Bright Celestial: Progress in the Political Thought of Tan Teck Soon

Tan Teck Soon was an influential Chinese scholar who contributed to the reformist impulse within the Chinese community in Singapore around the turn of the 20th century. This article calls attention to the importance of Tan's work, which has been comparatively neglected by historians. It examines the nature of Tan's political thought and provides a detailed analysis of two significant articles which were markers of his political development. The article emphasizes the salience of concepts of progress in Tan's thinking, and charts the radicalization of his political ideas during the first decade of the 20th century.