In February 1984, Singaporean Chinese poet Lin Ye 林也read in the news that Singapore’s students enrolling for Chinese-stream primary-one were reduced to 23, and that the Ministry of Education had implemented a new language-education policy, which was that all schools were required to gradually reform and by 1987 to begin to use English as a first language. However, students were still encouraged to choose their mother tongue as their second-language subject in order to inherit cultural tradition. As a second language, the Chinese subject was granted 3,000 characters. After reading this report, Lin Ye wrote a poem entitled “Time to Sow” 播种的时候, which emphasised the importance of planting cultural seeds. The 3,000 characters taught as Chinese fell from first language to second language were emphasised. Described as 3,000 seeds, each Chinese character is a seed: Really not much but never ever lose one see three thousand seeds on the palm they take twelve to thirteen years to mature and become windbreak (The roots, firmly embracing the land enjoy the richness of the mother’s breasts) No need to look afar there are twenty-three students in front of us it does not even constitute 1% marginalised by the 99% bean sprouts E.T. naturally ranks second Is it the severe cold northwest wind that slows down the pace of the spring? Is there a paucity of fertile farmlands elites and sharp tools? 230(Come 1987 we merely gain three years of age) Let us quickly sow among the bean sprouts let us sow the seeds and nurture them wholeheartedly with all our sweat and might even if we only have nights to spare let us work hard under the lights It is the perfect time for sowing so let’s sow the seeds 1 The contemporary writers and scholars of China inherited the spirit of worrying about the country from Qu Yuan屈原, a famous poet from the state of Chu楚during the Warring States period, and when the spirit spread to Singapore’s Chinese literature, it became the “obsession with China” 中国情意结. In other words, whether they are China’s writers or Singaporean Chinese writers, their cultural heritage is the same. This unique literary tradition became established from the beginning of the 20th century to post-independence Singapore, and readers were able to feel its presence in Singapore’s Chinese scar poems and prose pieces.