Chinatown: What’s in a Name? 牛车水 – 名为何意？

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I can’t help but be drawn to the language of Chinatown, particularly how names have evolved and the current tension between English versus Mandarin and dialect. It fascinates me how a phrase like 牛车水 (bullock cartwater), an older name for our local Chinatown, so unique and full of local flavour, could translate into Chinatown in many cities, a more generic concept of a Chinese enclave which comes from British colonial demarcations of place.
作为一个文字工作者，我始终被文字深深地吸引。特别在代表本地华族文化的牛车水，地名的变化和现在英语普遍的用途好像和牛车水的传统形象有所冲突。“牛车水”是一个具有本地风味和趣味的词，可它却单调地被翻译成英文的“唐人街”，令我百思不解。

Picture (1): Chinatown Point
图1: 唐人坊
This seems to erase the unique names given by locals, which include Ngau Chair Sui (Cantonese), Gu Chia Chwee (Hokkien), and Kreta Ayer (Malay), to denote how water was brought to the area by bullock carts. Names and language form a great part of our identity, and oddly enough the name “Chinatown” seems to fit in better with the image of a tourist attraction it is today.
过去广东人，福建人，马来人用牛车水这名字，是因为那时侯的用水都是靠牛车运来的。我们的名字和我们用得语言是我们身份的一部分，奇怪的是 “唐人街“ 这个名称其实比较符合牛车水现代作为一个旅游景点的形象。

In scrutinising the use of language in Chinatown, and I started at Temple Street where our weekly workshops were held. Again I found the Chinese translation of Temple Street utterly baffling. This is a phonetic translation of the word Temple, “deng po”, a phrase that roughly translates to “embarking on a journey to your grandmother’s place”. I often find translations in this country to be imperfect, and this was the Chinatown equivalent of translating Dhoby Ghaut (washermen’s place) to “duo mei ge” (many beautiful songs).
我开始对注意到牛车水语言的用途，而出发点就是每个星期开办工作坊的地点登婆街。我马上就觉得 “登婆街” 这个街名十分古怪，不是 “庙”（Temple）的意思而是有 “登上婆家” 的意思。在新加坡，很多地名翻译听了都让人一头雾水，比如 Dhoby Ghaut 指的是一个洗衣服的地方，而不是 “多美歌”。

Picture（2）： Temple Street
图2：登婆街

The original Chinese name of the street is actually hei yuen hau kai which translates to “back street of the theatre ” in Cantonese, and refers to the Lai Chun Yuen Chinese Theatre that used to exist until it was destroyed by the war. The “temple” name actually came from the Municipal Commissioners who named it after the Sri Mariamman Temple. Again, it seemed to be an enforced identity rather than an organic name that came from the individuals who frequented the street.
登婆街原本的名称是 “戏院后街”，指的是当时战争前街道上的梨春园戏院。“庙街” 其实是当时英国官员给的名称，因为街上有一座马里安曼兴都庙。“登婆街” 其实是一个被强迫的身份，而不是当地人自来而然所给予的一个称呼。

I wonder how many of these street names used to be called something else. I think in many ways, names are important to us, especially for the Chinese, and I thought of this as I walked past many shops trying to sell calligraphy to tourists.
这令我想到，许多街名以前大概也别有称呼。名字意义重大，而对于华人来说，每一个名字都有深深的含义。

Picture (3): Chinese names for Westerners translated phonetically
图3： 种种英文名的华文翻译

The calligraphy cards puzzled me, as most of them seem to be in gibberish. It didn’t strike me until later that the calligraphy was of “Chinese translations” of English names aimed at the tourists. To me they make even less sense than “embarking on a journey to your grandmother’s place” (Temple Street) did.
走在牛车水的大街小巷中，时不长也可以看到一些有着书法字的卡片，可是上面的文字一般没有任何含义。看了好久，我才发觉这些卡片是卖给旅客的，写的是种种英文名的华文翻译。 但是对任何懂华文的人来说，卡片上的文字却毫无意义。

I think our personal names are the ultimate examples of how much the Chinese treasure the meaning behind words, down to each character. The “xin” in my name means “happy”, and each name carries the blessings from the parent who had named the child. There were times where I wished I had an English name, but that would mean that I would not be carrying that heartwarming reminder of happiness wherever I went.
从我们华人的名字就可以看出来，华人究竟是多么重视名字的意义。我的名字是文欣，“欣”代表欣欣向荣，代表快乐，承载着父母对我的祝福。虽然有时候我会埋怨为什么没有一个比较好发音的英文名，不过我觉得自己的华文名随身都可以让我感受到家的温暖。

Calligraphy is a traditional art form, yet these cards remind me of mass-produced souvenirs. If calligraphy artists have to sell meaningless trinkets such as these to keep afloat, what of the survival of our cultural practices?
书法也是一种传统艺术， 但是这些卡片却卖得像一些普通礼品。如果我们的传统艺术家需要卖这些商品来生存，长远来说对我们的文化发展会有什么影响？

Naturally, this made me think about the invasion and succession of businesses that were not originally from Chinatown.
从这一方面想，我也担心牛车水一些传统生意的传承。

Picture (4): Thye Moh Chan and Toast Box
图4： 泰茂栈与土司工坊

When I took a photograph at Chinatown Point, I wanted to capture the contrast of Thye Moh Chan’s relatively empty shop front with the crowded premises of Toast Box, whose diners have to sit outside. Thye Moh Chan, with its old Chinese signboard hanging above its traditional tau sar piahs, seemed to be unable to compete with the chain coffee shop with its English name.
在唐城坊拍照时捕捉到这一镜头：泰茂栈饼屋的店面门可罗雀，而土司工坊却门庭若市。一个写着华文的老招牌，买着传统的豆沙饼的老店，可以比的上一家带有英文名的连锁咖啡店吗？

Later, I found out not only did Thye Moh Chan not originate from Chinatown, but it had long been bought over by the BreadTalk Group, which owns Toast Box as well. Although the pastries still retain their Teochew recipes, the brand had become updated, providing convenient packaging for gifts and locating outlets in shopping malls.
后来我才得知泰茂栈饼屋这个招牌以前并不在牛车水，而品牌早就被面包物语集团收购。土司工坊也是面包物语旗下的品牌。虽然糕饼还是出自于传统潮州的秘方，老字号的品牌已焕然一新，有方便的礼品包装，而营业地点也在外表华丽的购物商场。

The commercialisation of Chinatown and of traditional brands seem to counteract the very nature of tradition, of something that has been passed down from the past. But it may not be a bad thing. Although it is true that Chinatown may not be the same as it was, a stagnant heritage space will become a relic of the past.
“传统”讲究的是历史传承下来的风俗，但是牛车水和传统品牌却变得越来越商业化 。不过牛车水的变迁并不一定是件坏事，因为一个尘埃不变的地方只会变成古旧的遗迹。

New generations of Chinese will have formed connections to places like Temple Street, only because they visit every year for Chinese New Year goodies. Chinatown used to be the anchor ground for Chinese immigrants, and it continues to be for many from the People’s Republic of China looking for a slice of home. Through this project I have learned of many old memories of Chinatown. But standing here in modern day, it is up to us to create our own.
新一代的华人会拥有属于他们自己的牛车水回忆，比如说每逢农历新年登婆街卖年货的情景。牛车水以前是移民华人所居住的地方，现在仍然给予许多异国他乡的中国人一种家的感觉。