{"id":11558,"date":"2025-05-25T11:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T03:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/?page_id=11558"},"modified":"2025-09-28T13:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T05:34:10","slug":"10-tan-ai-lay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/","title":{"rendered":"10 TAN AI LAY \u9673\u611b\u79ae"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Father\u2019s Lament <\/b><\/h3>\n

TAN AI LAY (\u9673\u611b\u79ae) <\/span>1912 – 1926<\/span> Place of Ancestry: Tung Ann (\u540c\u5b89)<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

I had a daughter named Ai Lay who has died and buried here.
\n<\/span><\/i>\u6709\u5973\u7231\u79ae\u6b7b<\/span><\/p>\n

Born as an overseas Chinese <\/em>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/i>\u585f\u65bc\u6b64\u50d1\u751f<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first year of the Republic of China,
\n<\/span><\/i>\u4e4b\u5e74\u6c11\u570b\u8087<\/span><\/p>\n

On the ninth day of the first month.
\n<\/span><\/i>\u59cb\u6b63\u6708\u521d\u4e5d<\/span><\/p>\n

The day of her death was in
\n<\/span><\/i>\u5176\u6b7b\u4e4b\u65e5\u5728<\/span><\/p>\n

The fifteenth year, summer, fifth month,
\n<\/span><\/i>\u5341\u4e94\u5e74\u590f\u4e94<\/span><\/p>\n

Eleventh day, at the age of only sixteen.<\/span><\/i>
\n\u5341\u4e00\u6b72\u50c5\u5341\u516d<\/p>\n

Her nature was kind and sensitive.<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>\u6027\u6dd1\u4e14\u654f<\/span><\/p>\n

She had a good understanding of both Chinese and Western literature.
\n<\/span><\/i>\u4e2d\u897f\u6587\u5b57\u5747\u6709\u5fc3\u5f97<\/span><\/p>\n

She treated people warmly, and served her parents with filial devotion.
\n<\/span><\/i>\u5f85\u4eba\u6e29\u539a\u4e8b\u89aa\u5584\u627f\u610f\u5fd7<\/span><\/p>\n

She had accompanied me back to our country twice.<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>\u66fe\u96a8\u4f59\u56de\u570b\u5169\u6b21<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is heaven so unkind, to take her life so soon? <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>\u80e1\u5929\u4e0d\u4ec1\u907d \u596a\u5176\u58fd\u9cf4\u7c72<\/span><\/p>\n

A person of such character, such a short life,
\n<\/span><\/i>\u5982\u6b64\u4eba\u54c1\u5982 \u6b64\u77ed\u547d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My heart is not made of stone, how can I not feel sorrow?
\n<\/span><\/i>\u5fc3\u975e\u6728\u77f3\u5be7\u4e0d\u60b2<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, I inscribe these words on stone
\n<\/span><\/i>\u60fb\u7230\u8a00\u52d2\u77f3<\/span><\/p>\n

So that future generations, my descendants, will know,
\n<\/span><\/i>\u76d6\u6b32\u5955\u4e16\u5f8c \u543e\u4e4b\u5b50\u5b6b\u77e5<\/span><\/p>\n

I had a daughter who died before she could even wear her hair in a bun.
\n<\/span><\/i>\u4f59\u6709\u5973<\/span>\u672a\u7b53<\/i><\/b> \u800c\u5352\u5df3\u8033<\/span><\/p>\n

Written by Tan Ean Kiam\u00a0 <\/b>\u9673\u5ef6\u8b19\u81ea\u64b0
\n<\/span>Translated by Raymond Goh<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he term <\/span>“\u672a\u7b53” <\/span><\/i>refers to a girl who has not yet reached the age of 15, when she would traditionally wear her hair in a bun, symbolizing her coming of age.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Tan Kah Kee and Tan Ean Kiam gave their daughters the name <\/span>\u7231\u79ae<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u7231 (Ai) means “love” ; <\/span>\u79ae (Li) means “courtesy” or “propriety”<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, the name \u7231\u79ae means <\/span>“love of propriety”<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>“love of etiquette\/courtesy.”<\/span><\/i> This name reflects traditional Chinese values stressing the\u00a0 importance of proper conduct in life.\u00a0 It was likely chosen to express hope that their daughters would embody these virtuous qualities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The inscriptions\u00a0 on Tan Ai Lay’s tomb composed\u00a0 by her father, Tan Ean Kiam. (photo credit : Peter Pak)<\/p><\/div>\n

by Raymond Goh<\/strong> and Catherine Lim<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Father\u2019s Lament TAN AI LAY (\u9673\u611b\u79ae) 1912 – 1926 Place of Ancestry: Tung Ann (\u540c\u5b89) I had a daughter named Ai Lay who has died and buried here. \u6709\u5973\u7231\u79ae\u6b7b Born as an overseas Chinese \u585f\u65bc\u6b64\u50d1\u751f In the first year of the Republic of China, \u4e4b\u5e74\u6c11\u570b\u8087 On the ninth day of the first month. \u59cb\u6b63\u6708\u521d\u4e5d The day of her death was in \u5176\u6b7b\u4e4b\u65e5\u5728 The fifteenth year, summer, fifth month, \u5341\u4e94\u5e74\u590f\u4e94 Eleventh day, at the age of only sixteen. \u5341\u4e00\u6b72\u50c5\u5341\u516d Her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1489,"featured_media":0,"parent":11412,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11558","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n10 TAN AI LAY \u9673\u611b\u79ae - Bukit Brown: A World Monuments Watch Site in 2014<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 TAN AI LAY \u9673\u611b\u79ae - Bukit Brown: A World Monuments Watch Site in 2014\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Father\u2019s Lament TAN AI LAY (\u9673\u611b\u79ae) 1912 – 1926 Place of Ancestry: Tung Ann (\u540c\u5b89) I had a daughter named Ai Lay who has died and buried here. \u6709\u5973\u7231\u79ae\u6b7b Born as an overseas Chinese \u585f\u65bc\u6b64\u50d1\u751f In the first year of the Republic of China, \u4e4b\u5e74\u6c11\u570b\u8087 On the ninth day of the first month. \u59cb\u6b63\u6708\u521d\u4e5d The day of her death was in \u5176\u6b7b\u4e4b\u65e5\u5728 The fifteenth year, summer, fifth month, \u5341\u4e94\u5e74\u590f\u4e94 Eleventh day, at the age of only sixteen. \u5341\u4e00\u6b72\u50c5\u5341\u516d Her […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bukit Brown: A World Monuments Watch Site in 2014\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-28T05:34:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-20-at-22.01.28.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"656\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/\",\"name\":\"10 TAN AI LAY \u9673\u611b\u79ae - Bukit Brown: A World Monuments Watch Site in 2014\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-20-at-22.01.28-1024x487.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-25T03:45:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-28T05:34:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wayfinder\/10-tan-ai-lay\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-20-at-22.01.28.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-20-at-22.01.28.jpeg\",\"width\":1380,\"height\":656,\"caption\":\"The poem on Tan Ai Lay by her father, Tan Ean Kiam. 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