The Reception and Reconstruction of Daoism in the Chinese Diaspora of Singapore (1880s–1930s)

Abstract

This article investigates how Daoism evolved into a source of moral order and cultural continuity in Singapore from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Drawing on inscriptions, canonical texts, and Chinese-language newspapers, it traces the transformation of Daoism from an official cult into a social ethic amid the decline of the imperial ritual system and the emergence of new communal spaces among overseas Chinese. Confronted with the modern distinction between “civilization” and “superstition,” Chinese residents in Singapore reinterpreted Daoist teachings and reshaped ritual practices to meet changing social conditions. These reinterpretations found expression in education, philanthropy, and public ceremonies, linking religious practice with civic responsibility. Rather than fading under modern influences, Daoism acquired new forms of vitality through everyday practice and local cooperation. The Singapore case demonstrates that Southeast Asian Chinese communities were not peripheral to Daoism’s modern transformation but decisive arenas in which its discourse and ritual were recast into civic institutions of education, moral regulation, and communal order, thereby shaping one of the key trajectories through which Daoism entered modern public life.