It was purchased along with 18 Malay Street nearby, after the operations of the Southeast Asia Tongmenghui was moved from Singapore to Penang in 1909, the prior being an office and the latter for Kwong Wah Daily.

[11] The Penang Philomathic Union decided (upon large donations from the members of the society), to purchase the mansion at 65 Macalister Road at a hefty sum of 20-thousand Straits dollars in June 1918.

Rising politicization of Chinese schools (including Chung Ling) after the end of the First World War culminated fears from the governments of nationalistic sentiments within the colonies.

By 1919, in response to the May Fourth Movement in China, students from Chinese schools held anti-Japanese demonstrations and boycotts of Japanese goods throughout Malaya.

In January 1922, to comply with the 1920 Education Ordinance, the Board of Governors abolished the post of headmaster and instead opted for a provost (Chinese: 教務長) to lead the school's affairs.

[13] On 11 November 1922, a meeting was set up by Khaw Seng Lee (by then the chairman of the Board of Governors), Lim Fuquan and Wang Wenqu (educator and revolutionary), and 9 other prominent Chinese figures to discuss the issue.

[11] Calls for donations for the construction began and shortly after, the acquisition of a plot of land (designated as Lot 133) 11 acres (4.5 hectares) in size near Kampung Ayer Itam was made.

The campus also featured modern offices for the teachers and staffs, dormitories, washrooms, dedicated courts for badminton and basketball, as well as a 400 metres (1,300 feet) long athletic track, the first in Malaya.

The newly built campus was the site for the opening ceremony and later track-and-field events for the Third Malayan Chinese Athletic Meet (第三届馬來亞華僑運動大會), between 2 and 5 August 1935 by the Penang Philomathic Union.

For four months, starting from 9 September 1940, the school was forced to hold classes at a temporary campus at 41 Northam Road, before returning to Ayer Itam.

Classes were again shifted back to 41 Northam Road in early–1941 under orders by the British government to convert the Ayer Itam campus into a makeshift military hospital.

According to Lim's personal memoirs, the dismissal was political – his origins at Xiamen led the pro-Nationalist Board of Governors to assume he was a communist sympathizer.

[26] His daughter Lin Huaming later wrote otherwise, stating Lim's refusal to expel 10 students suspected to be communists, led to his forceful removal.

David Chen, whose name was listed among the blacklists for wanted anti-Japanese intellects, found shelter in the jungles of the Cameron Highlands, posing himself as a vegetable farmer.

Chung Ling was one of the main targets, after its high-profile local anti-Japanese demonstrations and donation efforts involved by both students and teachers alike.

[38][39][40] During the late-night of 21 October 1951, Chan Chong Yuk was shot dead on his trishaw by unknown snipers while returning to his apartment after a teachers' banquet.

[53] A charcoal sketch of David Chen's upper torso, drawn by K.Sia, a notable Malayan artist, and art teacher of the school, was displayed at the hall.

[60] On 6 February 1953, Cheah Cheng Teik, a 19-year-old student of the school, and a member of a local Communist organisation, was shot and killed by an unknown man.

The move by Chung Ling High School, under the decision of the administrators led by Wang Yoong Nien, sparked heavy disagreements by students and teachers alike, and provoked demonstrations which ended up in police detentions and violent clashes throughout 1956 and 1957.

[citation needed] The rumours were later proven to be true, when on 3 July 1955, the board of directors formally accepted the federal government's offer to receive financial backing.

[64] On 14 July 1955, inspired by the incidents in Chung Ling, 800 students of the Han Chiang High School, dissatisfied with their headmaster's lack of response towards a donation program to fund the construction and formation of the Nanyang University at Singapore, launched a boycott on their classes.

The government aimed at using federal aid as a measure to lure the interests of the Chinese schools to integrate themselves into the newly implemented policies by the Razak Report.

The move was responded by a fierce campaign by the Dong Zong, under the leadership of Lim Lean Teng, to promote Chinese and Indian parents to register their children in vernacular schools.

A modern living skills workshop complex, completed at a cost of 200,000 ringgit, was opened by Mr Loh Boon Siew on 22 June 1968.

Other works include the completion of an amphitheatre, a guard house, covered walkways, landscaping projects, upgrade of old classrooms and air-conditioning systems of the library.

A memorial service was held for Principal David Chen on 4 February 2002, fifty years after his assassination, to show appreciation of his efforts to improve Chinese education and the school.

The group was led by Datuk Oo Jooi Tee, the Chairman of the Memorial Service Committee, to pay respects to Principal Chen at his resting place at Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah (Northam Road), Penang.

Among the dead were coach and school teacher Chin Aik Siang and students Jason Ch'ng, Brendon Yeoh, Goh Yi Zhang, Wang Yong Xiang and Chiah Zi Jun.

[75] Huai Ze Hall (怀泽堂) was named in memory of Chung Ling students and teachers who died for the school in the Second World War.

Interregnum (Japanese occupation of Malaya, December 1941 to September 1945) Since 1969, alumni associations of Chung Ling held annual carnivals with the aim of celebrating the institution's history.