檳城霞陽植德堂楊公司
Sit Teik Tong Yeoh Kongsi in Penang
檳城霞陽植德堂楊公司
植德堂杨公司，全名霞阳植德堂杨公司，为元末入闽进士杨耕道第八子杨德卿（1312–1390）之后裔在海外建立的宗祠。杨德卿原名有庆，为一世祖，派出新垵霞阳社，承继三都原乡世系，分四房：大房一角、二房七角（桥头），三房一角、四房九角二社。
嘉庆年间（1796–1820），上瑶社杨文正、杨文贤、杨大埕等先渡海南，随后各乡社族人陆续抵达槟榔屿，遂在万卡兰（Pengkalan，即今巴都茂 Batu Maung）捐建“四知堂”，作为议事与救济贫病失业乡人的场所，并供奉原乡保护神使头公。其后援祭神盈余购置产业，迁至乔治市柴路头现址，仍悬“四知堂”匾，由霞阳社杨一潜、杨一田管理，并主持每年六月十八迎神福筹。二人去世后，事务由杨和尚、杨本得、杨开殿、杨章柳、杨甘露、杨清江等接续，最终形成（槟城）“霞阳社杨公司”，又称“应元宫杨公司”。
应元宫名称最早见于光绪十二年（1886）《创建平章公馆碑》，并见于宫内所存光绪庚子年应元宫碑。杨公司《1837–1905董事名表》记载：杨一潜为道光17年（1837）董事，亦参与巴都兰樟福建义冢（1841）、浮罗池滑义冢（1856）及广福宫（1862）事务，活跃三十余年。杨章柳、杨允两、杨甘露皆为咸丰六年（1856）应元宫董事。杨章柳更在光绪八年（1882/83）任水美宫董事，1881年为平章公馆七代表之一，并在1890年出任首届华民参事局八名闽籍委员之一，社会活动横跨19世纪中后期。1891年，杨章才以“四知堂杨公司”名义向华民护卫司正式报备，内外总理与家长共25人。《应元宫碑》明确列述应元宫与杨公司为霞阳杨氏祖祠与族产，强调使头公为杨氏专祀。其后重修亦刊行运作规条。光绪三十三年（1904）以“四知堂”名义制定观戏规例。1929年于石埕左侧建“霞阳植德堂杨公司议所。
民国初年设植德堂杨氏学校，后因殖民政府学校注册法令苛刻停办，但仍资助族人入读屿中英校，并以“霞阳社应元宫杨家使头公司”利润增购不动产。
今日槟城杨公司底楼悬《清白传家》匾，楼上仍挂嘉庆年间“四知堂”匾，寓意杨震“天知、地知、你知、我知”清廉遗训，成为杨氏后裔永世典范。
Sit Teik Tong Yeoh Kongsi in Penang
The story of the Har Yang Sit Teik Tong Yeoh Kongsi—begins with the descendants of Yeoh Teik Kheng (1312–1390), the eighth son of the late Yuan jinshi Yeoh Keng Toe. Generations after Yeoh Teik Kheng left his mark in Har Yang, Fujian, his descendants carried their lineage across the sea, eventually planting new roots in Penang.
During the Jiaqing reign in the late eighteenth century, Yeoh Boon Cheng, Yeoh Boon Hean, and 杨大埕of Seong Yao Seah were among the first to make the journey to Nanyang. More clansmen followed, and as their numbers grew, so did the need for a communal center. They pooled their resources to establish Soo Tee Tong at Pengkalan—today’s Batu Maung. It served not only as a meeting hall but also as a refuge for the poor, the sick, and the newly arrived. At its heart stood the image of Sye Thow Kong, the protective deity they had brought from their ancestral home.
As the community prospered, Soo Tee Tong moved to present site of Chulia Street Ghaut. The old plaque remained above the entrance, a reminder of their beginnings. Yeoh It Chiam and Yeoh It Chan managed the hall’s affairs, organized the annual deity procession, and oversaw the purchase of property in the name of Sye Thow Kong. After their passing, stewardship fell to Yeoh Hui Seoh, Yeoh Pun Tit, Yeoh Kai Tian, Yeoh Cheang, Yeoh Kam Kor, and Yeoh Cheng Kang. Under their hands, the institution gradually transformed into what became known as the Har Yang Yeoh Kongsi, or Eng Guan Keong Yeoh Kongsi.
By the late nineteenth century, Eng Guan Keong had become a recognized presence in Penang’s Chinese society. A stele from 1886 records its name, and the Directors List from 1837 to 1905 reveals the breadth of its influence. Yeoh It Chiam, for instance, served as director as early as 1837 and played key roles in the establishment of several Hokkien cemeteries and in the affairs of Kong Hock Keong. Yeoh Cheang Liew emerged as another prominent figure—active in temple leadership, a founding representative of Penang Chinese Town Hall in 1881, and later one of the Hokkien members of the first Chinese Advisory Board in 1890.
In 1891, Yeoh Cheang Chye formally registered Soo Tee Tong Yeoh Kongsi with the Chinese Protectorate, marking its official recognition. Around the same time, the Eng Guan Keong Stele asserted clearly that the hall and its properties belonged to the Har Yang Yeoh lineage, and that Sye Thow Kong was their ancestral deity. Regulations were printed, festivals were standardized, and in 1904, rules for opera performances during deity celebrations were issued under the Soo Tee Tong name. A new council hall was added in 1929.
Education also became part of the company’s mission. In the early Republic era, it operated the Sit Teik Tong Clan School, and even after the school closed due to new regulations under the stringent Schools Registration Ordinance put up by the colonial government, the company continued sponsoring clan children to attend the Penang Anglo Chinese Schools. Profits from the Har Yang Seah Eng Guan Keong and Yeoh Keh Sye Thow Kongsi were reinvested into real estate, strengthening the clan’s communal foundation.
Today, the hall still carries the symbols of its past: the Qingbai Chuanjia plaque on the ground floor, and the old Jiaqing era Soo Tee Tong plaque above—invoking the integrity of Yeoh Ching, from Han dynasty, whose words “Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, I know” became a moral compass for generations of Yeoh descendants.
简载自/Adapted from
陈剑虹、黄木锦著《槟城福建公司：71-75页》 The Story of Hokkien Kongsi, Penang, p.71-75, 2014
仰索
2026.03.07