Singaporean Mandarin Database
This database contains a collection of Mandarin terms which have cultural, historical or sentimental value unique to Singapore. These terms may be used by Singaporeans in the past or at present. Some of the terms are read in print while others are used in our everyday conversations.
Bukit Brown (colloquially known as kopi sua)
Bukit Brown (colloquially known as kopi sua)
释义
名词
- 武吉布朗（Bukit Brown）一带几座旧坟场的统称，位于新加坡中部的山丘地段。
- 快乐山坟场（Mount Pleasant Cemetery）的俗称，位于现今快乐山路（Mount Pleasant Road）和泛岛快速公路（Pan-Island Expressway）支路一带。
DEFINITION
Noun
- The collective name of several old cemeteries at Bukit Brown, located in the hilly area of central Singapore.
- The colloquial name of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, that is located in the area around Mount Pleasant Road and the Pan-Island Expressway.
由来
- 咖啡山实际上仅为武吉布朗的一部分，其他的坟山包括武吉布朗公坟、老山坟场及王氏家族公坟（俗称 “姓王山”）等坟场，总面积约 160 公顷，有 20 万座坟墓，包括许多本地华社先贤的坟墓。武吉布朗曾是中国境外最大的华人墓区。后来武吉布朗一带的坟场都统称为咖啡山。
- 武吉布朗以一名英国船主亨利·布朗（Henry Brown）命名。他在 1840 年来到新加坡后买下汤申路（Thomson Road）一带的一大片土地，并命名为快乐山。布朗逝世后，这片土地辗转卖给三位福建籍的王姓华社先贤——王有海、王九河与王沧周，并开辟为坟地。
- 有关咖啡山的俗称有两种说法。第一是因为布朗曾尝试在这片土地种植咖啡等植物，因此称为咖啡山。第二则是因为布朗居住的地段称为布朗山（Brown’s Hill），而由于华人方言里没有 “brown” 对应的音译词语，因此便以咖啡色（“brown” 在英文里也指褐色）作为代指。
ETYMOLOGY
- Kopi sua technically only refers to one part of Bukit Brown. Other graves in the area include the Bukit Brown Public Cemetery, the Old Cemetery, and Ong Family Complex (colloquially known as she Ong Cemetery). In a total area of about 160 hectares, there were 200,000 graves, including that of many local Chinese forebears. Bukit Brown was once the largest ethnic Chinese cemetery outside China. Later, the cemeteries in the Bukit Brown area were collectively called kopi sua.
- Bukit Brown was named after Henry Brown, an English shipowner. After arriving in Singapore in 1840, he bought a large piece of land in the Thomson Road area and named it Mount Pleasant. After Brown’s death, this piece of land was sold to three Hokkien forebears surnamed Ong, namely Ong Ewe Hai, Ong Kew Ho, and Ong Chong Chew. The land was then cleared to be used as a cemetery.
- There are two beliefs regarding the colloquial name of Bukit Brown. The first belief is that it is called kopi sua (coffee hill) because Brown tried to grow coffee and other plants there. The second belief is that the location where Brown lived was called Brown’s Hill, but since there was no corresponding Chinese dialect transliteration of the term “brown”, the brown colour of coffee (or kopi) was used to reference the area instead.
例句
坐落在前警察学院地段的新组屋区，经环境影响研究后调整了原有的道路规划，避开毗邻的咖啡山坟场以及武吉布朗周边的绿地。（《联合早报》，24/11/2021）
SAMPLE SENTENCE
After the environmental impact study, the original plans for roads in the new housing estate located at the Old Police Academy area were adjusted to avoid the neigbouring Bukit Brown cemetery and the surrounding green areas. (Lianhe Zaobao, 24/11/2021)