AYU NUR WIDIYASTUTI

18/424774/SA/19146

ARTICLE REVIEW
INFLUENCE OF CHINESE CARPENTRY IN ANCIENT MESJID BUILDING IN JAVA
CENTURY 15-16
Handinoto and Samuel Hartono
The ancient mosques in Java in the 15th and 16th centuries had a very specific form
because at that time there was an architectural transition from Javanese- Hindu / Buddhist
architecture to Javanese architecture - Islam. By looking at the architecture of the ancient
mosque at that time gave rise to various theories about the entry of Islam in the archipelago,
one of them was Chinese Theory in those centuries he called the Sino- Javanese Muslim era
Culture with archaeological evidence found which has a carpentry effect Very strong
Chinese. In this article, we will explain the extent of influence this Chinese carpentry is
involved in the development of ancient mosques in Java in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Beginning with the testimony of Dutch sailors, Schoute n mosque in the city of Jepara
in the 17th century have the feature a) five-tiered roof b) form rectangle and full symmetry c)
the plan is surrounded by a moat, which is used for purification. The shape of the mosque like
this was exemplified by other mosques which developed in the following period both on Java
and outside Java. The shape of the mosque's architecture is reminiscent of many pagoda
forms found in China. It is estimated that this mosque established by Queen Kalinyamat,
which according to many sources (Budiman, 1979, Qurtuby, 2003) has anything to do with
Chinese Muslims who are spread Islam Mahzab Hanafi at Java.
Minarets are not known inside the architecture of the ancient Javanese mosque. To
call the congregation salat, in use 'Bedug' in place of the mosque porch. This bedug usage is
not found in Islam in the Middle East region but Bedug met Chinese pagoda, in where is the
Bedug placed hanging on the porch. Not far from the mosque there are usually sacred tombs
such as the Mantingan mosque, the Kudus tower mosque, Demak Great Mosque, etc.
Talking about Chinese society Muslims in Java are from Haji Ma Huan , a person
Cheng Ho's secretary and interpreter on his journey wrote that Chinese Muslims in the 15th
century had already there are many in port cities, especially on the North Coast P. Java they
are of Chinese ethnic group province Guangdong are qualified carpentry (woodworking and
stone) it led to many coastal areas that are most used in Islamic -kan like Demak, Kudus,
Jepara gets the influence of very thick wood carving from China. It is even told that the
foundation is carpentry and wood carving in Kudus, Demak and Jepara are people from
China.
In Pijper's opinion to find out the Chinese influence on 15-16 century building
architecture can be seen in the mosque as an example of a case study, namely the Demak
mosque (1474), the Kudus Mosque (1537) and the Mantingan Mosque (1559).
The Demak mosque was built by a broken Raden (Panembahan jimbun ) and his
brother-in-law Bong Kin San, a Chinese Muslim. The construction of the mosque went
slowly because of the difficulty of erecting the roof because of the construction of wood with
a large span, so the Chinese shipbuilders from the port of S took it to solve it, so the
construction technique of the building was similar to the woodwork on the Jung masts China.
The presence of swallows on the main structure of the mosque is reminiscent of the pedigree
that has temples and mosques built around Chinese settlements. The use of images of turtles
in the mihrab is also believed to take the symbol of China and do not forget that there are also
ornaments in Chinese-style plates attached to the walls of the mosque. Regarding the stacked
roof of the mosque, Chinese influence was the pagoda, considering that at that time many
Chinese people traded and spread Islam in the northern coastal areas.
The Kudus mosque was also affected by China, this can be seen in Chinese porcelain
plates on the walls of the mosque, the construction of the building is imitating the Demak
mosque. In the area around the Kudus mosque, there are also many traditional Kudus houses
that are full with carvings according to the story of carpentry and wood carving in the Kudus
area is the inheritance of Kyai The Ling Sing.
Furthermore, the construction of mosques Mantingan that involve carpentry china.
From tiles imported from China Carving on mosque walls made of Yellow stone clearly
patterned in China, is one proof of the influence carpentry China in this mosque.
Woodworking figures who play a big role in Jepara area are Tjie Wie Gwan , beautiful wood
carvings Chinese-style at the tomb in the ex mosque Mantingan is thought to be a local
person as the work of Tjie Wie Gwan . He is one of the respected Chinese Muslim figures, so
he is buried among the tombs of the princes of Hadiri and Ratu Kalinyamat even though he
was not born of a noble figure.
Based on the information above, it can be concluded that the 15th and 16th centuries
in Javanese history are the transitional century from Java- Hinduism / Buddhism to Java -
Islam then the style of architecture formed also reflects that transition. this transition many
historical source interpretations vary due to data limitations and rely on folklore as a
reconstruction history. The influence of the transition is clearly evident in the architecture of
the mosque where there is a mixture of Javanese native culture and foreign culture. one of the
cultures that played an important role in the establishment of mosques on the north coast of
Java was the presence of Chinese people who worked as timber artisans. So from that mosque
architecture contains many elements of building construction used by Chinese people. This
shows the magnitude of the influence of Chinese carpentry on ancient mosque buildings in
Java in the 15-16 century.
Overall, the Handinoto, et al very interesting to read. The use of straightforward and
simple language makes the reader better understand how the intention of Handinoto, et al .
the use of illustrations in articles makes it easy for readers to imagine ancient Javanese
mosques in the 15-16 century so that they attract other readers. Wrong the hallmarks of this
article that Handinoto, et al used data maps and images in the 15th-16th century and the data
on the field at this time along with information about them. Handinoto, et al also uses a lot of
back note that makes the same understanding between the writer and the reader besides that
also uses a lot of good reverence that expert opinion and combined with folklore make this
article run synchronously. But in this article, it also has weaknesses which are not explained
in detail about social life between Chinese people and indigenous people. This article should
be more interesting if it is connected directly with Sam Pok ong which was built by Admiral
C. Heng Ho, the shape of the building is very similar to buildings in Chinese temples and also
uses little Javanese elements. From here it will raise a new question whether the temple
elements mimic a mosque or mosque that mimics the elements of the Klenteng?