Curious crowds have been thronging the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall since it opened on Nov 12, especially on Sundays. Among them are primary and secondary students who were having their year-end school vacation. I feel rather encouraged to see the young showing an interest in our history.

　　We should congratulate ourselves that the once-Sun Yat Sen Villa has escaped demolition and gained a new lease of life. The directors of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry should be complimented for the decision to preserve, restore and expand the villa. BG George Yeo, then Minister for Information and the Arts, played a crucial role when he called for the villa to be developed into a historical landmark in 1994.

　　There are many others who have always cared for and protected the villa. Their efforts will be remembered by history - the way history has recorded the contributions of members of the Tong Meng Hui, or the Revolutionary Alliance, to modern China.

　　The reborn villa has sparked a positive chain of reactions. For instance, some people in Penang have suggested building a similar memorial hall at the original site of the Penang Philomatic Society, which was founded by Dr Sun Yat Sun. On hindsight, if we had destroyed the villa, we would now live to regret it!

　　Right and wrong as recorded in history may on the surface appear to be just a result of a decision made on the spur of the moment. In fact, deeper underlying factors are at work.

　　As a people, we must have a common understanding of our history and share a strong desire to safeguard our historical and cultural heritage. Otherwise, even though the Sun Yat Sun Villa has been saved, there is no guarantee that we would, in future, not pull down any buildings of historical value. We need only to cast our memory a few years back to realise how many historical landmarks had vanished from our landscape.

　　What affluent Singaporeans need is a keen awareness of our cultural heritage. But this is not a task that the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall can achieve alone.

　　Over the years, our education system has produced many Singaporeans who are ignorant of our past. Obviously, we cannot count on the handful of museums and memorial halls to teach this group of people what they had failed to learn in school. A fundamental change in what we teach our pupils is what is required.

　　We should be happy that the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall has become a part of our history. The touching history of the villa is also the shared heritage of Singapore and China and the shared memory of the two peoples. And the historical connections will no doubt help boost ties between Singaporeans and the Chinese people.

　　Yet we must not forget that we are an independent country, a shared historical heritage with China should in no way compromise our loyalty to our own nation.

　　The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall is part of our historical heritage and its role should remain so. There are occasions when historical heritage can be used to serve political purposes, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. It is not advisable for the memorial hall to be associated too closely with political ties which often change unpredictably, either for the better or for the worse. It may suffer undeserved misfortunes when there is a deterioration in political relations.

　　Singaporeans have a habit of getting tired of the old as soon as they take a fancy to something new. We need to ponder the question of whether interest in the memorial hall can be sustained. The memorial hall is no Hello Kitty, electronic pets or a passing fad - it should have an appeal that can stand the test of time.

　　To inject new life into the villa was tough enough, to keep the memorial hall a dynamic attraction will be an even more formidable task.

　　To maintain a steady flow of visitors, one possibility is to turn the memorial hall into a “history classroom” where tours for students and members of clan associations could be arranged.

　　Singaporeans need to treasure the memorial hall as our historical heritage. We need to value it and care for it.

·The writer is a correspondent of Lianhe Zaobao. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.

　　晚晴园—孙中山南洋纪念馆于11月12日开幕后，本地兴起一股“晚晴园热”。正值中小学年终长假，连日来参观者众，尤其是星期天，园地内外尽是人潮，套句中国大陆过去常用的话：形势大好。

　　晚晴园躲过了被拆的厄运，获得新生，可喜可贺。中华总商会那些力主保留晚晴园的董事，的确很懂事。1994年倡议保留晚晴园的杨荣文准将（当时任新闻及艺术部部长）一言九鼎，起了关键作用；还有众多长期关怀与爱护晚晴园的人，历史会公正地记下他们的功绩，正像历史已经公正地记下南洋同盟会各位先贤的功绩一样。

　　获得新生的晚晴园，产生了巨大的轰动效应和良性连锁反应，远在槟城也有热心人士主张，将孙中山当年创办的槟城阅书报社原址建成类似晚晴园的纪念馆。现在回过头想想，当初要是把晚晴园拆掉，留下的将是千古遗憾！

　　历史的功过，表面上看来，也许只是一念之差，深一层分析就不难发现，那不仅仅是一念之差的问题。如果我们的国家、人民对历史问题没有共识，整个国家社会没有建立起坚固的重视历史文化遗产的观念，现在不拆晚晴园，谁敢担保将来不拆别的历史名楼名园？想想这些年来，一些有保留价值的古建筑，最终还是逃不过被“处决”的命运，怎能让我们放心？

　　现在新加坡人不缺吃、住、穿，还缺什么？缺的就是深厚坚实的人文意识。叫晚晴园来肩负这个任务，担子未免太沉重，它会不胜负荷，会累倒的。我国多年来的教育，教出一批又一批“史盲”，单靠几个博物馆、纪念馆，是无法令“史盲”的眼睛“开光”的。从调整教育体制做起，才是治本之道。

　　庆幸晚晴园已经纳入了新加坡正史，晚晴园可歌可泣的往事，是新加坡与中国共同拥有的历史遗产，是两国人民共同的记忆。历史上的感情纽带可否视为今天新中两国人民的感情纽带呢？看来，这是很自然的事。

　　但是，我们不能不提醒自己，毕竟新中是两个国家，拥有共同的历史记忆并不等于拥有共同的政治效忠。

　　晚晴园是历史遗产，不宜当作现实政治的资本，最好是让它一直以历史遗产的身分好好地独立存在。历史遗产固然可以为现实服务，但不宜紧跟着现实政治亦步亦趋。政治气候会改变，历史遗产跟现实政治联系得太紧，就会因此而时兴时衰，忽冷忽热，甚至遭到无妄之灾。

　　除了以上的隐忧之外，还有一点叫人担忧：“晚晴园热”能维持多久？新加坡人的“5分钟热度”是出了名的，然而，晚晴园不是吉蒂猫，不是电子宠物，更不是流行时装，它应当有历久不衰的魅力。

　　让晚晴园枯木逢春已经很不容易，要确保它保持旺盛的生命力，那是更艰巨的任务。可以很快做到的是：全国的学校、社团将晚晴园当作历史大课堂，组织学生、会员前去参观学习。这样，晚晴园今后就不会门前冷落车马稀。

　　我们要把晚晴园当作全民的宝贵历史遗产，全社会都来爱护它、关心它！

·作者是早报执行级编辑

《联合早报》

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