“Each time I see this object, I think about my husband.”

“This ruler was passed to me from my mother-in-law in Meizhou city in Guangdong province, China. It has seen five generations—my mother-in-law, myself, my son, my grandson, and my great-grandson. It was brought over by my husband when he came over to Singapore when he was young. His mother, a Hakka descendent, had already passed away in China. I first saw this object when I was 18 years old. I think it is very hard to find this kind of object these days. So, I treasure it very much.

Each time I see this object, I think about my husband. Previously, I used it to measure cloth when I was sewing and tailoring clothes. The ruler used the old measurement system from China. Women in the past would spend most of their time sewing and doing household chores. My children have seen this object before and I intend to leave it to my daughter-in-law and grandchildren. It has a lot of history and should be preserved and kept.”