Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 27, No.2, September 1989 Liem Thian Joe's Unpublished History of Kian Gwan Charles A. COPPEL* Studies on the role of the overseas Chinese sue the talent for writing which was already in the economies of Southeast Asia 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 Indonesia, 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 of some interest to discover an unpublished His career in journalism seems to have history of Kian Gwan (Oei Tiong Ham Con­ begun in the 1920's when he joined the staff of cern), the biggest and longest-lasting Chinese the Semarang 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 Jakarta daily, Per­ written by the late Liem Thian Joe, the well­ niagaan, at this time). In the early 1930's, he known Semarang journalist and historian. moved from Warna Warta to edit the Semarang This combination gives us promise of insights daily, Djawa Tengah (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, Sin PO.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 Hokkien 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-central Java. 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 Chinese language 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.