[Book Review] Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper (Our Amazing Pioneers series)

This week, I checked off 'Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper' from my bucket list of Singaporean children's non-fiction books to read. 

Seah Eu Chin: The King of Gambier and Pepper (Our Amazing Pioneers Series)

2023

Published by: WS Education

Written by: Shawn Seah, Illustrated by: Patrick Yee

This is one of the ten books featured in the 'Our Amazing Pioneers' series, written by Shawn Seah and illustrated by Patrick Yee. Each of the books narrates the story of one of Singapore's prominent ancestral figures in a hope to inspire future generations to make significant contributions to the betterment of Singapore.

Before embarking on the read, I noticed the book cover mentioned that readers could learn from the good values embodied by protagonists of these stories. I had delved into the book expecting a vague historical recount of  the challenges that Seah Eu Chin overcame to become a merchant. Was this going to be merely another "childsplained" book preaching the importance of perseverance without providing actionable insights on how that child could persistently work towards their goals? 

(Spoiler Alert: My assumptions proved to be completely wrong)

"[...] However, the young towkay's friend, Thomas Church, persuaded him to keep trying. After all, the towkay had already overcome many obstacles in his life."

I found it admirable that Seah Eu Chin drew his strength from memories of his arduous past. He strongly believed that if he was capable of trudging through difficulties in the past, he could the same in his present life. While an intuitive step to achieving a goal would be to persevere, it is easier said than done. It would require immense mental strength, and the writer specifically highlights how Seah Eu Chin had cultivated that strength to overcome constant challenges.

"He had tried growing tea, nutmeg, gambier and pepper in Singapore. But these crops had failed despite many attempts." 

Seah Eu Chin experimented growing different types of cash crops to understand which of those plants would be more profitable. He had then gained the knowledge that growing gambier and pepper plants together would be a feasible and profitable option, as exemplified by many successful gambier and pepper planters in Southeast Asia. After reaching an understanding that growing nutmeg and tea might be riskier, he did not diversify his efforts and only focused on harvesting gambier and pepper. 

By underlining these actions, the writer suggests that we cannot just hope for success to happen if we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Persevering without a clear purpose to our actions would be redundant; nothing but an individual constantly hitting his head against a dead end wall instead of trying other paths to exit the maze.  

"I'm going to try my best and not give up, the young towkay repeated to himself. Slowly he became successful."

This quote sheds light on the fact that the fruits of one's hard work may not be reaped quickly and that it takes time. It reminds readers that they should not immediately expect success and should wait for their efforts to come into fruition. 

I was amazed at the writer's ability to provide young readers with a clear direction on steps that they could take towards achieving success. This book does not only show the importance of perseverance, but also weaves in other habits that an individual should pick up in order to be accomplished in life, such as having an undying thirst for knowledge and being benevolent. 

I was halfway through the book and as far as I had understood, Seah Eu Chin was one of the many successful merchants that cracked the code to profiting off growing cash crops such as gambier and pepper. But why would he be distinctly celebrated and remembered for the past few generations and more to come? What made him so special? 

This book takes us through all of Seah Eu Chin's invaluable contributions to Singapore, from founding the Ngee Ann Kongsi to maintaining Singapore's law and order as a Justice of the Peace. In honor of these contributions, Eu Chin street and Seah street were named after him.  

I could go on and never stop yapping about all the positive features of this book (yes, there's more) but it won't be fun if I continuing talking to myself... To all my readers, please go and read this book so that we can review its plus points together!

This book is not just an ordinary historical recount, it is an ambitious creation to educate young readers on practical steps to take towards emerging victorious in life. A truly inspiring read that I would strongly recommend.