Features of Chinese Culture - Report Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Features of Chinese Culture After many years of immigration, the Chinese who settled in the Netherlands East Indies had a lot of diversity in their cultures. The Sino Indians were characterized in the same group that was referred to as Peranakan Chinese (Taylor 82). Chinese refer to themselves as the ‘Sons of the Yellow Emperor’ whether they were in China or were in another country. Peranakan meant locally-born children or children of the soil. Following this definition, then Peranakan Chinese were the Children of the Indonesian soil. In the former Netherlands Indies, the Dutch authority had a policy of having a Chinese group acting as an arbitrator for their community. As a result the Chinese Council office was located in a building situated in Jalan Pabean in Batavia and was known as Batavia Kong Koan. The local Chinese referred to it as Kong Koan (BKK). From 1772, the main tasks of BKK included the supervision of the Chinese charitable organizations, management of the Chinese community affairs such as Chinese temples and schools, management of the Chinese public cemeteries, arbitrating Chinese disputes such as inheritance and marriage issues, and the registration of the deaths and births of Chinese immigrants. By the end of the twentieth century, the Batavia Kong Koan had lost its importance prompting the establishment of Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan association in 1900 which had branches in many areas of Netherlands Indies (Kemasang 63). This new association was intended to improve the social position of Chinese in the colony. Due to the position held by Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan, the BKK had ceased to exist by 1930. In 1995 the remnants of the BKK archives were shipped to Netherlands and contained more than 1000 manuscripts divided into four components. The components included the proceedings of BKK meetings that were held in 1787- 1964, cemetery archives indicating all the Chinese funerals that took place in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, records of wedding and divorces that took place from 1772 until 30th April 1919, and the record of accounts books for the Chinese companies. The Kong Koan archives provided extensive details about the ordinary Chinese people who lived in Batavia. Kong Koan used three different languages; Chinese, Dutch, and Malay. From the information gathered in the archives as contained in the records of the late eighteenth century, it was evident that the Chinese culture was dominant in the institution. All the records were written in the traditional Chinese brush. The archives of the nineteenth century indicated some change in the use of language. In addition to the Chinese language Malay began to be used, which was a clear indication that the local Chinese culture was being challenged (Knaap 485). From the beginning of the twentieth century until 1964, the Malay/Indonesian was the official language that was used in the Kong Koan meetings. The Malay used was however influenced by Javanese and Dutch. The original funeral records also indicated that there was use of Chinese language and Malay language. Records in the twentieth century were written with a pen instead of a brush. For the preparation of funeral, the people responsible consulted BKK in order to implement the traditional Chinese procedures so as to have their funeral as per the Chinese traditional culture. There were some stamps that were discovered in the archives. Stamps of different sizes were used by BKK in different periods and had Chinese characters in them. From the history of imperial China, the Kong Koan stamps can be associated with the formal chops used by the China’s yamen government offices. A stamp that was dated 1882 which was oval and smaller in size than other stamps was engraved in both Chinese and Dutch languages. Traditionally, stamps are regarded as the symbol of power in Chinese culture. When children died, the parents were required to register them with the Kong Koan association. The names used during the registration of the children were in Malay fashion and Chinese fashion. The BKK archives had the earliest funeral records written in 1811. By 1860, there was a decreased use on the Chinese fashion in the registration of funeral (Kemasang 66). Finally, by 1875 almost all the deceased children were registered in the Malay fashion. The Malay words such as nyonya and nona referred to married female and unmarried female respectively. Towards the end of 1870 the registration of the deceased children was not done distinctively in Chinese or Malay fashions. As time passed by new terms were created that incorporated the local cultures and the Chinese cultures. This was a clear indication of how Chinese immigrants played part in the acculturation process. The social effect of intermarriage cannot be ignored on the Peranakan Chinese. According to the BKK archives, the Chinese women were few among the immigrants leading to the intermarriage between the Chinese men and the local indigenous women. The Chinese immigrants rarely brought their wives with them from China. Before the middle of nineteenth century, local women who were married to the Chinese men had special names as it was found out in the archives. By being married to the Chinese men, the indigenous women were not necessarily accepted formally in the Chinese community. When Chinese migrated to the Indies, they became the minority in an environment that was unfamiliar. In order to be recognized as people of dignity, Chinese identified themselves as being very advanced in civilization. Chinese people could not integrate fully into the local culture due to the hindrances brought about by Sino-centrism or Han-centrism but the inadequacy of Chinese women eventually made intermarriage to become widespread. Many Chinese immigrants feared being assimilated fully into the local culture as that would lead to the disappearance of their culture especially after intermarriages. It was therefore important to remind the Chinese the need to protect their cultural heritage in order to avoid being extinct (Salmon 151). Indigenous women who were married to the Chinese men were referred to as fan, a term that was used to imply that someone was foreign or alien which was more of a negative connotation. In a study about the social outcome of the intermarriage between the Hakka Chinese immigrants and the local women in Indonesian archipelago, it was noted that intermarriage did not result to assimilation of the Chinese into the local culture. Instead, it was actually the native women who became integrated into the Hakka community where they had to wear Chinese clothes and also speak Hakka language. The intermarriage between the Chinese and the indigenous Indonesian women gave rise to the Peranakan, who were generally regarded as being Chinese due to their father’s ancestry. When Peranakan Chinese women married the Chinese men, they became legitimate wives as stipulated by the Chinese culture and even had to learn the Chinese dialect. It can therefore be noted that the integration of the Chinese and the Indonesian cultures was eminent. The relationship between Netherlands and Indonesia was what facilitated the immigration of the Indonesian Chinese such as the Peranakan. The Hakkas were believed to be among the earliest Han settlers in China and represented the Han culture. In the eighteenth century, the Hakka people migrated to the South East Asia and other parts of the world (Knaap 486). Hakka people are known for their urge to defend their cultural heritage even after immigration. By being conservative, the Hakka people represent the true spirit of the Chinese culture. Hakkas are Chinese inhabitants from Guangdong and who settled in areas such as Sichuan and Taiwan. The Hakka Chinese are said to have migrated from the northern China to the South. Batavia was a colonial town that was founded in the early seventeenth century as the headquarters of the South East Asia. During the seventeenth century, Batavia had similar characteristics with some of the colonial town sin the Baltic region such as the Danish castle. Manila and Batavia were among the earliest urban centers that were started by Europeans duding the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries (Knaap 486). These two urban centers formed the link between the Mexican and the European markets. It is of significance importance to note that these two towns got their revenue from the presence of the Chinese settlers. Europeans had very little problems in accepting Chinese at the Manila and Batavia urban societies. According to some studies on, the ‘cowardly’ nature of the Chinese people made it possible for them to dominate other cultures in these urban centers. An average Chinese city was divided into two parts with one region representing the administration while the other represented the normal population. Batavia also had a Chinese hospital, orphanage and an elderly home. The Dutch integrated the Chinese population into their system. Around 1619, a policy was introduced that allowed maximum immigration and settlement of Chinese and Dutchmen in Batavia. The Chinese settled in what was referred to as the ‘Dutch quarter’. Immigrants from China played a major role in the building of the Batavia urban center. Chinese contractors such as Jancon and Bingam took pat in digging canals and engaging in the main works of building the urban center (Taylor 93). The Chinese had a lot of influence in the building of the center as they were already familiar with the laying of bricks just like the Dutch themselves. There is a lot of history that points out how the design of the Batavian center was highly influenced by the Chinese culture. Chinese migrant workers who were involved in the building of the Batavia town were the first settlers in this town. As they stayed in Batavia, they were able to accumulate enough wealth that enabled them to become independent where they ended up intermarrying with the Balinese women who had been brought in as slaves. In October 1619 after the Batavia city had been founded, Siu Ming-kang was appointed to be in charge of the people from the Chinese origin (Blusse and Chen 47). By doing so the Dutch authorities had put the Chinese under a leader of their own origin who was to present their grievances to the Dutch authorities when need arose. The legal protection of property encouraged the emergence of the Chinese middle class who owned properties in Batavia. Other communities in Batavia complained that the Batavian government favored the Chinese putting them in a more privileged position to develop. Conclusion The information in the BKK archives notes about the origin of the Netherlands Peranakan’s as being Chinese but they are said to lack the Chinese characteristics as they still had to label themselves as the ‘children of the soil’ referring to the soil of the country where they were born and brought up. Heir effort to be identified as Chinese is however vivid. The culture of the early Chinese settlers became established among the Chinese immigrants who ended up intermarrying with the local women since the Chinese women were few. It was however not very clear whether it was the local women to adopt the Chinese culture, or the Chinese men to adopt the local culture. This was however solve naturally as the Chinese wanted to dominate other cultures since they wanted to be perceived as being more civilized than the other people in the South East Asia countries. The Chinese people are known to be proud of their culture and would always strive to retain their cultural identity as it was evident in Netherlands and Indies. Works Cited Blusse, Leonard and Chen Menghong. The archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia. Boston: Brill, 2003. Knaap, Gerrit. “All about money: maritime trade in Makassar and West Java, around 1775.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 49(4), 2006 482-508. Salmon, Claudine. “ The massacre of 1740 as reflected in a contemporary Chinese narrative.” Archipel. 77 (2009) 149-154. Kemasang, ART. “The 1740 massacre of Chinese in Java: curtain raiser for the Dutch plantation economy. Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars. No. 14 Issue 1(Jan-March 1982): 61-71. Taylor, Gelman. The Chinese and the early centuries of conversion to Islam in Indonesia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2005. Read More

There were some stamps that were discovered in the archives. Stamps of different sizes were used by BKK in different periods and had Chinese characters in them. From the history of imperial China, the Kong Koan stamps can be associated with the formal chops used by the China’s yamen government offices. A stamp that was dated 1882 which was oval and smaller in size than other stamps was engraved in both Chinese and Dutch languages. Traditionally, stamps are regarded as the symbol of power in Chinese culture.

When children died, the parents were required to register them with the Kong Koan association. The names used during the registration of the children were in Malay fashion and Chinese fashion. The BKK archives had the earliest funeral records written in 1811. By 1860, there was a decreased use on the Chinese fashion in the registration of funeral (Kemasang 66). Finally, by 1875 almost all the deceased children were registered in the Malay fashion. The Malay words such as nyonya and nona referred to married female and unmarried female respectively.

Towards the end of 1870 the registration of the deceased children was not done distinctively in Chinese or Malay fashions. As time passed by new terms were created that incorporated the local cultures and the Chinese cultures. This was a clear indication of how Chinese immigrants played part in the acculturation process. The social effect of intermarriage cannot be ignored on the Peranakan Chinese. According to the BKK archives, the Chinese women were few among the immigrants leading to the intermarriage between the Chinese men and the local indigenous women.

The Chinese immigrants rarely brought their wives with them from China. Before the middle of nineteenth century, local women who were married to the Chinese men had special names as it was found out in the archives. By being married to the Chinese men, the indigenous women were not necessarily accepted formally in the Chinese community. When Chinese migrated to the Indies, they became the minority in an environment that was unfamiliar. In order to be recognized as people of dignity, Chinese identified themselves as being very advanced in civilization.

Chinese people could not integrate fully into the local culture due to the hindrances brought about by Sino-centrism or Han-centrism but the inadequacy of Chinese women eventually made intermarriage to become widespread. Many Chinese immigrants feared being assimilated fully into the local culture as that would lead to the disappearance of their culture especially after intermarriages. It was therefore important to remind the Chinese the need to protect their cultural heritage in order to avoid being extinct (Salmon 151).

Indigenous women who were married to the Chinese men were referred to as fan, a term that was used to imply that someone was foreign or alien which was more of a negative connotation. In a study about the social outcome of the intermarriage between the Hakka Chinese immigrants and the local women in Indonesian archipelago, it was noted that intermarriage did not result to assimilation of the Chinese into the local culture. Instead, it was actually the native women who became integrated into the Hakka community where they had to wear Chinese clothes and also speak Hakka language.

The intermarriage between the Chinese and the indigenous Indonesian women gave rise to the Peranakan, who were generally regarded as being Chinese due to their father’s ancestry. When Peranakan Chinese women married the Chinese men, they became legitimate wives as stipulated by the Chinese culture and even had to learn the Chinese dialect. It can therefore be noted that the integration of the Chinese and the Indonesian cultures was eminent. The relationship between Netherlands and Indonesia was what facilitated the immigration of the Indonesian Chinese such as the Peranakan.

The Hakkas were believed to be among the earliest Han settlers in China and represented the Han culture.

Read More