新加坡文物的“国际化”趋势

Our cultural artefacts“going global”

　　Recent media reports of an excellent local collection of bonsai plants finding a home in Shanghai have sparked a series of reactions. Many have expressed a sense of regret and disappointment. But what has been lost cannot be recovered and the discussion has gradually died down.

　　Over the years, failure to appreciate the value of cultural artefacts which others embrace with open arms has occurred time and again. So it is unlikely that this latest episode will be the last.

　　This tiny island-state seems to have no place for precious collections. When will it again turn its back on artists or collectors who are potential donors and who have no choice but to look elsewhere？ No one knows.

　　Yes, our cultural artefacts are increasingly “going global” - we may one day end up having to scour all over the world for local relics or artistic works.

　　Two years ago, more than 50,000 books and some original scripts and letters which belonged to prominent figures in the cultural and media circles here found a home across the Causeway in a library in Johor Baru.

　　Sharing the same fate is another large volume of works, among them books penned by Singaporeans and Malaysians, titles on Chinese literature, publications by clan associations here, and collections of calligraphy and paintings. They have also settled down in Johor Baru as there was no place here to keep them.

　　In 1997, valuable screenplays left behind by Singapore writer Chua Boon Hean, who wrote under the pen name Liu Beian, were donated to the Hong Kong movie museum and became one of its important collections.

　　A few years back, local collector Low Chuck Tiew wanted to donate some priceless paintings to the National Museum, but when they could not reach an agreement, he decided to give the artworks to the Hong Kong Museum of Art which went on to build a gallery to house them.

　　It is an irony that the official opening of the Esplanade-Theatres On The Bay and the giving of the bonsai plants to the Shanghai Botanical Gardens were reported in the press on the same day. This also offers much food for thought.

　　On the one hand, we have pumped millions of dollars to attract world-class and grand-scale art performances, yet on the other hand, we have no qualms about letting go of some half-a-century old precious plants of an artist. Singapore has been dubbed as a venue which keeps importing foreign cultural events. But it seems we are doing rather well too in “exporting” our own cultural artefacts！

　　The pictures of workers pulling up the bonsai plants by the roots while transporting them are in a sense quite shocking. Bonsai is art in a living form, manifesting itself in a dynamic way the culture of rootedness. Yet they can just be uprooted and replanted overseas. One can‘t help but lament if we are destined to remain a cultural desert that has no place even for some bonsai plants.

　　Of course, one can look on the bright side （to console oneself） and even hail the loss of the bonsai as a gesture to “promote culture”, “encourage exchange”and“share resources beyond national boundaries”。

　　What else can we do other than finding excuses to explain things away？

　　After all, it is none of our business. The National Arts Council is responsible for promoting the arts； acquisition of artefacts is the task of the National Heritage Board； and exhibition of artistic works comes under the purview of Esplanade-Theatres On The Bay or the various museums.

　　Bonsai, which one can place somewhere between art, cultural artefacts and plants, can perhaps be referred only to the Chinese Gardens. The wishes of the donor and the resources and competence of a private organisation are not important factors for consideration.

　　Many old buildings with historic significance have had to make way for our overriding goal to achieve economic growth and rapid urbanisation in the past decades. Now that we‘ve realised the importance of keeping the old world charm of some areas which Singaporeans identify strongly with emotionally and an organisation is prepared to do the job, what we should have treasured and preserved have long vanished.

　　What we have now is perhaps just a “cosmopolitan” city with little feelings for the past and cultural foundation.

　　The writer is Citta Bella‘s Lifestyle Editor. Translated by Yap Gee Poh

　　本地盆景佳作落户上海事件自见报以来,引起一番讨论；但遗憾也好,感叹也好,失去的已经失去,议论总算平息下来。

　　然而认真想想,事情真的告一段落吗？类似的走宝事件,不是第一次发生,相信也不会是最后一次。没有人能够知道,什么时候,小小岛国又容纳不下哪批珍品,有心馈赠的艺术家/收藏家,必须大费周章,让藏品远走他乡。

　　是的,新加坡文物越来越“国际化”了——谁也不知道哪一天,要找新加坡文物、要看新加坡作品,要到世界各地搜罗。

　　2000年,5万多册新加坡人的藏书越过新柔长堤,在新山的“书香楼”找到了安身之处。书籍的主人包括新加坡文化界、新闻界名字响亮的人物,一些名家手稿也跟着藏书落户长堤彼岸,另有大批马华（包括新加坡）文学著作、中华文史著作、新加坡社团特刊及书法绘画集,也因为在新加坡找不到栖身之地,辗转到了新山。

　　1997年,已故诗人柳北岸遗留下来的珍贵电影文献,捐赠给香港电影资料馆,成为该馆的一批重要收藏。

　　还有好几年前,我国收藏家刘作俦的名贵书画,准备把它捐献给博物馆时,因条件谈不拢,只好转送给香港。港方为他建立了纪念馆,妥善保存珍藏,传为佳话。

　　滨海艺术中心的开幕,与盆景走宝事件在同一天见报,极具反讽意味,也更加引人反思。一边在耗巨资引入大型艺术项目,一边却在轻易放弃艺术家半个世纪的珍贵作品。都说新加坡是文化码头,不断进口外国项目,原来除了“进口”,我们的“出口”也搞得很不错！

　　尤其是这批盆景艺术,运输过程中,工作人员把植物连根拔起的照片,从意义上来看,相当触目惊心。盆景是活的艺术品,含蕴一种根的文化,是一种极具生命力与乡土感的艺术表达方式。连这样一批原以为是根深蒂固的作品,都可以被完全拔起、移植海外,不禁令人感叹：是否文化沙漠的宿命难逃,真的扎不下几棵植物、容不下几株常青生命？

　　当然,从积极面来看（也只好如此自我安慰）,那是“弘扬文化”、“促进交流”、“不分国界的资源共享”。

　　然而除了自圆其说、找个下台借口,我们还能做些什么？

　　事不关己,漠不关心。推广艺术,应该由艺术理事会来做；收留文物,那是国家文物局的工作；展出作品,那是艺术中心或博物馆的范围。介于艺术、文物、植物之间的盆景作品,也许只能归入裕华园的范围吧？至于捐赠者的意愿、私人机构的资源与管理能力,并不是最重要的考虑因素！

　　正如新加坡过去数十年来急速都市化,以发展经济为大前提,拆除了许多具有历史意义的古老建筑,等到腾出时间与空间,意识到保留情感区的重要性,有了相关机构愿意承担这项任务时,真正值得保留、值得重视的,已经一去不返了。

　　留下来的,只是一个没有乡土情感与文化根基的“国际化”都市罢了