In 1896, as the Qing Dynasty crumpled in China amid popular uprisings and suppression by Western powers, two young brothers 黄卓丙 (left) and 黄卓水 (right) took a chance and left to seek a brighter future in Singapore.

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After surviving a perilous one-month journey by boat, they arrived in the booming British colony. There, they set up an overseas branch of the family's business, which already had by then a storied history.

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Our family's ancestors had learnt the skills around 1840 from a master craftsman

named Beh Kwee Kee (马开基) in Tong'an​, Nan’an county (同安, 南安县), Quanzhou of southern Fujian Province. Out of courtesy, our ancestors felt it was not appropriate to compete with our master’s descendants. In 1891, they migrated to Kinmen Island, just off the coast of Xiamen and today a part of modern-day Taiwan.

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There, they established Say Tian Kok (西天国). Translated as "Kingdom of Western Heaven", a reference to the abode of the Buddha, it was the parent of the overseas branch set up in Singapore. The shop was then only in its 2nd generation, run by 黄展成 (1843 - 1904), who was in the midst of passing down the skills to his 3 sons, 2 of whom would migrate to Singapore in 1896.

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In Singapore, 黄卓丙 ran Say Tian Kok after it was established while 黄卓水 started a second business making bowls at China Street. However, after this business failed, he left to seek his fortunes in Siam, where he started a Chinese puppetry troupe, using his skills to carve wooden puppets.

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Back in Singapore, 黄卓丙 died unexpectedly young in 1907. He was married but childless. When his widow remarried, 黄卓水 was asked to take over the business. He returned from Siam to do so with his Thai wife and ran Say Tian Kok for the next 40 years.

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In 1947, just as peace returned after WWII, 黄卓水 passed away. He had not designated a successor. Two of his sons, the elder Ng Tian Sang (黄天送) and the younger Ng Yew Kian (黄猶建) were skilled craftsmen and willing to take over. To decide, a religious ritual was conducted at the family altar, presided over by a Taoist priest. Ng Tian Sang was chosen, and took over the shop. He was 24.

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7 years later, in 1954, he gave up the shop to his brother and set up his own down the street. This shop was named Say Tian Hng (西天园). Translated as "Garden of Western Heaven", the name was given by Ng Tian Sang's mother-in-law, whose daughter Tan Chwee Lian (陈水莲) had married into the shop in 1949 at the age of 18. ​​

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Tan was the only female craftsman in the shop, learning the secret skills of this male-dominated trade by observing her husband, and experimenting when her husband left for the toilet or coffee breaks. Within a year, the young mother, barely 19, was able to work independently, specialising in the early Qing Dynasty technique of thread sculpture (漆线), whereby holy joss stick ash is turned into a dough thread, then twirled and coiled to create the intricate motifs on the robes and armour of the deities. Ng Tian Sang and Tan Chwee Lian ran the business while raising 7 children, born within the span of 10 years.

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Meanwhile, China was slowly engulfed in a fresh wave of turmoil. In the 1960s and 70s, the Cultural Revolution erupted across China, dealing a devastating blow to religious worship and craftsmen involved in statue-making. As many shops closed, our parent shop survived as Kinmen Island had been subsumed into modern-day Taiwan by the retreating Republican government, beyond the reach of the Communist revolutionaries. The shop hung on until the 2010s, when it finally closed due to a lack of successors.​ In Singapore, Say Tian Kok faced a lack of successors as well, and ​​closed in the 1990s.

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Say Tian Hng barely made it across to the its 5th generation with eldest son, 28-year-old Ng Yeow Hua (黄耀华) stepping up in 1980, the year his first child was born.

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That first child, Ng Tze Yong (黄智勇), started apprenticing in 2021, taking Say Tian Hng into its 6th generation.

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Notes: 黄卓丙 was also known as 黄丙辰 and Ng Bia Sin. 黄卓水 was also known as 黄壬水 and Ng Lim Chwee.