2004. The artisans scraped off layers of paint and plaster and discovered these old

frescoes underneath them. The frescoes were then skilfully restored. Damaged tiles

were carefully removed and replaced with new tiles.

Pictures of restoration parts

Lastly, the restoration of the opera theatre building was the last building to be

restored. The Standing Committee hopes to raise funds for this phase.

13

Temple layout structure

1. Altar of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy

2. Altar of Ma Choe Poh, (Mazu), Guardian of Seamen.

3. Altar of Kwan Gong, the God of War and Bao Sheng Dadi, the devine physician

the statue of the God Tai Sui is also located at the altar.

4. Altar of Wen Chang the God of student, scholars and examinations.

5. Altar of Qielan Ye, the protector of the Dhamna.

6. Altar of Fu De Zheng Shen, God of Wealth and Prosperity.

7. Altar of the Tiger Gods and Dashi Ye

8.9. Ancestral Tablets

10. Altar for the Kapitans China and the Founders of the Temple and the statues of

Kapitan Chan Ki Lock and wife.

11. Altar containing the tablets of Past Resident Monks.

12. Ancestral tablets and the Deity Da Zhong Ye.

ST- Commemorative Stelae and stone tablets.

14

On Site Activities

Cheng Hoon Teng temple is primarily dedicated to the adoration and worship of the

sacred Kwan Shih Yin Pusa, the Goddess of Mercy, the worship of who symbolises the

concept of infinite pity and compassion. Worshipping Kwan Shi Yin Pusa teaches

devotees the cardinal virtue of mercy and compassion in the relief of suffering in this

world.

Pictures of one of our members praying

The temple is also a centre for the propagation of San Chiao or the Three Doctrinal

Systems of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. It is closely associated with the

religious and civil life of the Chinese community. Numerous traditional Chinese rites are

carried out by the religious order daily. Monks and nuns attend to the needs of devotees

who consult them on spiritual and other matters, ranging from births, marriages, and

health to death and the afterlife.

15

Daily prayers are conducted at 4.00pm by the resident monks of the Temple and which

are open to devotees who wish to participate in the prayers. Chanting of mantras is

carried out devotees in the evenings of the new and full moon days of the lunar month.

(1st and 15th of the month)

Divination and fortune telling is a common practice in ordinary Chinese life. The system

of divination practised by the devotees in the Temple is by shaking out a bamboo stick

from bamboo container containing a set of individually marked sticks whilst kneeling

down in front of the main altar. The interpretation or prediction is found by referring the

markings on the stick to the corresponding section of the I Ching or Book of Changes.

16

Besides, specific prayers are carried out in the temple on the birthdays and other

auspicious dates of the Gods and Deities as shown as the picture below.

17

Travel Journal

Loo Siah Mong

Throughout the journal to Melaka with my fellow teammates, it has taught me that our

ancestor has created a culture and civilization for us to abide. Although this is not the

first time to visit site to complete an assignment, but there will always be something new

to discover and get to know new friends within the group mates. This trip is a little bit

different because we combined with 3 others group that also visiting around Malacca. I

found that Malacca is a place that is full of historical building that we can do research on.

Not only that, although it is important to finish an assignment on time, I also realize that

communication between the, participating and cooperate is also very important. Last but

not least, I’m glad that the team members are very efficient in the process of distributing

the task and finishing their part for the report. And below is the group photo we took.

Lim Xiu Qing

The feeling of entering a spiritual place is really hard to describe. I have the opportunity

to go with a group of friends to this particular Chinese temple. It is located at a tourist

area and in that area there is a temple that can bring peaceful mind to the soul and also

a place where you can seek for self-discovery and inner peace. I was fortunate enough

to be there on the 9th day of the month in Chinese calendar to witness their prayer and

join them circling the temple a few rounds while praying. It was a priceless experience.

18

Lim Winkee

To start off, we started to plan this Malacca one-day trip since the second week after we

got this project brief. We decided to choose Cheng Hoon Teng Temple as the temple

has over 400 years, and we also gathered around to list out the information that we need

to research on this particular building. From this project, I found that time management is

the main key of planning this trip as everyone is busy with their assignments and

projects. Besides, be responsible is also quite important because we need to take care

of ourselves during the trip, and also we need to do our part as this is a group project.

Until then, the trip was very smooth and success.

Lim Woo Leon

From the research study of this Chinese temple, I managed to understand why and how

this oldest temple managed to stand still until this day. The temple influenced the

Chinese people in Malacca to seek peace and harmony in a positive way without forcing

them. They were willing to support the temple in terms of finance and also restoration to

its formal state. To the Chinese in Malacca, this temple is their cultural identity, as they

were brought up together with this temple in sight since they were young. As such this

temple along this street is a cultural and religious hub to the people of Malacca. It is the

street of harmony.

19

Loh Mun Tong

To start off, for our group, we decided to research on the topic of Chinese Civilization.

We’ve chosen Cheng Hoon Teng temple which is located in Melaka as our historical site.

We were informed to gather in campus at 6.50am and depart at 7.00am sharp. We travel

there by bus together with another four groups which decided to conduct their research

findings at Melaka as well. We took about 2 hours to reach our destination. I’ve observed

that Cheng Hoon Teng temple has marvellous architecture which mainly reflects the

skills of migrant builders and craftsmen from China’s southern provinces. The temple

has a huge space as it covers an area approximately of 4,600 metre square. Therefore, I

walk around the temple and took lots of interesting pictures. Upon taking pictures, I’ve

also realised that lots of people came along to do their prayers even it’s in a weekday!

Besides, I’ve also manage to grab a photo of an artist who was painting the murals

beside the entrance of the temple.

Throughout this journey, I’ve learnt that it is important to preserve old buildings like this

temple as these structures provide an insight into the history of our countries, showing

us how people many centuries ago lived their lives. Without them, we could only learn by

books, and it would undoubtedly be sad if this were the only way to see them. However,

I’ve also learnt that both men and women should wear light clothing like t-shirt and long

pants to cover the knees as a respect to holy sites like temple.

20

Low Wing Chun

Throughout the journey, I have notice the difference of culture in terms of architecture

even though Kuala Lumpur and Melaka are both within the same country. It really tells

the different story of people who had different experience from the way they build the

building for the function, materials and also the aesthetics. And this carries on to the next

point where history is important as they tell us a story and a lesson for the future

generations to learn and improve.

Besides that, as a Chinese that have been visiting the temple for 19 years, it was my first

time finding out that it was rude to dress in shorts when visiting. We were lucky enough

to be on time for a ritual that was going on for the very special day. We participated and

it was a very fresh experience for me to remember.

Other than that the whole journey was quite smooth. Nothing else other than the hot sun

and mouth watering Melaka delicacies.

Lim Siew Ni

Throughout the visit to the Cheng Hoon Teng temple in Malacca, I do agree that visiting

the historical sites can help me to acquire the knowledge outside the lecture. In the

temple, I can experience the peace in there. What I didn’t expect is when we get there, a

ceremony was held by the monks and all of the sudden, we’re involved in it. But when I

involved in it, the positive energy spread all around us since when people pray, I can

hear their voice echoes all around the temple which gave me a sense of peace and

relaxation. To sum up, I think that the trip to the Cheng Hoon Teng temple not only gave

me a better understanding of its architectural style but also gets to know my group mates

better.

21

Loh Wen Jun

From my experience of traveling, I had gained some knowledge about the journey that I

took to visit a temple. I had to wake up as early as 6 am in the morning and rush to

Taylor’s University to avoid the annoying traffic jam as I stay quite far away from my

school. As the previous night, I did not have enough sleep because I slept at 12 am on

the next day. Thus, I did learn my lesson as I was supposed to sleep earlier that night to

avoid sleepless and tiredness.

As I gather with the rest of my other group member, we took off to Melaka around 8 am

with a bus that take 1 and a half hour to reach the destination. So I decided to take a

short nap in the bus. Along the journey, there are also 4 other group doing the site which

is also in Melaka near our destination. Along the journey, we had to start walking from

Jonker Street where the bus drops us off. Meanwhile, we finally reach our historical site

which is the Cheng Hoon Teng temple. It is a famous temple in Melaka which had been

established for many years. It is a Chinese temple practicing Taoism, Confucianism and

Buddhism. After that, we could hear some of the instrument playing while some of the

prayers were praying inside the temple. We went along and pray as well as they

welcomed us to pray along with them. We were there for some time before noon. I also

begin to feel hungry and tired under the hot sun.

After that, we begin to look for some food to eat our lunch, but we weren’t really familiar

with the place in Melaka. So we decided to walk around the street and randomly choose

a restaurant to eat. From this journey, I have learned to work with other people to get

close and meet with other group members. Soon after all the other groups gather, we

then decided to go back to our school. I continued to sleep in the bus until it reaches our

school as afternoon was supposed to be my napping time. In my experience to this trip,

it was a satisfying trip to me as I haven’t being to Melaka for quite some time.

22

Roy Loon

For this TITAS assignment trip, it gave me a chance to let me know more about the

lifestyle and city in Melaka. When we arrived in Malacca, we walk to the temple and start

to do our research and take photo. All of us tried to find the architecture building style

and the people’s activity in the temple. We tried to learn and follow how to pray in the

temple by using different method to different statue of a god for example we follow the

Buddhist mock line up to round in the temple. After we finish our research, we felt hungry

then we start to research the famous food in Malacca. I was felt satisfied for this trip

because I can eat a lot of famous Melaka food. We ate until 2.00pm and we end our

journey.

Lim Hong Wei

After conducting a site visits with my group members to Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

which is located in Jonker Street, Malacca to study about the temple’s civilization. After a

complete researched, I feel extremely grateful as our ancestors from past generations

have fought their pride just to build this temple to preserve our Chinese civilization

culture. By looking at this temple, I’m able to reflect myself back to the history of Chinese

civilization in Malaysia and know how the people from past generation practice Chinese

civilization. In short, Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, as well as others historical or pre

historical buildings shall be preserved forever as each buildings hold different values and

stories behind it.

23

Conclusion

It was truly a privilege and a bounty for us to visit a historical place that has many

interesting story behind it. For this project assigned by the tutor, we learnt how to work

together as a team in various ways such as communication, time management and so

on. At first, transportation was a problem because it is costly for us to go by taxi, bus or

van so we invite other groups who are going to Malacca to join us on a bus ride. By this,

the cost for transportation reduced and better, we had a fun time in the bus with 40

people on the ride. It was surely an amazing journey for us in making this trip to our

destination enjoyable yet meaningful and worthwhile.

In this assignment, we learnt the importance of why we should visit historical places

such as Chinese temples that had been built decades ago when our ancestor came to

Malaya and why we should reserve and respect them because those historical places

build Malaysia like how we see our country today. Without those historical places, we

won’t appreciate the sacrifice that our ancestor had made. This project really taught us

the value of respecting those historical places.

24

Reference

1. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.malaysiasite.ni/melakachenghoontengeng.htm

2. Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Melaka - Jonker Street Attractions (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.malacca.ws/attractions/cheng-hoon-teng.htm

3. Bibliography: Welcome to Cheng Hoon Teng temple. Retrieved May 5, 2016, from http://www.chenghoonteng.org.my/ In-line Citation: (“Welcome to Cheng Hoon Teng temple,” n.d.)

4. Bibliography: wonderfulmalaysia. (2007). Cheng Hoon Teng temple, Malacca. Retrieved May 5, 2016, from http://www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/attractions/cheng-hoon-teng-temple-malacca.htm In-line Citation: (wonderfulmalaysia, 2007)

25

Appendix

26