Interior courtyard at the Thian Hock Keng Temple in the Tanjong Pagar area of downtown Singapore, a traditional Taoist temple established in 1839

Debating the Definition of Taoism

Taoism and Hinduism are two different spiritual systems, but one thing they have in common in Singapore is that they’re both very difficult to define.
Preah Vihear Temple

A Postcolonial Preah Vihear

The debate over who “owns” Preah Vihear dates to the early twentieth century, when the French government drew the border between Cambodia and Siam (Thailand).

JSTOR Daily: What I Learned

Go behind the scenes with our writers as we celebrate JSTOR Daily’s tenth anniversary!

Brunei: A Tale of Soil and Oil

With an economy based almost exclusively on the oil industry, Brunei offers its citizens a high standard of living—but it comes with limitations.
Sun Yat Sen

Remembering Sun Yat Sen Abroad

Museums around the world honor the history of the revolutionary, but as Singapore’s Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall shows, those memories aren’t easy to read.
Georgette Chen, Self Portrait, c. 1946

The Genius of Georgette Chen

Little known outside of Singapore and Malaysia, Georgette Chen was an iconic artist of the Nanyang Style.
A dukun preparing medicine, c. 1910-1940

The International History of “Indigenous” Malay Healers

The origins of Malay and Indonesian dukun healers are intertwined with the history of Persian involvement in the region.
Malay-language film poster for the 1940 film Roekihati, produced by Tan's Film.

The Lost World of Pre-War Malay Cinema

Using the few surviving copies of the 1940s magazine Film Melayu, historian Timothy Barnard chronicles the discourse surrounding the Golden Age of Malay film.
Indian Dress

Why India Once Led The Fashion Industry

India led the fashion world in the 16th and 17th centuries through cotton fabric, design motifs, and its customer-centric market system.