About Us

金声仓 国际郑和研究院

Every Journey Leaves an Enduring Trace

Tan Kim Seng (1806–1864)

A prominent wealthy overseas Chinese merchant and distinguished philanthropist of 19th-century Nanyang.

 

Born in Malacca with ancestral roots in Yongchun, Fujian, he relocated to Singapore one year after the founding of Singapore in 1819 and built an immensely successful business empire. He later held key positions including Head of Qing Yun Ting (Malacca Chinese Clan Temple), Justice of the Peace in Singapore, and Commissioner to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. Tan Kim Seng and his family delivered remarkable charitable contributions across Singapore and Malacca.

In 1849, he founded Chong Wen Ge, Singapore’s first Chinese school. He established Chui Eng Free School in 1854, funded Singapore’s first waterworks in 1857, and donated funds to construct the Tan Kim Seng Bridge in Malacca in 1862. Today, the Tan Kim Seng Fountain stands as a national monument in Singapore, alongside Kim Seng Road named after him.
Kim Seng Warehouse was originally the storage premise of Kim Seng Company, situated beside Tan Kim Seng Bridge at the river mouth of Malacca. It once housed Malacca’s most prosperous trading firm. As commercial vitality faded in historic Malacca Town, the warehouse fell into disrepair alongside many ancient buildings within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, facing imminent collapse.
In the 1990s, Dr. Tan Tat Seng took over the warehouse and launched its restoration project. Adopting the conservation principle of "restoring the old to its original appearance" with the discerning vision of a historian, structural reinforcements were carried out, and antique bricks from the original facade were reinstalled, breathing new life into the centuries-old warehouse.
Today, Kim Seng Warehouse serves as the most exquisite boutique art exhibition hall inside the World Heritage-listed Malacca Historic Town. It functions as the overseas cooperative exhibition space for Duoyun Xuan of Shanghai under the Belt and Road Initiative, and also houses the headquarters of the International Zheng He Research Academy.
Founded in 2022 under the initiative of Dr. Tan Tat Seng, the International Zheng He Research Academy organises cultural and museum exhibitions, art events, and cultural exchange programmes focused on the research and conservation of Zheng He and Maritime Silk Road heritage. The Academy’s administrative offices are located within Kim Seng Warehouse, and it encompasses four internal divisions: the Administrative Committee, Academic Expert Committee, Arts Expert Committee, and ASEAN Zheng He & Maritime Silk Road Heritage Cultural Tourism Centre.

International Zheng He Research Academy

The founding of the International Zheng He Research Academy traces back to the International Zheng He Conference held in Malacca in 2018, followed by lengthy preparatory work undertaken by relevant authorities. The Academy’s mission is to promote Zheng He’s spirit of harmony, peace and friendship, advance related historical, archaeological and cultural research, disseminate Zheng He’s ethos globally, and foster friendly exchanges between China and nations along the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Academy operates primarily as a non-profit cross-border alliance that transcends national boundaries, ethnic groups, religions and political ideologies. Its establishment aims not only to uphold harmonious global development, but also to facilitate cross-border and cross-cultural interaction, outreach, dialogue and collaboration. Across all times and regions, it strives to nurture profound mutual understanding and empathy between individuals, communities, ethnic groups and countries worldwide.

zhenghe book
张瑞发院长

Zhang Ruifa

Incumbent Dean of the International Zheng He Research Academy
Born in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, Dean Zhang Ruifa graduated from Foon Yew High School in 1965 and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Malay Studies from Ngee Ann College, Singapore in 1969.
 
Awarded the Lee Foundation Scholarship of Singapore in 1971, he pursued postgraduate linguistics studies at Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta and was conferred a Drs. degree in 1974. He has served in the education sector continuously since 1975, previously holding concurrent roles as Head of the Vocational Department and Head of the Malay Studies Department at Foon Yew High School, Johor Bahru.
In 1990, he was appointed the Founding Dean of Southern College, Malaysia’s first private tertiary institution established by the local Chinese community. After stepping down from the deanship in 2003, he was appointed Executive Advisor to the college’s Board of Directors.
 
Upgraded to Southern University College in 2012, it remains the first non-profit private higher education institution founded by Malaysia’s Chinese community, fulfilling the nearly 200-year aspiration of the ethnic Chinese community to build and sustain schools through shared hardships. Dean Zhang later served as Board Chairman of Southern University College. During his tenure, he secured official approval from the Ministry of Higher Education to launch a Doctoral Programme in Chinese Language at a Chinese community-run private university — a milestone of profound significance. He also spearheaded a partnership between Southern University College and Huaqiao University of China to co-host rotating editions of the International Symposium on Zheng He’s Voyages and the Maritime Silk Road.
Currently serving as Institutional Advisor of Southern University College, Dean Zhang has held numerous pivotal education portfolios throughout his career. He worked as a consultant for Malay Language teacher training under Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, and served as Chief Marker for the Senior Secondary Malay Language paper of the national Unified Examination for Chinese Independent Schools.
Beyond teaching, he actively champions cultural and educational initiatives for Malaysia’s multiracial society. In 2000, His Royal Highness the Sultan of Johor bestowed upon him the P.I.S Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Education. He consistently encourages current students and alumni of the Malay Studies Department to collaborate closely with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Malaysia’s National Language Institute) to facilitate cross-cultural communication. His translations of landmark literary masterpieces from both Chinese and Malay traditions earned him the 2015 Outstanding Chinese Contribution to Malay Language and Literature Award from the Department of National Heritage Malaysia.
In recognition of his decades-long dedication to professional training for Malay language educators and relentless efforts to advance Malaysia’s private higher education sector, the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia honoured him with the Sim Mow Yu Teacher Award in 2022. Earlier in his career, Dean Zhang published multiple Malay-Chinese dictionaries, alongside standard templates for official correspondence drafted by executive secretaries of Chinese community organisations.

Dr. Tan Ta Sen
«CHENG HO AND ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
«CHENG HO PENYEBAR ISLAM DARI CHINA KE NUSANTARA)
代表作
《郑和与东南亚伊斯兰》
《郑和与海上丝绸之路
《郑和与马六甲》
马六甲州最高荣誉勋章 「马六甲光荣之星」
印尼婆罗浮屠国际写作文化节终身成就奖

Dr. Tan Tat Seng

Founding Dean / Lifetime Honorary Dean of the IZHRA

Singaporean Historian, Linguist & Cultural Relics Collector
Malaysian Expert on Historical Building Heritage Conservation
Curator of Malacca Zheng He Cultural Museum
Lifetime Honorary President of the International Zheng He Society (Singapore)

Born in Singapore in 1936, Dr. Tan Tat Seng descended from a tea merchant family originating from Anxi, Fujian. In 1956, he enrolled in the Department of History and Geography at Nanyang University as a member of the university’s third intake, majoring in Geography. During his undergraduate years, he studied under two eminent scholars: Professor Hsu Yun Tsiao, a leading authority on Nanyang history and geography, and Professor Zheng Ziyue, a distinguished geographer specialising in South China Sea surveys — sparking his lifelong passion for historical geography.
 
In 1959, Dr. Tan and Liao Yufang were awarded the Sukarno Presidential Scholarship by the Indonesian government to pursue studies in Indonesian literature, history and culture at Universitas Indonesia. In 1968, he returned to his alma mater Nanyang University to take up the post of Director of Southeast Asian Studies. Throughout his teaching career, he authored numerous academic papers and monographs on Malay linguistics, alongside in-depth research on Indonesian Chinese literature and Indonesian politics.
 
Starting from the 1990s, Dr. Tan dedicated himself to the restoration of ancient architecture across Malacca. By 2010, Zheng He-themed cultural tourism in Malacca had flourished; driven by Dr. Tan’s advocacy, substantial capital flowed into Malacca Historic Town, enabling the restoration of countless Peranakan shophouses and heritage terraced buildings.

Recognising the cultural allure of Zheng He heritage, the State Chief Minister of Malacca coordinated a joint event between the state heritage bureau, the International Zheng He Society and the Zheng He Cultural Museum: the International Zheng He Forum themed Zheng He and the Afro-Asian World.

The forum achieved unprecedented success, drawing more than 300 delegates from over a dozen nations. This landmark Zheng He conference continues to exert enduring academic influence to this day.

Group of Zheng HE

Malaysia

International Zheng He Research Academy
International Zheng He Development S.B.
International Zheng He · Maritime Silk Road Cultural Centre
Zheng He Cultural and Art Exchange Committee
Malacca Zheng He Library

China

International Zheng He Research Academy (GuangDong Branch)
Maritime Silk Road Cultural Industry Development (Guangzhou) Co., Limited
Guangdong Zheng He Maritime Silk Road Cultural Communication Co., Limited
Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Workshop International Exchange Centre

Singapore

International Zhen He Trading Pte Ltd
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