Seu Teck Sean Tong was a Chinese clan charitable institution that provided free Traditional Chinese Medical services to the public. The organisation established multiple branches over the years. In 1942, they established a branch in Balestier which relocated to Toa Payoh in 1958. The year after, they established another branch in Upper Bukit Timah which relocated to Jurong East in 1986.
The main temple was established by Chen Si Shun, Wu Li Sheng, Yang Yong Chao, and Chen Rong An in a shophouse at River Valley Road in 1916. In the years after its establishment, the temple moved several times. It moved to Tanglin, New Market Road, and after the war, it relocated again to a bigger premise at North Boat Quay. Finally, in 1982, Seu Teck Sean Tong temple settled down at Bedok North Avenue 3.
Modern Construction with Traditional Emblems
The compound consists of three main buildings of modern reinforced concrete architecture with Chinese traditional features. To the left of the compound is the Main Prayer Hall, and on the right is the Ancestral Hall. Both halls are in double storey buildings and are linked to the four-storey Zuo Zhuah Building (佐泉樓).
Traditional features are integrated into the otherwise modern building. Pitch roofs with green glazed tiles, a pseudo Dou-gong “斗拱” underneath the roof eaves, sculptures and ornamentations of mythical auspicious animals and objects are some of the traditional emblems encompassed into the temple’s design. The boundary walls are made of fair-faced red bricks, green glazed roof, ventilation blocks and bars.
The traditional Chinese style entrance gateway is a prominent feature at the front boundary wall facing Bedok North Avenue 3. This moon gate is located between the two halls. Above the gate is written Shan Ren “善忍” which respectively means “benevolence” and “endurance”.
The present temple mainly worships Reverend Song Ta-Fung who left behind a noble legacy in Teochew history. It also continues to provide free Traditional Chinese Medical services to the public.
Buildings and sites featured on Roots.SG are part of our efforts to raise awareness of our heritage; a listing on Roots.SG does not imply any form of preservation or conservation status, unless it is mentioned in the article. The information in this article is valid as of July 2020 and is not intended to be an exhaustive history of the site/building.
