| Follow the graceful curve of Lebuh
Armenian. The low and rickety shophouses on your right survive from the early
19th century, when this area was a village composed mainly of Malays and
Sumatrans. In the mid-19th centry, the Straits Chinese moved into the area and
built residential shophouses which were of a fine standard for their time. You
will come to a blue shophouse on your right, No. 120 Lebuh Armenian, which dates
from the 1870s. The first owner was a Straits Chinese named Cheah Joo Seang, a
trustee of the Cheah Kongsi. The shophouse has kept its original historic
interior, with carved timber screens and air wells.
From 1909-1911, it was the base of Dr Sun Yat Sen,
leadr of the historic Chinese Revolution, and the headquarters of the Southeast
Asian branch of the Tung Meng Hooi. The local Chinese of that time supported Dr
Sun Yat Sen in the great movement against the Manchu government and the foreign
imperialsits in Chinia. In 1911, China became the first republic in Asia and Dr
Sun Yat Sen became its first provisional president.
Source: Penang Heritage Trail
The Penang Conference
Staged on April 27, 1911, in Guangzhou, the "Second
Guangzhou Uprising" (commonly known as Yellow Flower Mound Revolt) was one
of the largest in scale of Dr Sun's ten failed uprisings. Its significance went
beyond its predecessors for it was the spark that ignited the successful "Wuchang
Uprising" on October 10, 1911. Planned in Penang, many overseas Chinese
from Singapore and Malaya participated in the "Yellow Flower Mound
Revolt." It was one of the most violent episodes of the revolution.
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| Chng Eng Joo, Penang |
On November 13, 1910, Dr Sun held the important "Penang
Conference" at 120 Armenian Street (Chng Eng Joo) in Penang, Malaya.
Comrades such as his elder brother Sun Mei, Huang Xing, Hu Hanmin, Zhao Sheng
and Dai Jitao attended the secret meeting. Other attendees included Goh Say Eng,
Chen Xinzheng and Huang Jinqing from Penang; Zheng Luosheng and Lee Guan Swee
from Ipoh; and Deng Zeru from Kuala Pilah.
During the meeting, Dr Sun stressed that they had to launch another uprising of
a bigger scale in Guangzhou. However, due to the many previous failures, which
led to heavy financial losses and casualties, most of his disappointed
supporters were reluctant to sacrifice more of their resources.
In desperation, the teary-eyed Dr Sun beseeched them to finance the revolution
one last time. He promised them that if this last uprising did not succeed, he
would retire into oblivion forever.
Moved by Dr Sun's sincerity, his Malayan comrades donated 8000 Malayan dollars
on the spot. After the Penang Conference, fundraising drives were conducted all
throughout the peninsula, leading to the launch of the "Second Guangzhou
Uprising" (Yellow Flower Mound Revolt) as scheduled.
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