This project marks the final stage in the completion of a long term research program to collect, translate, analyze and publish the Chinese epigraphy of Singapore as found in hundreds of temples, huigan and united or joint temples. The first two volume set of Chinese Epigraphy of Singapore: 1819-1911 was published by NUS Press and Guangxi shifandaxue chubanshe in 2017, with the support of grants from the MOE and the Canadian Social Science Research Council. The second two volume set entitled Chinese Epigraphy of Singapore: 1911-2019, was researched with the support of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC), and is currently undergoing final editing by NUS Press and Guangxi shifandaxue chubanshe and will be published at the end of 2021. This project seeks to gather the remaining inscriptions in the 68 United Temples of Singapore and to publish a final two-volume set in this series, to be entitled Chinese Epigraphy of Singapore: United Temples 1974-2019.

Our key research question is how we can best use the inscriptions in the United Temples to unlock the histories of the discrete temples within each United Temple, and what new light these sources can shed on the history of Chinese religion in Singapore. Our research hypothesis is that the vast majority of these temples will have resisted the move into a United Temple, but they will by now have developed a wide range of collective decision making processes and some collective rituals reflecting their new situation. We also hypothesize that these temples will be a source of information on the kampongs and kampong temples of Singapore that have vanished from the historical record.  A third hypothesis is that these temples will have developed innovative strategies to remain resilient in the face of forced relocation and short leases.

We intend to gather, classify, analyse and translate these inscriptions, and to tell the stories of the 68 United Temples of Singapore, including the village temples they originated in. We will map the process of gathering these kampong villages into 68 united temples, and provide information on the kampong origins of these centres of communal life and worship. We believe this will make a significant contribution to the history and heritage understanding of young Singaporeans, many of whom know very little about the kampong life or the origins of the temples in these sites.