So this was the week where my group did a presentation on Samsui women.
I did quite a bit on research on the Samsui women, and noticed that most art pieces celebrating their hard work, focusing on the suffering they went through. With the exception one artist, most artworks I’ve found on Samsui women are sombre and serious.
http://www.eagles-eye.com.sg/collections/patrick-teo
Patrick Teo portrays Samsui women in joyful expressions, using bright colours and bold paint strokes to celebrate them.
Although, I do wonder if Teo ever knew the Samsui women personally, or if he has ever met them. I wonder if he ever knew them personally to know “the happier side” that he wanted to portray.
I find it interesting that art pieces of Samsui women are mostly in celebration, or in remembrance. Modern art today of other forms of servitude (domestic helpers, labourer, etc.) seem to focus more on bringing to light their social plight and the issues they face, and not so much of “celebrating” them. Maybe its because Samsui women are now a thing of the past? Do people feel that there is no point digging up dirt from the past?
Speaking of the past, I remember one of our classmates mentioning something about Samsui women, now old and probably living happily with their families. I never got to mention it during the presentation, but actually, many Samsui women never got married, some continued to remit money to a family in China they never heard back from… So maybe they didn’t even have any existing family left.
Some were able to go back to their hometowns with help from of various organisations such as the Sam Shui Wai Kuan Association before they died. Others remained in Singapore, many living on their own in one room flats.
The woman in this video was the oldest Samsui woman at that time. Sadly, she passed on several later after a fall. She needed to be hospitalised, but because she was unwilling to burden her family, she committed suicide. Her self-sacrificial act is characteristic of typical Samsui independence (and reported stubbornness).
Even tho the Samsui women had it tough, I really respect their will power and their strength. Especially for the woman in the above video. Despite how her situation is clearly not ideal, she greets the camera with a smile and laughter.
After this presentation and all the research done with it, it really makes me wonder… Was there really a “happy” side to the Samsui women? Or is it just how they viewed life? Their own inner strength?
Well, in other casual news, there was actually a whole TV-series portraying the life of Samsui women, and this was considered one of the best dramas produced by Singapore. It can be watched on Youtube! I watched one episode as part of my research, and its really good. It explores the life of Samsui women during and after their prime.
Also, there’s a chinese restaurant called Soup Restaurant, and its signature dish is “Samsui Ginger Chicken”, a kind of chilled steamed chicken dish, served with ginger sauce. It’s actually really nice and my family really enjoys eating at this restaurant.