Ayden Sng: Embracing Chinese culture
The TV actor personifies the spirit of Chinese New Year
YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED to find a Singapore celebrity more serious about celebrating Chinese New Year than actor Ayden Sng. When he was young, the self-professed Sinophile used to “carefully curate” the festival goodies in his home.
“On the first day of the New Year, my granny and I would wake up really early and go around the house to check that every snack box is filled and every decoration is in place. We made sure that each snack station had something different, something surprising, so as to encourage the guests to go around the house and check out all the snack stations… I loved doing it because it felt like that perfect way to start the year, because you’re not focusing on yourself but on your guests coming to your house.”
Later, as a young man studying international comparative studies at Duke University in the United States, Sng was determined to introduce Singapore-style Chinese New Year celebrations to his non-Singaporean friends too.
“We have specific local traditions, such as visiting a person’s house with two oranges and tossing yusheng. So every winter break, when I returned to Singapore, I would make the special effort of taking back to the US two or three sets of it. Yusheng is so unique to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia that even my friends from mainland China had not experienced it. So I’d teach them how to toss and explain what each ingredient stands for.”
But it’s not just the Chinese New Year that inspires Sng to be a serious custodian of Chinese culture. As a student of Raffles Institution, he joined the Chinese orchestra so that he could learn the erhu. He mastered the genre and instrument to the point that he played the erhu competitively and even led the orchestra in concerts.
“Joining the Chinese orchestra meant you had access to teachers who are mostly from China. They were professionally trained in Chinese conservatories and came from music families. So from the young age of 13, I was getting a lot of exposure to people who were knowledgeable about Chinese culture.
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“What I found most rewarding about Chinese orchestral music was that every song is derived from a story in literature or history; it could pertain to a political uprising, a marital divorce, a folk myth, the Communist revolution and so on. This is different from Western classical music where, say, a concerto or an etude can be a standalone composition. As a Chinese musician, you cannot just be virtuosic or technical – your musicality must be rooted in a study of Chinese culture and history so you can interpret the music with the right emotions.”
Inching up to stardom
Relative to his peers, Sng’s unusually masterful grasp of Mandarin and Chinese culture have certainly helped fast-track his TV career on Channel 8 and meWatch dramas. Since debuting in 2019, his star has risen steadily, helping him clinch lead roles in series such as Loving You (2020), Truths About Us (2021) and The Unbreakable Bond (2022); he played a variety of roles from the young lover of an older woman to an illegitimate heir of a medical empire. And while critics were divided on his performances, all agree on his perfect command of Mandarin.
But Sng is not content with his successes. If he had a wish for Chinese New Year, it is that he’s able to continue working on his acting skills until he masters his craft. He says: “I’m not satisfied with my acting and I don’t think I ever will. I left a corporate career in a digital consultimg firm to become an actor and it has been a steep learning curve. What I’ve learnt is that acting is a craft – not a science where you get to your destination step by step. With every project that I do, I realise that there are things I don’t know about myself and can improve on. For these reasons and more, I think I’ll never get bored of acting.”
Sng has engaged an acting coach to help prepare for his next role, the details of which he cannot disclose. “But I’m marking this Chinese New Year with the resolution to spend my time and energy on becoming a better actor.”
Natural fashionisto
If Sng doesn’t see himself as a natural born thespian, he certainly seems at home with fashion. The recently appointed brand ambassador of Bulgari displays an impressive understanding of fashion, which – like his mastery of Mandarin – trounces that of his peers.
He says: “I enjoy fashion in much the same manner as I enjoy Chinese culture. A lot of fashion on the runway today evolved from a long history of design and aesthetics. The big houses essentially have archives from which they draw inspiration. So with every collection, they’re often referencing something from the past. Hence, I don’t just watch the runway shows. I read the reviews and commentaries to figure out where the references come from.”
He turns thoughtful about the clothes the stylist selected for this shoot. He says: “Today, I was dressed in Louis Vuitton and Celine. For Louis Vuitton, you can still see traces of Virgil Abloh’s aesthetics, as the latest collection continues to honour his legacy and unique vision. And with Celine, the question for Hedi Slimane has been, how do you still represent the latest underground culture and translate that into modern tailoring?”
This Chinese New Year celebrations will be special because it will be a reunion for Sng, his parents and four brothers, many of whom are working abroad. “Chinese New Year has always been about catching up with my friends and family. But as most of my brothers are not in Singapore most of the time, the Chinese New Year reunion dinner is truly a reunion for us.”
What snack stations might he have in his own apartment, now that he’s moved out of the family home? “The thing is, I have a clean diet and there are a lot of things I don’t eat. But I’m making sure that my place is fully stocked with the best kind of Chinese New Year goodies, so that when people come to my place, my home is Chinese New Year-ready. After all, what’s unique about Chinese New Year is the bai nian culture of exchanging luck and prosperity with others – it’s never just about you and your happiness; it’s about the people around you and their happiness too.”
Credits Fashion direction: CK Photography: Min Hua, Telescope Studios Photography assistant: Jeremy Kieran, Telescope Studios Grooming: Ying Cui, using Cle De Peau Beauty Hair: Christvian Wu Location: Here Kitty Kitty
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