Tan Che Sang

Tan Sang (; 1763 — 2 April 1835), better known as Tan Che Sang , was a pioneering merchant in Singapore.

Early life It's generally believed that Tan was born in the Minnan region of Fujian in 1763 to a Hoklo family. Historian Hsu Yun Tsiao placed his hometown as most likely Zhangzhou or Quanzhou. Earlier accounts identified him as Cantonese and his birthplace as Guangzhou, It's also established that Tan was a Southern Min speaker and involved in the Hokkien community,

Career Tan, aged 15, left Fujian in 1778 and went to Riau. He then moved to Penang, where he stayed for 10 years, after which he left for Malacca,

Personal life and death Tan was reputed to have been a miser and a gambler. He was alleged to have unsuccessfully attempted to curb his gambling addiction by cutting off the first joint of one of his little fingers. He built a house in Kampong Glam, which he sold to a Mr. Ker. The house was later sold to Christian Baumgarten.

Tan died on 2 April 1835. His funeral, which was attended by somewhere around 10,000 to 15,000 people, was held on 13 April. Following his death, several of his descendants were embroiled in major lawsuits over his legacy. He was the first Chinese person mentioned in Charles Burton Buckley's An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore.