Lion City Notes (Newly Edited and Annotated Edition)

A luminary who passed away at the young age of 38, a literary gem that must remain unsung. Follow the vibrant pen of Singaporean and Malaysian writer Lu Baiye (1923-1961) as he reads 56 classic essays and embarks on a fascinating journey through Singapore's literary history.

Lu Baiye's "Lion City Notes" was published by Singapore World Book Company in September 1953. After a 66-year hiatus, the Chou Sing Chu Foundation has decided to republish this classic of Singaporean Chinese literature with a new and annotated edition. To bring it closer to contemporary readers, the Foundation's editorial team reorganized the volumes, added illustrations, and wrote introductions and nearly 80,000 words of annotations for each volume. They also invited renowned Singaporean and Malaysian scholars and cultural figures—Professor Wang Runhua, Professor Guo Zhenyu, and Mr. Zhu Tianshou—to serve as advisors, enriching the content and creating a condensed collection of Singaporean historical records.

This book reorganizes the original book's 56 essays into six volumes (Historical Stories, Figures, Group Studies, History, Scenery, and Anecdotes). While the process of re-editing and annotating was tumultuous, it has provided indescribable enlightenment. Through Lu Baiye's pen, familiar surroundings and life seem to take on a new meaning. Even the smallest blade of grass, every brick and tile, every person and object, possesses a past and present life. Neither the blazing sun nor the torrential rain of Southeast Asia can erase the traces of time. This is the vitality of his writing—as Zang Kejia's poem says: "Some people die, yet they still live."

Lu Baiye (1923-1961)

Born in Ipoh, Perak, Malaya, he is a poet, writer, editor, translator, and Malay language expert. His real name is Li Xuemin, and he also uses the pen names Li Hua and Li Fumin, as well as Weibei Hua, Lou Wenmu, Yue Zigeng, Hua Xiding, Pobing, Fan Tao, Yao Yuan, and Yu Qiang. He attended Ipoh Yucai Primary School but dropped out in fifth grade. During the Japanese occupation, he lived in exile in Medan and Jakarta, Indonesia, before settling and working in Singapore. He served as the international edition's telegraph editor, the founding editor-in-chief of Sin Chew Daily's Malay supplement, "National Language Weekly," and the magazine "Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan," among other positions. He also worked as a court reporter and interpreter for publications such as Yishi Bao and The Malaya Tribune.

He has written many books, most of which were published in the 1950s, including: cultural essay collections "Lion City Notes", "Malay Notes" and "Malay Notes·Sequel"; travel notes "Impressions of India"; short story collection "Meteor"; essay collection "Spring Ploughing"; novel, essay and poetry collection "Walking Before Dawn"; edited "Love Poems"; reference book "Malaya", educational book "National Language Textbook"; compiled "Practical Malay-Chinese-English Dictionary"; compiled "Pantun: Poetry of the Malay People", etc.

He died suddenly in Singapore at the age of 38 from high blood pressure and heart disease. Professor Wang Runhua, a renowned scholar of Singaporean and Malaysian literature, praised him as a "genius poet who died young."