Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 27, No.2, September 1989

Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan

Charles A. COPPEL*

Studies on the role of the overseas Chinese sue the talent for writing which was already in the economies of are rare evident in his schoolwork. A short ex­ enough, despite their generally acknowledged perience as a trader in Ngadiredjo soon con­ importance. This has been particularly true vinced him, however, that he should seek his of , and consequently it is a matter livelihood as a writer. of some interest to discover an unpublished His career in journalism seems to have history of Kian Gwan ( Con­ begun in the 1920's when he joined the staff of cern), the biggest and longest-lasting Chinese the peranakan Chinese daily, Warna business of all in Indonesia. Further interest Warla (although there is some suggestion that is aroused by the fact that the manuscript was he also contributed to the daily, Per­ written by the late , the well­ niagaan, at this time). In the early 1930's, he known Semarang journalist and historian. moved from to edit the Semarang This combination gives us promise of insights daily, (and its sister monthly into the firm itself, the Oei family which Djawa Tengah Review). In later years he established it and built it up, and the history of was also a regular contributor to the weekly the Chinese of Semarang where its original edition of the Jakarta newspaper, .2) office was founded. His best-known publication, Riwajat Semarang (Dari Djamannja Sam Poo Sampe Terhapoesnja Kongkoan), was published by Ho I The Author!) Kim Yoe of Semarang in 1933. Based on a Liem Thian Joe was born in Parakan, in Cen­ series of articles which he had written for the tral Java, in 1895 or 1897. His earliest educa­ Djawa Tengah Review from March 1931 to Ju­ tion was at Malay and Javanese schools, but ly 1933, this book of some 300 pages is not so he soon moved to a Chinese school much a history of Semarang (as its main title which he attended for ten years. Mter this would suggest) as of its Chinese inhabitants, he attended the Tiong Hoa Hak Tong (the from their first arrival in about 1416 to the Chinese-language school established by the abolition of the Council of Chinese Officers Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan) at Ngadiredjo. (Kongkoan) in 1931. For all its Chinese-cen­ After leaving school, he did not at once pur- trism, the book remains an invaluable source for our understanding of the history of Central * Department of History, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia Java and Semarang in particular. Liem was 1) Biographical data relating to Liem Thian Joe are fortunate in being able to use records in taken from Tan Hong Boen [1935: 138], Suryadinata [1972], and private communication 2) On the peranakan Chinese press of this period, see from Liem Ek Hian. Suryadinata [1971].

177 Chinese which had been stored over a very Another book, Pusaka Tionghoa, was pub­ long period in the office of the Kongkoan, but lished in Semarang in about 1952. which had fallen into very bad condition Liem's interests, demonstrated in his through lack of proper care and the ravages of publications, were parochial in the sense that time and were soon, with the abolition of the his attention was firmly rivetted on the history Kongkoan, to vanish completely. Gust where of his own group, the Indonesian Chinese, and they disappeared to is a mystery which con­ in particular those who lived in his own region ceivably may be related to the equally of north-. His regionalism may mysterious three wagonloads of Chinese readily be understood since he never had the documents which, Professor Slamet Muljana opportunity to travel far from his native prov­ tells us, were seized in a police raid in 1928 by ince of Central Java. His Chinese-centrism the Dutch Resident Poortman from the was typical of Indonesian Chinese intellec­ Chinese shrine of Sam Po Kong on the out­ tuals of his age. His formative years were skirts of Semarang[ Muljana 1968: 12; Parlin­ those of the flowering of overseas Chinese na­ dungan 1964]. If Poortman did indeed gain tionalism in the Indies and the Chinese­ possession of a large quantity of old schooling which he received was documents in Semarang at about that time itself a product of the heightened con­ which were to form the source for a resume in sciousness of Chineseness amongst the Dutch which later appeared in Indonesian peranakan Chinese population which underlay translation in Parlindungan's Tuanku Rao and the nationalist movement.3) were thence taken up by Slamet Muljana, it His writing, particularly in Riwajat would seem more likely that they were ac­ Semarang (but to a much lesser extent in the quired a few years later from the office of the present unpublished manuscript), is typical of Kongkoan when that body was dissolved. the peranakan Chinese dialect of Malay (or We know, from Liem Thian Joe, that a large bahasa Melaju Tionghoa), which has by now quantity of old Chinese books was held there all but died out in speech and no longer ap­ and that it disappeared at that time [Liem pears in print.4) His style is anecdotal and per­ 1933: Preface]. On the other hand, there sonalrather than analytical and, although seems no good reason to believe that ancient there are occasional references to sources books had been kept at the Sam Po shrine, such as books or newspaper articles, these are which lacked the facilities for storing such a never encumbered by such details as date and large quantity of perishable material.) place of publication or even the number of the Liem was also responsible for writing page to which reference is made. several other published books. In 1937 his His absorption in the history of the Chinese book commemorating the thirtieth anniver­ 3) On the rise of overseas Chinese nationalism in In­ sary of the foundation of the Semarang donesia, see Williams [1960]. Chinese Chamber of Commerce (Boekoe Per­ 4) For a discussion of this dialect, see Nio Joe Lan [1962: Chapter 2], and Tio Le Soei [1959: Chapter ingetan, 1907-1937, Tiong Hwa Siang Hwee, 13]. On the language of daily use among the Indone­ Semarang) was published anonymously. sian Chinese in 1920, see Coppel [1973].

178 C.A. COPPEL: Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan of Semarang was fully appreciated by the essays by his father, and a collection of author of the major sociological study of that documents dating from the late nineteenth community, Donald Willmott, who dedicated and early twentieth century which are of par­ his book, The Chinese 0/ Semarang, "To Liem ticular interest to a student of the history of Thian Joe, the Semarang historian, journalist the Chinese in Java. The latter include ex­ and friend who has given this study its founda­ amples of the travel passes which were re­ tions in the past"[Willmott 1960]. Liem died quired under the passenstelsel, burial permits, in Semarang in 1963. etc. It is not clear why the manuscript was never published. Liem Thian Joe did receive a II The Origin of the Manuscript honorarium from the company of Rp. 10,000 The manuscript, which has no title or in March 1960 and an intimation from Tan heading, is typewritten on foolscap paper, run­ Tek Peng, the then manager of the firm, that ning to some 31 pages (including two pages of the Oei family might pay him an additional notes). It bears a number of signs of being a premium if they were happy with the draft, rather than a final version, but the only history. But to the day of his death, Liem obviously incomplete section is the absence of heard nothing further from the Oei family. It the Chinese text of a poem written by Oei Tjie may be that the troubles which led to the na­ Sien, the founder of the firm, of which an In­ tionalization of the Indonesian sector of the donesian translation by Liem is incorporated giant enterprise in 1961 made it seem inap­ in the text. The manuscript is dated propriate to publish an Indonesian-language Semarang, 1959. Occasionally words, centenary history, since by the time the firm's phrases or even whole sentences are inserted centenary arrived the company was already in the author's handwriting, as are also occa­ nationalized. On the other hand, no such con­ sional words in Chinese characters. siderations prevented the publication of a The manuscript was acquired by the Dutch-language history of the firm by one of Monash University Library in early 1972 from its directors, Tjoa Soe Tjong, in the centenary Liem Ek Hian, a son of the author who still year [Tjoa Soe Tjong 1963]. lives in Semarang. According to Liem Ek Hian, his father was commissioned by the III The Manuscript as Economic company to write the history in anticipation of History the centenary of the firm (which was to occur in 1963) and spent three years finding the data It must be admitted that the economic for it in the company archives and the cor­ historian who looks to this unpublished respondence of the Oei family. The Monash history for an explanation of the success of University Library also acquired from Liem Kian Gwan and the entrepreneurial talents of Ek Hian at the same time a copy of the Oei those members of the Oei family who guided family genealogy, eleven short Chinese­ its fortunes will be disappointed. The late language writings, four short unpublished Liem Thian Joe was more chronicler than

179 historian. The date when each new company was a sharp fall in sugar prices, as a result of or branch in the group was established within which many speculators went bankrupt. As Indonesia or abroad is carefully noted in the the prices fell and fell, Kian Gwan adopted a narrative. So, too, are changes in location of "wait and see" policy. According to Liem it the head office or main warehouse or in the did not, however, follow the traditional senior management. The appointment of out­ Chinese commercial proverb: Djiok khi, boo siders (Le., those who were not members of djiok look (buy in when prices rise, but not the Oei family) and, in particular, those with when they fall). Once the prices had reached specialist technical skills to high office in the a very low level, Kian Gwan suddenly cor­ group, is noted but its significance is passed nered a very large amount of the sugar from over. Similarly, we are able to follow the the brokers. Then, after a few months, as growth and expansion of the enterprise in the prices gradually rose again, it was able to narrative but only rarely are we given any hint release its sugar onto the market profitably, of the economic context in which this expan­ unlike the other Chinese companies during sion took place. The entrepreneurial skill of the sugar crisis. This is not to say that Kian the principal businessmen in the family (Dei Gwan had everything going its way at that Tjie Sien, Oei Tiong Ham, and Oei Tjong time. In September 1917 the In­ Hauw) is not analyzed in any depth and we get dies government imposed a war profits tax of no clear picture of the degree to which, if at 30 per cent on profits made between 1914 and all, decision-making was delegated to senior 1917, a retroactive measure which created managerial staff. All of these matters are difficulties for many companies which had more satisfactorily dealt with in the paper by already dissipated their profits. Further­ Panglaykim and Palmer [1970].5) more, during the period from 1917 to 1919 Two aspects of Liem's treatment of the rice prices rose steeply and, after an unsuc­ company history, however, perhaps deserve cessful attempt by the Resident of Semarang mention here. Firstly, he describes one to induce rice merchants like Kian Gwan to episode in the history of the company which is hold down prices voluntarily, he seized all the passed over by Panglaykim and Palmer and stocks in their warehouses and sold them which may have some interest. In 1917 there direct to the public with the assistance of the municipal authorities after allowing the mer­ 5) An earlier and less comprehensive version of their paper appeared under the title, "Study of En­ chants a small profit of only 25 cents to the trepreneurialship [sic] in Developing Countries: picul [Liem MS: xvii-xviii]. 6) The Development of One Chinese Concern in In­ The other interesting feature of Liem's donesia" Journal ofSoutheast Asian Studies, March 1970, pp.85-95. For an earlier economic history of history of the company is his explanation of the firm, to which their paper is greatly indebted the longevity of the firm in terms of "Chinese for factual material, see Tjoa Soe Tjong [1963]. On Chinese business methods and entrepreneurship more generally in Indonesia, see Vleming [1925] 6) A characteristic of Liem's writing (which reflects and Williams [1952: 34-60]. The standard his Hokkien school education in Java) is his use of economic history of the Indonesian Chinese is Hokkien versions of Chinese-language quotations Cator [1936]. rendered in a Dutch form of romanization.

180 C.A. COPPEL: Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan philosophy." He rightly pointed to its unique about them which cannot be found in the success amongst Chinese businesses in In­ other studies of the business or the family donesia in managing to survive for almost a which are known to me. These studies are century and over four generations of the fam­ the paper by Panglaykim and Palmer, the arti­ ily. According to Chinese philosophy, he said, cle by Tjoa Soe Tjong, and the little-known the longevity of anything was due to the vir­ but fascinating autobiography by Oei Tiong tue (kebedjikan) of those who play an impor­ Ham's second daughter, Koo Hui Lan tant part in it. The Chinese proverb went: (Madame ) [Koo 1943]. It Tjek sian tji keh, pit yu i khing (A household may be useful to set out here thumbnail which accumulates virtue will surely gain its sketches of the three leading figures in the reward in plenty). This, he said, was the case family as they appear in the manuscript, and with Oei Tjie Sien, Oei Tiong Ham, and Oei at the same time fleshing out the picture with Tjong Hauw in the history of Kian Gwan. details from other sources where these conflict This virtue did not just consist in generosity with or add to Liem's account. of charitable donations, since according to The founder of Kian Gwan, Oei Tjie Sien, Chinese philosophy a virtuous deed must be alias Soe Khiem, was born on June 23, 1835 in done without any desire for reward or praise, the village of Li-lim-sia, in the Tong-an or, as the Chinese proverb put it, sian yok djin district of the residency of Tjoan-tjioe in the ti, put si tjin sian. It was only such deeds, province of Fukien. He was the sixth son of known as im tek, which were acceptable to the Oei Tjhing In and, of a peasant family [Liem Almighty. Liem concluded his history of MS: i].7) (According to Koo Hui Lan, his father Kian Gwan on this traditional note, with the was a petty government official [Koo 1943: 4].) traditional prayer that the enterprise might en­ At all events, he received a good education in dure for thousands of years (fay giap djian his youth, for various accounts confirm that in djiu) [Liem MS: xxix]. later life he spent much of his leisure reading books from his considerable library and writing poetry [Liem MS: i, viii-x; Koo 1943: IV The Manuscript as Biography of 15]. He left for Semarang in 1858, the Oei Family together with a number of friends who shared It will probably have emerged from what his views, for political reasons. From Liem's has already been said that the manuscript is account it appears that Tjie Sien was an oppo­ quite uncritical of the leading figures of the nent of the Manchu government who had Oei family who were responsible for the formed a trade office which carried on a kind development of Kian Gwan and the Oei Tiong of rice-growing cooperative with like-minded Ham Concern group as a whole. Conse­ people. His departure for Java was, in fact, quently, one should not expect to find a fully flight from the increasingly repressive rule of rounded biography of these unusually successful the Manchus. (This version confirms the

Indonesian Chinese entrepreneurs. On the 7) For photographs of Oei Tjie Sien and his wife, see other hand, we can find biographical data Sampoo Fonds Blad [1938: opposite 6].

181 rather romantic description given by Koo Hui should become his son-in-law, a proposal Lan of his flight as a rebel refugee after the which Tjie Sien accepted with alacrity [Koo failure'of the T'aiping rebellion [Liem MS: i; 1943: 6-7]. Koo 1943: 3-5].) According to Liem, Tjie Sien Dei Tjie Sien was responsible for purchas­ maintained his political views until his death, ing the family estate at Semongan, outside which apparently occurred in Semarang on Semarang, and in 1880 was given official per­ March 8, 1900. He relates that in 1897 the mission to reside there, although it lay outside Manchu government made him an award the Chinese quarter. According to Liem, he (tiong-gie tay-hoe) but that he never discussed chose the property, which was owned by a the award with his family and would not Jew named Johannes, because at Gedung­ display it. He remained convinced that China batu, on part of the land, was situated the was the land for the Chinese to return even­ shrine of Sam Po Kong, which was much tually and he refused, contrary to the custom venerated by the Chinese. Dei Tjie Sien was amongst the Chinese of the time, to have his upset by the venality of his predecessor in gravestone (bong-pay) engraved with the year title, who had levied a toll on the Chinese of the Ch'ing dynasty. It is interesting that pilgrims who came to pray there on the first Koo Hui Lan, who gives a lengthy description and fifteenth day of each Chinese month. By of Oei Tjie Sien in his declining years, makes acquiring the property, he was able to abolish no mention of this Manchu honor. (On the this tax on religious devotion [Liem MS: iii­ other hand, she does mention that by the time iv].8) It was on this estate, too, that he made his son Dei Tiong Ham was seven years old, 8) The story of the acquisition of the land by Oei Tjie Tjie Sien had saved enough to buy his pardon Sien also appears in Sampoo Fonds Blad [1938: 3­ from the Manchu government so that he could 4], which includes a photograph of the Chinese­ language stone "Testament" (tjio-pay) which he revisit China in safety) [Liem MS: viii; Koo caused to be erected on the property together with 1943: 8]. an Indonesian-language translation of its text. The Sampoo Fonds Blad contains several other items According to Liem, Tjie Sien married the which are of interest and relate to the Oei family. fourth daughter of a Semarang trader. This Apart from photographs of Oei Tiong Ham and Oei prosaic account contrasts with and is more Tjong Hauw, there are several poems in traditional syair form, written by one T.S.Tj. (Tan Siauw likely to be true than the family legend re­ Tjwan ?-cf. [Sampoo Fonds Blad 1938: 98]) in counted by Koo Hui Lan, who tells us that her homage to the family. One of these, entitled "Maksoed fang Soetji Dapet Koernianja Allah," can grandfather was lodging in a Chinese camp as be read as an acrostic from the initial letter of each a petty trader when the camp owner, an el­ line as "Thay Tia Oei Tjie Sien Toean Tanah Simongan Semarang TSTr [Sampoo Fonds Blad derly rebel who had left China for Semarang 1938: opposite 7]. Another, untitled, is in praise of several years earlier, happened to pass him by the Oei family house and cemetery on the property, one evening while he lay asleep. The pro­ and is accompanied by eight photographs depict­ ing them [Sampoo Fonds Blad 1938: opposite 10, prietor was "startled to see a faint aura of 11, 14, 15 and 18]. The Sampoo Fonds Blad was light hovering about Tjie Sien's head." When published to raise funds for the upkeep and im­ provement of the Sam Po shrine and to com­ this phenomenon recurred each night, he was memorate the sixtieth anniversary of the acquisi­ so impressed that he proposed that Tjie Sien tion of the site by Oei Tjie Sien.

182 C.A. CaPPEL: Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan his choice of site for the family cemetery, us­ He rarely ate with the family, but when he did ing the traditional Chinese science of hongsoei it was a formal occasion. At such meals he in­ [Liem MS: vii]. Liem does not, however, br­ variably gave the younger generation a little ing out Tjie Sien's almost obsessive preoc­ lecture on the virtue of thrift, but every morn­ cupation with the cemetery and his own tomb ing he himself would present a coin to each of in his later years [Koo 1943: 18-20]. Tjie his grandchildren. He was very conservative Sien spent much of the latter part of his life on and traditional in his ways. He never wore the estate, after leaving the management of anything but traditional Chinese dress, he the business in the hands of his son, Tiong kept his queue, he was very religious and Ham. According to Liem, he talked a great strictly celebrated Chinese holidays.9) His deal with his friends, was fond of reading, and one extravagance, according to his grand­ wrote verses. One of his favorite books was daughter, was his stables. Liem also depicts Tjoan-tjioe Hoe-tjie, a four-volume history of him going about Semarang in his carriage the city of Tjoan-tjioe which he had annotated drawn by a pair of large Australian horses, profusely. Liem intended to incorporate in wearing silk jacket and trousers in contrasting his history of Kian Gwan the Chinese text of colors of black (oh-tioe) and white (peh-tioe) one of Tjie Sien's poems, and Liem's own with a conical hat (kopiah karpus) to complete translation into Indonesian in syair form ap­ the ensemble. After Tjie Sien's death, his pears there. The poem, in eight stanzas, body was interred in the cemetery at Penggil­ traces his life from his birth in Tong-an ing on the Semongan estate but his hio-hwee district, through his emigration to Semarang were sent to Amoy in China [Liem MS: xi, xii; to his success in business there. Liem com­ Koo 1943: Chapter 2]. ments that he was unable to render adequate­ Oei Tiong Ham, alias Oen Tiong, the son of ly in his translation the tone of humility (seed­ Oei Tjie Sien, was born on November 19, jt) in the Chinese original [Liem MS: viii-x]. 1866. At the age of eight he began to attend Apart from his poetry, Tjie Sien also con­ an old-style Chinese school (soe-siok) and later structed short balancing phrases (twi-thee). also took lessons in and the Liem cites one example of these in the original Roman alphabet [Liem MS: 2]. When he was characters which incorporates the name of the of age (dewasa), his father began to train him firm (Kian Gwan) [ Liem MS : vi]. One in commerce and gradually withdrew himself gentlemanly pursuit of his later years which is from the family business [Liem MS: iv]. not mentioned in Liem's account was lotus Liem gives no hint of the story recounted by cultivation [Koo 1943: 20]. If we combine the accounts in the 9) Quite apart from any personal preference on Tjie manuscript and in the Koo Hui Lan memoirs, Sien's part, wearing attire other than Chinese dress would have been illegal in those days unless we can picture fairly clearly the person of this government permission was obtained to do other­ founder of Kian Gwan. We can imagine an wise; see The Siauw Giap [1966: 187, fn. 6]. For a detailed description of Chinese holidays in Central elderly man, aloof, stiff, and rather formal. Java in the late nineteenth century, see Tjoa Tjoe His sons always had to stand in his presence. Koan [1887].

183 Koo Hui Lan of her father as a profligate best Dutch doctors rather than traditional gambler in his youth [Koo 1943: 8-11], nor of Chinese physicians or Javanese doekoens [Koo any friction between Oei Tiong Ham and his 1943: 65].11) father over business methods [Koo 1943: 12]. Despite this, there were limits to his recep­ In this connection, Koo Hui Lan has some in­ tiveness to Westernization. He did not speak teresting observations to make of her father's the and his command of "business genius," which she much admired: English was modest, so he conversed with Dutch officials through an interpreter since it He was always alert for new ventures in would have been beneath the dignity of either which to invest his money and he had a to use Malay (a language which both sides remarkable flair for choosing brilliant up­ understood perfectly) [Koo 1943: 33]. By the and-coming associates. He believed in same token, he showed no interest in applying 'hunches' and played them for all they were to the Indies government for assimilation to worth. He stressed luck and often told me European legal status (gelijkstelling) or in that if he were given the choice between a reversing his name, European-style, to dozen intelligent men and one lucky man he become T.H. Oei, a practice which was then would take the lucky one every time [Koo fashionable among some Western-oriented 1943: 57-58].10) Chinese [Liem MS: xiii-xiv]. His preference for Western clothes and the European quarter In many ways Oei Tiong Ham was the an­ of Semarang did not imply a rejection of tithesis of his father-a modernizer and a per­ things Chinese. He was generous in his finan­ son who was open to Western influences. cial contributions to the Chinese-language Mter his father's death, he was one of the first THHK schools throughout Central Java and Chinese to obtain the consent of the Indies to the renovation of the Thay Kak Sie temple government to his cutting off his queue (tauwt­ in Semarang [ Liem MS: xiii-xiv]. While Koo jang) and wearing Western dress (which he Hui Lan was young, her father took the family did in 1902). His example was soon followed each year on trips to China and by many of the Kian Gwan employees [Liem [Koo 1943: 23]. MS: xii]. Oei Tiong Ham was also one of the Oei Tiong Ham was obviously an immensely first Chinese to obtain permission to live in wealthy man and he lived extravagantly. Gergadji (in the European quarter of In Liem Thian Joe's account, his wealth was Semarang) rather than in the Chinese quarter, evident from the range of his benefactions, to which the Chinese were still legally confined 11) On the other hand, Panglaykim and Palmer say under wijkenstelsel [Liem MS: 12-13]. Koo that he retained his luck (Hok-kie) by implementing Hui Lan tells us that he preferred to use the the hong-swie idea of harmony between wind and water, that he consulted his special spiritual ad­ viser and followed his advice on whether or not to 10) Panglaykim and Palmer also refer to his appoint­ buy a new car or a new house, but that he did not ment of Tan Tek Peng, "a daring gambler," as go to the temple to make an offering after some chief manager of Kian Gwan [Panglaykim and speculative venture as others did [Panglaykim and Palmer 1970: 16-17]. Palmer 1970: 18].

184 C.A. CoPPEL: Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan which Liem lists, and the reference to a Catering for my father was a difficult task, dispute over the distribution of his income tax as he was an enormous eater. One night he in 1915 when he changed his domicile to would order Chinese food, the next a series Salatiga. His income was said to amount to of complicated French dishes. To satisfy some two million guilders at that time [Liem his whims there were three kitchens run­ MS: xvi]. He may well have been the ning simultaneously. Chinese food was wealthiest man in the colony. Part of his im­ prepared in one, in another European, while mense fortune was made as the last and prob­ the third was used almost entirely for the ably the greatest of the opium pachters, preparation of special delicacies which my holding as he did the opium monopolies on father dispatched in endless streams as franchise from the colonial government until presents to the Dutch officials. There were the system was abolished in 1904 in , four Chinese head cooks and a Malay chef Solo, , and Semarang. His profits who had charge of the French cuisine. He from the sale of opium in the period 1890­ was a magnificent artist who had made his 1903 amounted to 18 million guilders [Liem reputation at the best Dutch restaurant in MS: vii-viii; 1933: 180-181]. Batavia and had also formerly served as The extravagance of Oei Tiong Ham's life­ head chef to the Governor-General of the style does not emerge in Liem's account, but island. The three kitchens functioned as it is graphically described by Koo Hui Lan. separate units; each cook had his own staff, We learn from her that his Dutch colonial­ did his own marketing and was responsible style house in Semarang was set in a large or­ only to the majordomo, who checked his ac­ namental garden which included a private zoo counts once a week. stocked with bears, deer, snakes, gibbons, cassowaries, and peacocks. The garden and The house and grounds were guarded by the zoo were thrown open to the public once a four Negro watchmen who were newly ar­ week for a small entrance fee, which was then rived from Africa and spoke little Malay. Koo turned over to her mother's charities [Koo Hui Lan comments: "My father picked the big­ 1943: 30-31]. As she put it: gest and blackest he could find, because they terrified the natives, who nicknamed them Father appreciated good living and en­ 'Black Dutchmen'" [Koo 1943: 31-32]. joyed entertaining in the grand manner, so Oei Tiong Ham regularly spent two hours our house was run on a scale unusual even over his elaborate toilette ritual in the morn­ in Java, where wages were low and servants ings. And for his breakfast "he started off easily trained. The household was in the with a few mangoes or papayas, followed by a charge of a Malay majordomo, who kept bowl of steaming porridge and climaxed with forty servants in order. Directly under him six fried eggs and several slices of liver gar­ was a Malay butler and twelve serving nished with lavish curls of bacon, all washed boys. They waited expertly on the table down with bowls of tea. To compose his with the greatest elegance and style. ... nerves after this exertion Father smoked two

185 fat black cigars" [Koo 1943: 33-35]. The carefully analyzed by Panglaykim and Palmer gargantuan scale of this extraordinary man [1970: 19-29], but their account is almost was also reflected in his eight wives and 26 silent about the three-and-one-half years of children (13 sons and 13 daughters). the Japanese occupation. The omission is the Although he was cold and businesslike in more striking because, unlike many other prom­ determining which of the children should suc­ inent Chinese, he was not interned by the ceed him in the business, he appears to have Japanese.12) On the contrary, they appointed been generous in his treatment of the others him as one of the few Chinese members of the from his vast wealth [Panglaykim and Palmer Central Advisory Council (Chuoh Sangi In) 1970: 18]. created in August 1943, and similarly of the The colonial government recognized Oei Committee for the Investigation of Indonesian Tiong Ham as an important man to cultivate. Independence (Badan Penjelidik Kemerdekaan In 1898 he was appointed Captain of the Indonesia) established in 1945 [Somers 1965: Chinese in Semarang but he only held the posi­ 109, fn. 11; Anderson 1961: 10-11, 18]. He tion for about two years when he asked to be was thus an important political figure at this relieved of the post because of pressure of time. business. In recognition of his services he Liem's history of Kian Gwan has relatively was, in 1901, appointed titular Major [Liem little to say about Dei Tjong Hauw, but it does MS: viii]. For his part, Oei Tiong Ham make some reference to his role during the recognized that it was good business to Japanese occupation. It appears that he was cultivate Dutch officialdom. As Koo Hui Lan also appointed as head of the Semarang says, "Papa's method was simple: from the Kakyoh Shohkai (Hoakiao Tjonghwee), the lowest to the highest, he kept them well fed. only Chinese organization permitted in It was clever psychology, since the officials Semarang. In this capacity he was allowed were badly paid and could not afford all the the use of one of the few motor cars available table luxuries which their robust Dutch ap'" in the city, and the only Chinese to have one. petites craved" [Koo 1943: 52]. Oei Tiong Liem is careful to draw attention to less well­ Ham died in Singapore on June 2, 1924, and known actions of Dei Tjong Hauw during this he was buried in Semarang with a remarkably period. He is said to have requested the simple ceremony for a wealthy Chinese of his release of some Semarang Chinese who had station, at his own specific request [Liem MS: been interned by the Japanese in Surabaya xix; 1933: 264-266]. and stood surety for their good behavior after Mter the death of Oei Tiong Ham, the their release. He also is said to have forwarded business was carried on by two of his sons, medicines to Chinese internees at Tjimahi Oei Tjong Swan and Oei Tjong Hauw. The via the Kakyoh Shohkai in , and to former sold out his share in 1931, leaving Oei have helped the families of some Chinese in­ Tjong Hauw as the dominant figure in the ternees who were in difficulties [Liem MS: company for the next two decades. His role 12) The experience of one such internee is described in the further development of the firm is by Nio Joe Lan [1946].

186 C.A. COPPEL: Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan

26]. Liem's defensiveness on these matters ---· 1962. Sastera Indonesia-Tionghoa. Jakarta: suggests that there may have been some Gunung Agung. Panglaykim, J. and Palmer, 1. 1970. Entrepreneurship criticism of Oei Tjong Hauw's collaboration and Commercial Risks: The Case of a with the Japanese, but the issue is not openly Schumpeterian Business in Indonesia. Occasional Paper No.2. Institute of Business Studies. raised either in his account or in that of Singapore: College of Graduate Studies, Nanyang Panglaykim and Palmer. Oei Tjong Hauw University. Parlindungan, M.O. 1964. Tuanku Rao. died suddenly and prematurely on January 21, Sampoo Fonds Blad Advertentie en Adresboek. 1938. 1950 at the age of 49 years [Liem MS: xxix]. Semarang: Hap Sing Kongsie. In summary, it can be said that Liem Thian Somers, Mary F .A. 1965. Peranakan Chinese Politics in Indonesia. Ph. D. thesis, Cornell University. Joe's unpublished history of Kian Gwan, Suryadinata, Leo. 1971. The Pre- World War II although by no means a major contribution Peranakan Chinese Press of java: A Preliminary Survey. Papers in International Studies, Southeast like his Riwajat Semarang, has added to our Asia Series No. 18, Ohio University. · 1972. Prominent Indonesian Chinese in the knowledge of this remarkable family of In­ -----==-- Twentieth Century: A Preliminary Survey. Papers donesian Chinese entrepreneurs and, in par­ in International Studies, Southeast Asia Series No. ticular, of its three leading figures. 23. Ohio University. Tan Hong Boen. 1935. Orang-Orang Tionghoa jang Terkemoeka di java. Solo: The Biographical References Publishing Centre. The Siauw Giap. 1966. Group Conflict in a Plural Anderson, Benedict. 1961. Some Aspects ofIndonesian Society. Revue du Sudest Asiatique. Politics under the japanese Occupation: 1944-1945. Tio Le Soei. 1959. Lie Kimhok 1853-1912. Bandung: Cornell Modem Indonesia Project, Cornell L.D. "Good Luck." University. Tjoa Soe Tjong. 1963. OTHC-100 jaar-Een stukje Cator, W.J. 1936. The Economic Position of the economische geschiedenis van Indonesia. Chinese in the Netherlands Indies. Oxford: Economisch Statistische Berichten. June 26, July Blackwell. 10, and July 17. Coppel, Charles A. 1973. Mapping the Peranakan Tjoa Tjoe Koan. 1887. Hari Raja Orang Tjina. Chinese in Indonesia. Papers on Far Eastern Batavia: Albrecht. History, September. Vleming, J.L., Jr. 1925. Het Chineesche Zakenleven in Koo, Hui-lan. 1943. An Autobiography as Told to Mary Nederlandsch-Indie. Weltevreden: Volkslectuur. van Rensselaer Thayer. New York: Dial Press. Williams, Lea E. 1952. Chinese Entrepreneurs in In­ Liem Thian Joe. 1933. Riwajat Semarang (Dan donesia. Explorations in Entrepreneurial History, Djamannja Sam Poo Sampe Terhapoesnja October. Kongkoan). Semarang: Ho Kim Yoe. · 1960. Overseas Chinese Nationalism: The --- . Manuscript (MS). --- Genesis ofthe Pan-Chinese Movement in Indonesia, Muljana, Slamet. 1968. Runtuhnja Keradjaan Hindu 1900-1916. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press. Djawa dan Timbulnja Negara 2 Islam di Nusantara. Willmott, Donald Earl. 1960. The Chinese of Jakarta: Bhratara. Semarang: A Changing Minority Community zn Nio Joe Lan. 1946. Dalem Tawanan Djepang.]akarta: Indonesia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Lotus.

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