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Chinese Women Writers in Indonesia and their Views of Female Emancipation

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DOI: 10.3406/arch.1984.1925

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 Archipel

Chinese Women Writers in Indonesia and their Views of Female

Emancipation
Claudine Lombard-Salmon

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Lombard-Salmon Claudine. Chinese Women Writers in Indonesia and their Views of Female Emancipation. In: Archipel,
volume 28, 1984. pp. 149-171;

doi : 10.3406/arch.1984.1925

http://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1984_num_28_1_1925

Document généré le 16/03/2016

DIASPORA CHINOISE ET IXTIERATURES

Claudine SALMON

Chinese Women Writers in Indonesia

and their Views of Female Emancipation*

In the early 1920s, some Chinese writings in colloquial style, known as

Modern Chinese Literature, began to appear in newspaper supplements in
Singapore and Malaya. These were the works of Chinese intellectuals who left
China for political reasons and took refuge there. They may be regarded as
the pioneers of what is called Mahua wenxue or «Malayan Chinese
Literature», which up to now has been flourishing U). In the early stage, Chinese
literature in Malaya was monopolized by men. To the best of our knowledge
only two women, one poetess by the name of Ying Zi and Madam L.S.,
emerged during the years from 1920 to 1942. The latter used to contribute literary
writings to a newspaper supplement called Huang Dao, «Desert Island»
during 1927-1929, in which she expresses her concerns about women's social
status. It is not until after World War II especially since 1966, that more and
more women have joined in literary writings (2).
In the Dutch Indies, during the same period the Chinese were producing
literary works written not in Chinese but in Malay. The earliest printed
writings can be traced back to the last thirty years of the 19th century and the first
contributions attributed to female writers appeared in book form during the
early 1890s. The latter exclusively consisted of poems. It is not until the

* A first version of this paper was presented at an International Conference on Women and
Literature in China, held in Berlin at the end of July 1982.
150

early 1920s that authoresses started to write novels and contributed various
articles to the local press. If they always remained behind male writers in
quantity, they have nevertherless surely demonstrated their capacities as
regards the quality of their work as well as their aptitudes to deal with
women's sufferings.
To understand how the Chinese of Indonesia came to create a literature
in Malay whose development spans about 90 years 0) and whose quantity is
overwhelming compared to the few attempts made in Chinese, first in
newspaper supplements and more rarely in book form, a brief explanation is needed
of the way in which their communities were formed. Emigration was always
considered basically as temporary, both by the merchants travelling with the
monsoons and by coolies attracted by better wages, but even so, many of the
migrants stayed so long that they settled abroad for good. At certain times
those who left the country did so with the hope of returning, particularly
when the political situation was difficult. One thing is certain, however, that
Chinese communities were created in different places in the Archipelago; the
oldest ones whose existence can be proved with certainty in Java and Sumatra
date back to the 15th century. Nevertheless until the end of the 19th century,
very few Chinese women left their native country (4); emigrants had to marry
local women, and in so doing had to adopt various features of the local
culture, and first and foremost the languages. In some places, the wives of the
Chinese learned their husbands' languages (particularly during certain
periods, at least in Kalimantan), but it seems that it was more often the other
way round. It is easy to imagine how, after several generations, the children of
these mixed marriages could no longer use the language of their fathers'
ancestors, except for the Hakka, who continued to speak if not to write
Chinese, or rich families whose sons were given tuiton by teachers from China, or
in trie case of the most highly privileged, were sent to China to be educated.
The emigrants did not take readily to the local customs, and their wives
consequently adopted Chinese ones, which was easier for them because the
descendants of Chinese often intermarried; this explains the unique development of
their communities straddling two cultures. These persons of Chinese descent
are called peranakan in Malay unlike the totok or newcomers born in China
and whose mother' tongue is of course Chinese.
The last 20 years of the 19th century are characterized by a regain of
interest in Chinese culture among the peranakan circles. Within four years (1883-
1886) over forty novels were translated into Malay. The renditions of Chinese
stories were so popular that the first novel by Lie Kim Hok (1853-1912) which
appeared in 1886 had a title in Hokkien (Tjhit Liap Sing or
 151

«Seven Stars») and was set in China under Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1861),
while the content was apparently greatly influenced by two Western novels (5).
Simultaneously the current of reform affecting China during the last thirty
years of the 19th century gradually penetrated the South Seas. The movement
for the revival of Confucianism progressively developed among descendants
of Chinese in the Dutch Indies. In 1900 an association called Tiong Hoa Hwe
Koan (hereafter abreviated to T.H.H.K.) was founded in Batavia which aim
was to create Chinese medium schools for descendants of Chinese and to
spread Confucian ideas. During the first stage at least special sections were
designed for girls in which the courses were given in Malay.
This «resinicisation» was continued all through the 20th century with the
creation of numerous other school associations, most of them run by
newcomers. With the knowledge and even the support of the Chinese government,
Chinese teachers were sent to the Dutch Indies. These schools also provided
English courses. Special schools were opened in China contemporaneously
supported by the governement and private funds, to which the Overseas
Chinese were invited to send their (male) children (6). So far though the stream
was but a trickle. But the Dutch Government realized that if it did not take
things into its own hands the Chinese would take the control of their
education. So it decided to make Dutch education easier in creating the so-called
Dutch-Chinese Schools in 1908. The result of this twofold educational system
was the gradual splitting up of the Chinese community into two streams; the
first one favouring the revival of Chinese culture and to a certain extent a
resistance to Westernization, while the second supported the assimilation of
descendants of Chinese into Western culture and more especially the Dutch.
However things became so complicated that within a same family a father
who had received a Chinese education, would eventually give his children a
Dutch training. These apparent contradictions have to be related to the
deteriorating situation in China in the 1930s on the one hand, and to the imposing
power of the Dutch rulers in the Indies on the other; also to the
mismanagement of the T.H.H.K. schools since the 1920s. Finally the fact should be
mentioned that the less privileged Chinese, mostly those living in the countryside,
were given a primary education in private Malay schools often run by
missionaries or retired civil servants.
As regards the press and the literature emanating from this community of
Chinese descent, the curious thing is that in spite of the efforts made on both
sides, the main stream was still in Malay. If it is possible to enumerate
weeklies and reviews published in Dutch, it seems that the peranakan when they
write fiction prefer to use Malay instead of Dutch or Chinese (7). As regards
152

the latter language, this could be taken as a proof of the low quantity of the
training in Chinese provided by the schools of the T.H.H.K. It seems safe to
say that only the students who had continued their studies in China were able
to write in this language. The Chinese newspapers published in Indonesia were
run by journalists who came from China, like in Singapore and Malaya.
Compared to those published in Malay which appeared even in small towns, they
were restricted to big cities like Batavia, Surabaya and Medan where a high
concentration of Chinese newcomers was to be found. Their circulation was
rather limited and moreover, because of their anti-Dutch positions, they were
frequently closed by the authorities and their editors-in-chief expelled.
We have so far obtained a total number of authors and translators
amounting to 800 odd among whom about 30 women, whose literary works
fall into three periods; the first from the beginnings to 1924 which is caracteri-
zed by the writing of poetry and later on by the appearance of the first
translations of Chinese novels ever done by women; the second from 1925 to 1928
during which the women tried to organize themselves in order to improve their
social status and use their literary talents to express their tentative resistance to
the social order mostly in novels; and the third from 1929 to 1942 during
which gradually the feelings of despair replaced those of revolt.

I. FROM THE BEGINNINGS TO 1924

We traced for this period the names of 13 women among whom 8 writers
of poems, 4 translators of Chinese and one journalist. In spite of the fact that
the urban peranakan Chinese community of Java was mostly composed of
merchants and was very traditional as regards the social role of their women,
we know that at least in the late 1880s many a well-to-do peranakan family
was willing to provide its daughters with a European education. For this
purpose they engaged European women-tutors (8).
Among the less privileged people the young girls were, very likely trained
in reading and writing Malay by their mothers and their aunts, as it was still
the case at the beginning of this century (9). Anyhow the fact is that in the
1980s women are fond of reading. We are unfortunately not informed about
the lives of the eight women poets who except two (Tan Tjeng Nio and Lioe
Gwat Kiauw Nio), did not dare to sign with their own names. They either used
pen-names such as Nona Boedjang, «Spinster», Nona Botoh, «Beautiful
Girl», Nona Manis, «Charming Girl», and Nona Glatik, «Sparrow-girl», or
their initials like K.P. Nio and L.S. Nio 00). Kwee Tek Hoay (ca. 1880-1951,
himself a journalist and writer, pointed out that Chinese women were drawn
to syair and pantun 01) and that «many women were capable of composing
 153

themselves after listening to the wandering singers and the 'wayang Tjokek'
who performed at public festivities».
He mentioned a Chinese lady living in Bogor in the 1890s whose
profession was to go to private houses in the evening to sing and tell stories
accompanied by players of gambang music. These poems and songs were mostly
aimed at amusing the women of the petty bourgeoisie; but some may have had
a more serious content. This seems to be the case with the poem by Tan Tjeng
Nio dated 1897 and which was reprinted at least four times (1899, 1902, 1913
and 1921). Its title reads : Sair tiga sobat nona boedjang di eret oleh Babapra-
nakkan Tangerang, or «Poem about Three Women-friends of whom One was
Seduced by an Indonesian-born Chinese of Tangerang» (12>. It is designed to
warn young well-to-do Chinese girls against the dangers of getting married to
unscrupulous husbands who do not hesitate to simulate love with the only
view of taking away their wealth. Firstly it tells of the friendship between three
young girls named A., B. and C. They used to meet regularly and discuss their
own affairs, especially the proposals of marriage they had already received. C.
was of the opinion that it would be pleasant to live like husband and wife
providing that the latter is humble, but she added that in fact there was no fun in
love, because a wife had finally to obey to her husband. A. replied that a
loving wife should be pleased to make it one's duty to execute her husband's
orders, but she complained about the match-makers who were not overscupu-
lous and did not hesitate to persuade a girl to accept a match even if they knew
that the candidate was only attracted by her wealth. A, had already received a
proposal and she was ready to accept it on the condition that she could make
sure he was a good match. B. also received a proposal emanating from a rich
family of Semarang dealing in tobacco. But the candidate was already married
and moreover was always indebted. So she declined the offer and concluded
by saying that it was better to be single even if not rich in order to preserve
one's freedom. B. agreed with her view. Finally they came to the conclusion
that they should not get married and instead retain the control over their own
lives even if it was in poverty.
But apparently A. was not completely convinced. One day she accepted
to marry a «rich» Indonesian-born Chinese of Tangerang. Her two friends
felt very sad when they discovered that they failed to persuade her of the
dangers she would encounter in getting married. Then we are shown the bride
discovering love with the Baba of Tangerang. But after two months of gay life
during which she thought they were rolling in money, her husband confessed
that he was indebted to a large amount of money to a Dutchman and begged
her, if she really loved him, to put some of her jewels in pawn. She did it
154

without much hesitation for the sake of her husband. Then they resumed their
careless life; but after one week an officer arrived who told them that he had
been given the order to seize the house and the furniture in order to repay
other debts. A. was so afraid that she contented to sell her diamonds. After
her husband had made sure that she had nothing more to sell he told her that
he would be obliged to look for a substitute. In order to accomplish his aim he
compelled her to write a letter by which she accepted to be divorced from him.
The story ends with the three girls reunited. Fortunately enough A. managed
to preserve some assets, so that she would be able to support herself. This
time, the three of them are finally resoluted to refuse any further proposals.
This story which provides a highly instructive insight into the
extraordinary independent life of well-to-do Chinese girls deserves some comments.
Firstly the three women are presented here as being given the possibility to
decide their marriages themselves since there is no allusion to their parents'
role in this respect, a situation which was apparently not so common;
secondly, they also enjoy an economic autonomy, relying on their personal
wealth based on their jewels but also on assets; thirdly, they openly advocate
celibacy at a time when marriage is still the common fate of women; fourthly,
they sharply criticise the malpractices of the match-makers and assert that as
far as marriages are concerned even their relatives cannot be trusted; fifthly,
they express quite freely their opinion regarding love and marriage and do not
hesitate to denounce husbands'authority over their wives; sixthly they frankly
unveil the problem of these kinds of male covetors who only get married with
the sole intention of taking possession of their wives' property. All these
assertions of rights seem to be quite new if not revolutionary for the time. But
judging from the success achieved by the poem which was reprinted several times,
we may assume that the content was in one way or another meeting the
readers' expectations. It is quite possible that other poems written in the same
vein were simultaneously circulated but of which we know nothing now.
There is at least one example of a poem written ca. 1906 by a certain K.P. Nio
and entitled Boekoe sair boewat kemadjoean bangsa Tionghoa fihak pram-
poean or «book of Poems Aiming at Improving Chinese Women's Progress».
The book was advertised in a Sino-Malay paper called Tiong Hoa Wi Sien Po
or «Chinese Reformist Newspaper» that was launched in Buitenzorg in 1906
by a group of progressive peranakan who supported the views of Kang You-
wei and other reformists. Unfortunately the book is no longer available. One
can but be struck by the fact that peranakan Chinese women were fond of
syair like their counterparts in China were of tanci. It is probably more than a
coincidence that progressive writers such as Tan Tjeng Nio and K.P. Nio in
 155

the Dutch Indies and Qiu Jin (1875-1904) in China, were using these literary
genres to spread their new ideals.
The Tiong Hoa Wi Sien Po had a special section designed for its female
readers. Its editor-in-chief was a certain Liem Titie Nio. But according to
some people she was in fact a man using his wife's name. Even if it was so, we
may assume that the readers were women and that they were interested in the
news devoted to women's affairs. Unfortunately this paper is available only
for the period after 1917. At that time many a woman was already
contributing articles to the press. We know of a certain Lie On Moy born in 1884 into a
family of Hakka newcomers established in Padang (Sumatra). She was the
sister of Lie In Eng (ca 1890-1941) who had a good command of Malay and
Chinese, and specialized in translations of Chinese novels into Malay that were
serialized in the press. Lie On Moy became the wife of Lauw Giok Lan (1882-
1953) then a famous journalist based in Batavia. She collaborated with her
husband in the publication of the weekly Penghiboer or «Entertainer» first
published in 1913.
In 1917-18 appeared the first translation of a Chinese novel attributed to
a woman called Lie Keng Nio. Unfortunately we know nothing about her. The
novel she translated belongs to the category of wuxia xiaoshuo or «cloak-and-
dagger story»; its title in Malay reads Tiga pedang jang tadjem or «Three
Sharp Swords» and comprises no less than 18 volumes and 1456 pages. The
original in Chinese has not yet been identified. It has been a bestseller since it
was reprinted in 1918. In the same year a certain Pek Hiang Nio translated a
story of the same genre : Sam Seng Touw or «The Three Stars Story» that
deals with brave heroines in Sichuan province during the Tang Dynasty (13);
another girl named Oen Tjwan Nio also published a rendition of an
unidentified Chinese story called Gadisjang didjoeal or «The Girl that was Sold» and
which is set in Kaifeng during the Song Dynasty. It seems that peranakan
Chinese women were like men fond of that pecular genre as we will see in later
periods.
Between the years 1921 and 1924 a certain Lie Loan Lian Nio also
translated Chinese stories. The first one was a rendition of Cai sang nu or «The
Girl who Picks Mulberry Leaves» by Wei Shi, a story that aims at criticising
the feudal family system and at advocating marriages based on love (14\ The
three other ones have not yet been identified; but we may assume that they all
belong to contemporary fiction and depict current problems of the Chinese
society and more especially those the women had to face. So when we will
come to analyse the novels written by peranakan women we should keep in
mind the fact that they may have been influenced by that kind of translation.
156

II. FROM 1925 TO 1928

In the 1920s more and more peranakan Chinese women received a formal
education and after having graduated usually discovered that there was a
serious gap between their ambitions and the place the Chinese society was
offering to them. Mrs Liem Lan Djin born in 1910 and educated in a small
village of Central Java and for a short time in the T.H.H.K. school of Cilacap
admitted recently that around 1925 it was difficult for a girl to publish articles
in the press signed with her real name. She added «if someone happened to
know that a girl was doing so, she was then regarded as red and everybody
gossiped about her». Nevertheless Mrs Liem used to write poems and short
essays in various papers using different pen-names such as Lan Hoa or
«Orchid», Kembang Sembodja or «Fragipanni Flower». She also revealed
that at 15 in order to escape the narrowness of her daily life — she was then
helping her mother to run a shop - as well as to dispeal her sufferings, she
started contributing writings in which she related her own experiences. In so
doing she could receive free of charge, several magazines and also get in touch
with those of her contemporaries with whom she was sharing common views,
especially other women writers like Mrs The Tiang Ek and Hong Le Hoa. She
also was befriended by a writer named Ong Ping Lok (1903-1978) with whom
she got married in 1930 and bore no less than ten children. This of course had
to put an end at her literary activities (...) (15>.
In 1925 Chan Leang Nio of whom nothing is known, was to write the first
novel emanating from a woman writer. Its title reads Tamper moekanja sen-
diriov «To Strike one's Face». The story is not particularly well written, but
its content is very interesting. It aims at denouncing the traditional marriages
still very common within the peranakan Chinese community. The two first
parts are devoted to the story of a gentle girl named Tin Nio whose parents
had died and who was living at her aunts 's along with her two cousins. She
went to school when a child, but her aunt assumed the responsability of her
further education as regards the things a wife-to-be should know. When she
was 21 years old, her aunt thought the time had come for her to get married.
She selected Tjong Toan a young boy who seemed quite suitable and asked
Tin Nio if she agreed with her choice. The latter replied that she completely
entrusted the matter to her. The wedding was celebrated in the most
traditional way. In the third part we see Tin Nio first living in harmony with her
husband of whom she got two children. She frequently pays visits to her aunt and
enjoys discussions with Ping Yong who is still a bachelor. Tjong Toan who is
more than old-fashioned disapproves the meetings of the two cousins which
 157

he considers as an offence to him. Without more evidence he gets furious with

her wife, and from this time forth treats her very badly. In despair Tin Nio
writes a letter to her cousin. The latter tries to convince Tjong Toan of his
cousin's honesty with the only result that the latter is expelled from her
husband's house.
Then we are shown Tin Nio and her two children accompanied by Ping
Yong sailing for Singapore. There, Tin Nio gets divorced and marries her
cousin. The story ends with a letter from Ping Yong to Tjong Toan in which he
says that he merely regarded Tin Nio as his sister and therefore he could not
understand why Tjong Toan had dared to humiliate her and make her
miserable as he did. Therefore he adds that he thinks it is his duty to marry Tin Nio
to save her from misery. In the meantime Tjong Toan started bearing
remorse. After he received Ping Yong's letter he wrote to Tin Nio asking her
to come back. She refused and just expressed the wish that if he married again
he will treat his wife in the proper way.
There is no doubt about the radical view-point of the author. But she
tackles the problem of the arranged marriages in such a way that her criticisms
may be accepted even by rather conservative minds. For instance she avoids
opposing arranged marriages to voluntary marriages. Sha had deeply reflected
on the topic and in her novel there are a lot of quotations borrowed both from
Chinese and Western sources. But she wants the reader to discover by him (or
her)self that arranged marriages may have unexpected consequences. Unlike
men writers who are quick to present the destruction of arranged marriages
due to the free life of «Westernized» girls, she portrays here an honest and
quite traditional type of wife. The fault does not come from her, but from her
husband. His rudeness towards his blameless wife has for result that the whole
society is siding with Tin Nio. Moreover Ping Yong is merely presented as the
saviour of his cousin and not as her lover. It is not clearly said who out of Ping
Yong and Tin Nio took the decision to flee to Singapore. But it seems that it
was done after a deliberation in which other persons could have taken part.
Once Tjong Toan wanted to beg the pardon of Tin Nio's aunt, the latter
refused saying that he broke her niece's happiness and for this should be damned.
The same year another writer, named Mrs The Tiang Ek, maiden name
Lie Djien Nio, pseudonym Mrs Leader, is also reported to have written a story
that concerns the Chinese in the United States <16). She seems to be a very
fascinating person about whom we know very little. She was born in Cianjur and
apparently received an education in Chinese since she also translated in 1924-
25 a cloak-and-dagger story entitled Niiying hui or «The Heroines'
Association» that deals with in a certain way with the emancipation of women (17).
158

She was for a time editor of the monthly Ho Pao, the organ of an association
called Lien Ho Hui, and contributed many articles to various reviews and
papers.
At the end of 1926 she published a novel entitled Terboeroe napsoe or
«To be Haunted by One's Passions» which gives a good idea of the two main
directions of women's «emancipation». The novel deals with two sisters Sian
Nio and Hiang Nio who in spite of the fact that they received the same Dutch
education react in different ways. They were born into a petty merchants'
family dealing in slippers and embroidery. Their father died when they were
still at school, and they had to help their mother. Hiang Nio already had a
boy-friend named Lim Hok Leng, was mainly interested in fashion and just
wanted to get married. Sian Nio on the contrary wanted to stay single in order
to achieve her aim which was to be a writer. Her idea was that by her writings
she might help her sisters to advance; at the same time it was also a means to
escape the sadness of her life. Her experience did not differ from that
described above by Mrs Liem Lan Djin. Moreover she also wrote a diary. But the
author does not really give the two sisters a chance to achieve their respective
aims. Hiang Nio is not satisfied with her marital life which does not provide
her with the love she expected; on the other hand Sian Nio is unable to adjust
her private life to her ideals. Her writings appearing under the name of Gadis
Pegoenoegan or «The Girl from the Mountains» achieved success both among
male and female readers. But she does not dare to use her real name. Sian Nio
is fascinated by the writings of an eminent journalist named Tjoa Koen Tiong
who finally discovered that she was no other than «The Girl from the
Mountains» whose writings he appreciated very much and finally they became
friends. But soon after Sian Nio felt obliged to accept a match proposed by
her mother. The two sisters one after the other languished away. Hok Leng
was full of remorse towards his wife whom he did not really try to understand
and Tjoa Koen Tiong after having read Sian Nio's diary realized that the two
of them were in love but would not admit it; in despair he decided to commit
suicide.
For Mrs The Tiang Ek it is quite obvious that emancipation was seen as
difficult to obtain. To contribute writings to the press was better than
nothing. But there was also the danger of dividing oneself into two persons;
the one who was free to write what she wanted, and the other one still
dangerously bond to the society. However this was the way most of the educated
women of that period chose. At the beginning of the year 1927 several women
usually using pen-names selected them from flowers, and started writing
poems, essays as well as short stories. One periodical entitled Panorama and
160

run by Kwee Tek Hoay (mentioned above) opened columns for women
readers and writers. There are to be found poems by Mrs The Tiang Ek in which
she expressed her sadness, but also by Tjit-Li-Hiang-Hoa in which she praised
the emancipated women as well as by Hong Le Hoa who voiced the
sufferings of her sisters still obliged to live in the darkness. These columns were
also the forum where the women writers started to debate about the
organisation they wanted to create.
Hong Le Hoa, real name Siem Piet Nio, was the initiator. She was born
in Purbolingo (East Java) in 1907 and had received her education at the
missionary school of her native place. She contributed several articles and short
stories which appeared in the press. In August 1928 she succeeded in creating
Soeara Persatoean Kaoem Prempoean Tionghoa Indonesia or «The Voice of
the Federation of Indonesian Chinese Women», a magazine published in
Sukabumi under her editorship. It was supported by seven Chinese women's
organisations of Java. It seems to be hard to come by. According to a review
published in Panorama, the magazine was divided into three parts : the first
dealing with the Federation's activities, emphazised the fact that the main
purpose was the promotion of women; the second was devoted to the family and
the third to literature. We may assume that the magazine did not last very
long. In 1930 Hong Le Hoa married Liauw Seng Toh, a progressive minded
merchant who had helped her to print the journal. They soon had children
and Hong Le Hoa was kept busy at home (18>.
In the same year 1928 another magazine appeared in Surabaya under the
editorship of a woman by the name of The Tien Nio; it was entitled Doenia
Istri or «Women's World». But apparently it was backed by men who wanted
to warn women who persisted in going «modern». In the issue n°5 (Sept. 1928)
was published an article entitled Pakerdja'an di kantoor antara prampoean
Tionghoa or «Chinese Women and Office-work» by H.N.Tjan. It aims at
explaining that if it is suitable for Chinese women living in China to work in
an office it is unconceivable for their counterparts residing in the Dutch
Indies. The argument is that in China women are already emancipated while
in the South Seas they have not yet obtained the right to mix freely with men
in their daily life.
But nearly at the same time another woman-writer, by the name of Kwee
Ay Nio, was publishing a novel entitled Pertjintaan jang sedjati or «True
Love» which opposes two rivals Khoen Hwat, an orphan who is a poor but
good-hearted boy and the adopted son of his boss, Go Djien Hong, who treats
women as goods, and uses to visiting prostitutes. Both are attracted by Kiem
Nio, the daughter of an humble widow who is working as a cook in the Go's
 161

family. Khoen Hwat and Kiem Nio are in love and the latter's mother has
nothing against it. But Djien Hong who sees Kiem Nio each time she
accompanies her mother to the Go's house is attracted by her beauty. He personally
asks Kiem Nio' s mother the hand of her daughter. The latter very politely
declines the proposal saying that she has to ask Kim Nio first. Djien Hong
realizes that in spite of his wealth he has no chance to succeed. So he decides to
eliminate his rival and for the purpose pays a rascal to murder him. The
murderer misses Khoen Hwat and is arrested by the police. Djien Hong who has
been stealing his father's money for a certain time, tries to accuse Khoen Hwat
of doing do. The adoptive father is so furious that he expels his son. Khoen
Hwat and Kiem Nio get married and the hapiness is even added to by Khoen
Hwat being adopted as a son by his rich boss. Finally Djien Hong who had
been involved in a crime was found dead in his jail. To restore the peace
within the family Khoen Hwat suggests giving Djien Hong proper funerals,
and his father finally accepts the proposal.
What is interesting here is the fact that for the writer the money and its
power constitute a serious hindrance to the establishment of equal
relationship between sexes. She, in fact, criticises all the rich Chinese merchants of that
time who behaved similarly to Djien Hong. Moreover she emphasizes the
positive attitude of the mother towards the new type of marriage based on
mutual love as opposed to those contracted on economic basis. But like her
contemporaries, she does not mention the question of female work. Women
only run business or sell pastry or cooking if they have lost their husband's
support.
There is apparently no direct link between the activities of the
communists which were suppressed in 1927 (the same year as in China) and the
feminist movements that took form between 1926 and 1928. But we may probably
assume that the revolutionary atmosphere which was to be felt in urban life
was a stimulus to the women's revendications. They were really expecting a
change in their social life, but as we will see below these feelings had gradually
to give way to less vindicative thoughts.

III. FROM 1929 TO 1942

One of the most productive writers at the eve of this period is Dahlia, real
name Tan Lam Nio. She was born in Java in 1909. In 1929 she married Oen
Hong Seng who was a journalist, with strong nationalist feelings, as well as a
prolific writer. She fell sick in 1932 and died the following year. The first
novel that appeared in 1930, is still in the vein of Kwee Ay Nio's «True Love».
It is entitled Kapan sampe di poentjaknja atawa tjinta dan pengorbanan or
162

«When Shall We Reach the Summit? or Love and Sacrifice». The story is
about the love affair between Nora Tio, the daughter of Tio Keng Sin, a rich
dealer in sugar from Semarang, and Tjeng Giok who is working as a cashier in
the firm of Tio Keng Sin's brother. The parents who have received a proposal
from Henri Tjoe, the son of a wealthy family from Surabaya are not satisfied
with the refusal of their daughter. The husband-to-be also tries to eliminate
his rival, but without much success. Finally the two lovers decide to run away.
Tjeng Giok finds a job in a Dutch firm while Nora becomes a teacher. With
the help of the Dutch boss they celebrate their wedding. Nora's parents realize
that in fact Henri Tjoe, who in the meantime had been convicted of crimes,
was not a good match. They invite Nora to come back and promise to give her
husband the directorship of their business. What differs from the previous
story is that this one is set in the wealthy peranakan world whose luxurious
way of life is well evoked.
Apparently Dahlia was concerned with the question of women's work.
Her third novel entitled Kesopanan Timoer or «Oriental Civility» (1932) raises
the problem of office-work still largely regarded within peranakan circles as
unproper for women. She portrays a Dutch educated girl named Kiok Nio
who is living with her mother; the latter is a widow and they have financial
difficulties. Kiok Nio does some needlework which is badly paid and eventually
sells some pastries, while she could be a typist or a secretary. Finally with the
help of a former Dutch school-mate she is employed in a Dutch firm at
Batavia. We are shown Kiok Nio first a bit uneasy in her new position, but greatly
satisfied when she received her first salary. She is in a position to improve
their standard of living. The first thing she and her mother do is to move to a
more fashionable area. But soon after Kiok Nio faces marriage proposals. She
has to choose between her boss who is fascinated by her — but she would not
accept a Dutchman - , a peranakan clerk and a rich Chinese businessman who
wants to take her as his concubine. If the Dutch candidate accepts Kiok Nio's
decision, the rich merchant on the contrary uses any means to obtain her, first
in dispaching a match-maker and eventually in trying to have the clerk
poisoned. After many intrigues, she gets married to the clerk who in fact comes
from a well-to-do family from Surabaya. They go back to that place and the
story ends with the wedding.
It is to be presumed that Kiok Nio will not work anymore since she now
belongs to the bourgeoisie again. In other words, work is still regarded as the
fate of poor women, spinsters and widows. This may explain why for Dahlia
as well as for most of her contemporaries belonging to this social class,
marriage is still considered as crucial. What they want is to improve their status as
 163

wife and get more love and affection from their husbands. In no case they
would accept to make love with a sweetheart. Their aim is to conciliate
marriage arranged or not, with the idea of love they got through their education.
In her last novel but one entitled Doerinja pernikahan or «Marriage
Thorns» (1933) Dahlia presents the sufferings of a Chinese educated bride
named Sioe Lan after she discovered her husband was attracted by his cousin
Tientje, a Western educated girl working in an office. Sioe Lan does not
express her complaints, but instead decides to move to their weekend-house, a
few miles away from Semarang. One day her husband arrives earlier than
expected and finds her discussing with friends; he sharply reproaches her for
daring to talk with Lie Hok Tin, a bachelor who is not related to them, and
without more evidence accuses her of being in love with Hok Tin. He tells this
to his cousin who seizes the opportunity to further deteriorate husband and
wife relations in sending to the former anonymous letters in which she
criticises the bad conduct of Sioe Lan. He is on the point of divorcing from his wife
when he happens to see in Tientje's apartment one letter she has just written
and which is similar to the previous ones he already received. That makes him
realize that he has been fooled by his cousin. Full of remorse he rejoins his
wife and begs her pardon which she gives of course.
What strikes the reader is the fact that in all this affair Sioe Lan remains
without initiative, even not daring to speak frankly with her husband. This
gives the impression that the fate of a wife is entirely in the hands of her
husband. We are already far away from an heroine like Nora Tio who did not
hesitate to resist her parents' decision in running away. The gap between the
boys who enjoy the greatest freedom and the girls who are entirely dependant
on the family is even more obvious in the last novel by Dahlia entitled Oh
Nasib or «Oh Destiny» (1933). She portrays a girl named Soei Nio who firstly
has to suffer the ill treatment of her step-mother and is deserted be her
sweetheart Peng Ho for whom she had been waiting for years and to whom she was
officially engaged. The latter had the chance to study in the United States and
on his way back he fell in love with a Chinese girl he met at board ship when
she was on the point of commiting suicide. Dahlia was good enough to makes
her hero Peng Ho die, which could be considered as a punishment while the
fate of Ing Nio is not to commit suicide but to start working as a nurse in the
Chinese hospital at Jakarta
Mrs The Tiang Ek who in the previous period was very active in
journalism and in feminist activities wrote a novel entitled SoeamP. or «Husband» in
1933 which is in the vein of «Marriage Thorns» by Dahlia. It seems that a new
moral emphazising the subjection of women first to their parents and then to
164

their husbands was weaving its way within the peranakan Chinese society. The
feelings of revolt animating her two previous heroines are now replaced by
those of complete resignation. In «Husband?» Mrs The Tiang Ek portrays a
Dutch educated girl named Lie Tjoe who has just married her sweetheart Ho
Han. The latter happens to be a good-for-nothing. First he is unsuccessfull in
his business and is finally obliged to work as an employee in a Dutch firm;
secondly he often neglects his wife who is left alone at home; later on he even
deserts her completely in order to live with his concubine. Lie Tjoe is aware of
everything about her husband, but she thinks it is her duty to accept her fate.
Her only satisfaction is to write from time to time in the press. One of her
former schoolmates named Soey Mo who has been loving her silently, suggests a
divorce from her husband and a remarriage with him; she refuses the
proposal. A friend of her husband also feels sorry for her and often comes to see
her. In the meantime Ho Han is involved in a crime and sentenced to two
months emprisonment. When he is released he feels full of remorse and begs
his wife to forgive him. Like in the story by Dahlia she does what he wants and
after he rejoins her, she decides not to continue to write since she now feels
happy (...).
Miss Kin and The Liep Nio the two other writers who produced one novel
respectively in 1931 are not better disposed towards their less docile heroines.
Instead of portraying «exemplary» wives, they present young girls who for
having opposed the society are unable to enjoy a life of hapiness. The former
in Doenia rasanja antjoer! or «The world Seems to Shatter», deals with a
family of merchants from Bekasi who after having been struck by the waves
of the world economic crisis took refuge in Batavia. There, with the help of
some relations, they get the financial assistance of a European enterprise.
There are three of them : the parents and their daughter Hong Nio who is at
the age to get married. One day they are visiting a fair Lim Tjin Seng who is of
humble condition happens to see Hong Nio. He manages to have letters sent
to her and they regularly meet with the connivance of Hong Nio's maid. In the
meantime a rich and powerful merchant by the name of Tan Giauw Siang who
is a famous woman chaser happens to see Hong Nio. He orders a
matchmaker to propose to her parents and take her as his concubine. The father
Tjio Goan Liang, who regards his daughter's marriage as a means to restore
his wealth, accepts the proposal. When the parents announce their
determination to Hong Nio, the latter in despair tries to commit suicide. The parents
consequently reverse their decision and accept to marry her to Lim Tjin Seng.
But God decides to punish the lovers and make them die successively of
sickness before getting married. There are passages in this novel which remind us
 165

of the impossible love story between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.
The Liep Nio in Siksa'an Allah or «God's Torment» describes the love
affair between Liang Nio the daughter of a rich merchant from Kediri and
Siok Tjwan the son of the late contractor Oei Hong Too. They have known
each other since they were children, but Liang Nio's parents want her
daughter to stop seeing him. They intend to marry her to the son of the late Oei
Hong Liang, who inherited all the wealth of his father. Liang Nio refuses to
obey her parents and instead runs away with her sweetheart. They go to Solo
(Central Java) where Siok Tjwan who has no relation cannot find a job; then
they proceed to Surabaya, a city where the business is under the control of the
totok, or Chinese newcomers, but without much success. In despair, they
come back to Kediri. But Kim Nio and Siok Tjwan are both rejected by their
respective parents. Siok Tjwan starts mingle with unreliable men and one day
he sells his wife to a rich merchant from Jombang who abuses her. Siok Tjwan
is out most of the time and Kim Nio who has given birth to a girl Liesje has to
support herself by selling prepared dishes. Some twenty years have elapsed
and Liesje falls in love with a boy named Tik Hian. The parents of the latter
are opposed to the marriage and in the meantime Siok Tjwan sells his
daughter to a rich merchant to be his concubine. Liang Nio whose health was
undetermined by her sorrows dies and her daughter is induced to becoming a
prostitute and finally commits suicide.
In this novel it is the society which represses its members deemed guilty.
The punishment inflicted is so severe that the condemned have no chance to
escape; even their children have to suffer the consequences of their «faults». It
is quite clear that the peranakan community could not easily accept a change
of values as regards the position of women. If we glance at the literature
produced during the same period by men writers, we would discover that quite a
significant number of novels are designed to criticize the so called «modern
girls» who had left their Chinese identity as well as Chinese civility behind
them. But there were also several male writers who voiced Chinese women
revendications (19>. It seems that the economic crisis which characterised the
early 1930s did not facilitate the women's movements. The Chinese
community of Java which had been seriously shaken was more concerned with
economic matters than with the position of their women. The shadow of the crisis
appears in all the novels we reviewed above.
Quite apart from this, is to be mentioned a novel by a certain Miss
Agatha entitled Toekang Kelontong or «Pedlar» (1931) dealing with the
adventures of a Chinese newcomer named Tjee Oen Seng who arrived in Java at the
turn of the century in order to try his luck. After a short stay in a shop in Bata-
166

via, he decided to work on his own as a pedlar in the area of Cianjur. There
he met a Sundanese girl named Rahija, and they fell in love. In spite of the
opposition of her parents, Rahija decided to leave her native place in order to
spend her life with Oen Seng. She helped him to run a shop. Notwithstanding
the successive difficulties encountered by this couple, this interethnic marriage
is presented as a successful one by the author. As far as we know it is the only
attempt made by a woman writer to risk herself outside her own world.
From 1934 to 1937 we could not trace a single story. In 1938 appeared
Anak Haram or «Illégitime Child» by Gadis Goenoeng. This is a very sad
novel which deals with a girl named Lian Nio whose mother died after having
given birth to her and whose father deserted her by dropping the baby into the
house of Tjan Sik le, a merchant from Bangil (East Java). Sik Ie after many
hesitations adopted the child; but he felt embarrassed towards the neighbours
for whom the girl was a topic of gossip. Consequently he decided to have her
educated at home with the help of his nephew Twan Hong. One day Lian Nio
happened to find out that she had been adopted by Sik Ie. When the latter told
her that he knew nothing about her real parents, she felt humiliated and
refused to marry Twan Hong who was making love to her. She ran away with the
hope of learning something about her parents and started working in a plant
at Surabaya. One day the son of a well-to-do family fell in love with her. His
parents, because they were aware of Lian Nio' s story, opposed the marriage.
Finally she came back to Kediri without having obtained any information
about herself and this time was ready to accept Twan Hong's proposal. But
she died the eve of her wedding.
Here again as in the previous story, we see a girl-child rejected by the
society because of her parents who were deemed guilty for having given birth
to a child before getting married. After that we have no more novels until
1940-42. It is to be supposed that during this period the women's
revendications came to a low ebb.
We should also mention the appearance in Batavia of a magazine for
women entitled Maandblad Istri or «Women's Monthly» which was launched
in 1935 at the initiative of Mrs Tjoa Hin Hoei and also the publication of
translations of Chine novels by Mrs Phoa Gin Hian between 1935 and 1938.
The magazine designed for the middle-class women may be regarded as a
symbol of the impact of Western bourgeois ideals (2°), while the translations
may be considered as a continuation of cultural ties with the motherland;
especially the last rendition whose story takes place after the establishment of
the 1911 Republic and is designed to arouse nationalistic feelings in the reader.
Mrs Tjoa Hin Hoei, daughter of Kwee Tek Hoai (mentioned above), maiden
 167

name Kwee Yat Nio, was born in 1907 in Bogor (close to Jakarta). She
received her education first at the T.H.H.K. school and then at the Methodist Girls
School of her native place. Interestingly enough after graduating in 1922 she
started to work as a primary teacher at the same school until she married in
1925. She was active in journalism and contributed many articles to the
women section of various dailies until she launched her own journal. She was
the main contributor. The magazine carried out a wide range of articles
dealing with the position of women in the Dutch Indies and abroad but also in
Western fashion, beauty, cooking, family problems, child care and health;
short stories, serialized novels and reviews of Western movies were also
provided to the readers. It lasted until 1942.
Not long before the occupation of the Dutch Indies by the Japanese
which put a temporary end to the writing of the peranakan, appeared the
works written by Tjan Kwan Nio and Chen Hiang Niang. As far as we can see
it seems that sentimental and didactic novels gave place to a new genre more
indebted to claok-and-dagger stories. Chen Hiang Niang was apparently both
a translator and a writer. It is sometimes hard to asset whether her novels are
plain adaptations or original works. It is especially the case with Bangsat
Besar or «Big Rascal» which is a Chinese detective story set in Shanghai and
of which the main hero, Mr. Cheng, reminds us of Sherlock Holmes. In the
preface to her second novel, Djoharmanik, Chen Hiang Niang informs the
reader that she retold this story (which belongs to Classical Malay literature
and of which several versions are known) because it deals with women's
suffering. The heroine, named Djoharmanik, is portrayed as a courageous woman
able to overcome the difficulties she encounters. Her last work, TjiMoay Eng
Hiong or «The Two Heroic Sisters», is a translation from a Chinese cloak-
and-dagger story or wuxia xiaoshuo. It is set in the Ming Dynasty and deals
with Hong Giok and Hong Bie who pacified the Henan province thanks to the
military arts they learned at the Shaolin School.
As regards Tjan Kwan Nio she is very likely the first Chinese woman to
have ever written Western style claok-and-dagger stories as well as adventure
novels set in Europe and presenting heroes in the way European writers like
Ponson du terrail and Alexandre Dumas did. She almost forgets that she is a
woman and feels completely free to write what she wants about strange
countries from which she is far away. In order to understand better why she did so,
we would like to go into her biography. She was born in 1908 in East Java into
a well-to-do Chinese family established in Indonesia for four generations. At
six, she entered the T.H.H.K. school and at the same time started to learn
writing and reading Malay with her aunt. Soon after she began to read transla-
168

tions of Western stories, especially those emanating from French writers as

well as novels written by peranakan. She left the Chinese school to enter a
Dutch one. But her father did not want her to study too long and at age 15 she
was married to a man chosen by her parents and moved to her in-laws. She
started to write when she was still a child but had to conceal her writings after
she discovered that her parents laughed at her while reading the stories they
had found in her room. It was not better with her husband who went as far as
to forbid her to publish her novels. It was not until the death of the latter that
her first story appeared in 1940. In the three novels she published before 1942,
only one : Bidadari Elmaoet or «The Fairy of the Death» is mostly set in
Indonesia, and this was done at the demand of the publisher. In her novels
where the crime is the prime mover, the struggle for life has replaced female
vindications and complaints. Women occasionaly take part in the crime like
men do. In other words, Tjan Kwan Nio by means of her writings, also found
a way of escape; but while the previous women-writers were trying to express
their own revendications or sufferings, she just wrote as if she was a man. She
admitted that when she was a child she preferred to play with boys than with
girls even if she was frequently quarreling with the former (21).

One may consider that this literature emanating from Indonesian

peranakan Chinese women-writers is of minor importance from the view-point of
literary history. But if we look at it from a sociological approach one has to
admit that it was the first attempt ever made by women in the Archipelago. If
we leave out Suwarsih Djojopuspito who apparently was also of Chinese
origin but already integrated into the local society, Indonesian as well as Malay
women-writers of novels and short stories did not really emerge in number
before 1940 (22). But compared to some of their counterparts in China they
were less concerned with political affairs. It seems that the pressure of the
Overseas Chinese merchant-dominated communities upon women was so
strong that only some of the changes occuring among the circles of the well
educated girls in China could be accepted in the South Seas. Among the
Chinese stories translated into Malay from 1919 to 1942 we find either cloak-and-
dagger stories or sentimental novels belonging to the category called in
Chinese yuanyang hudie pai «Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies», but hardly a
specimen of Chinese Modern Fiction.
So far we just traced a rendition of the famous «Autobiography of a
Female Soldier» by Xie Bingying that appeared in 1942 and was based on an
English version. We may assume that the peranakan Chinese women writers,
except those who could read Chinese, had no chance to get access to the works
 169

of authoresses like Bing Xin, Ding Lin, Lu Yin and so forth. It seems that for
the Chinese descendants of both sexes fiction was more a means to escape
from the hardschips and sufferings of the real world - hence the tremendous
success of cloak-and-dagger stories — than a tool to propagate new ideas.
If now we look at the content of this feminine fiction, it appears that it
was badly limited by the boundaries of the real women's world. Their contacts
with men were scarce and consequently they could not provide a serious social
analysis of the Chinese community. Men outside the family were divided into
two groups : the powerful but ugly big merchants who treated women like
goods and the intellectuals who in fact were either educated petty merchants,
clerks or journalists. Curiously enough teachers, male and female (except
once) did not appear in this fiction. Marriage within the limits of the
bourgeois circles remained the principal concern. It had to be preserved from the
malpractices of the match-makers, from the intrigues of women chasers, from
the menace represented by prostitutes and second wives, as well as from the
abusive divorces and sometimes also from the interference of the parents.
Love had to be conciliated with marriage, and that was the most difficult
thing to realize, hence the numerous problems brides had to face. The normal
place of women, married or not, was to remain within the family. Work was
not really regarded as a means to gain autonomy, except under extraordinary
financial difficulties. These women writers did not feel concerned with
Indonesian women (except Miss Agatha and Dahlia) nor with Chinese women who
had recently arrived from China. Apart from maids, women belonging to low
classes did not exist for them. Prostitutes were regarded as enemies but the
problem of their exploitation by men which was in reality one of the current
issues of the 1930s was not treated at all. Neither religious questions nor
political affairs were evoked in this fiction.
The Second World War and the Independence of Indonesia introduced
serious changes within the peranakan Chinese community. Male writers
resumed their literary activities quite soon after the end of the war. Among women
only Tjan Kwan Nio has continued to write fiction and more especially short-
stories which have been published in the press until now. In the early 1970s
new women writers started to produce novels. One of the most famous is
without any doubt Marga T. Her novels often cross the boundaries of the
peranakan community while her heroes are Indonesian whose origins are hard
to trace (23). Should also be mentioned here the name of Mira W. (24> who
wrote a lot of «pop style» novels about doctors. But this is the subject of a
further research.
170

NOTES

1. See inter alia Fang Xiu, Mahua xinwenxue shigao, Singapore Shijie shuju, 1962-63, 3 vol;
Miao Xiu, Mahua wenxue shihua, Singapore, Qingnian shuju, 1968, I vol.
2. See Yu Wang Luen, «Women Writers of Malaysian Chinese Literature» Archipel 24, 1982,
pp. 205-234.
3. For a detailed survey, see C. Salmon, Literature in Malay by the Chinese of Indonesia, a
provisional annotated bibliography, Etudes Insulindiennes-Archipel n°3, Paris Editions de la
Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1981.
4. See Lim Joo Hock, «Chinese Female Immigration into the Straits Settlements (1860-1901)»,
Journal of the South Seas Society, vol. XXII, 1-2, 1967, pp. 58-110; C. Salmon, «Le rôle des
femmes dans l'émigration chinoise en Insulinde», Archipel 16, 1978, pp. 161-174.
5. Cf. C. Salmon, Literature in Malay, p. 25.
6. We do not know when Chinese girls were sent to study in China for the first time. According
to a report in Hoa Kiao in date of 10 Mai 1929, in that very year there were 100 peranakan
girls studying in the only University of Jinan.
7. Suwarsih Djojopuspito (1912-1977) an Indonesian writer apparently of Chinese origin wrote
a novel in Dutch entitled Buiten het gareel or «Out of the Harness» which appeared in
Utrecht in 1940. Originally the book was written in Sundanese, but as it did not show the
political neutrality which was one of the main demands of Balai Pustaka, the official printer in
the Dutch Indies, the author had to translate it into Dutch in order to have it published in
Holland. It may be regarded as a nationalist novel.
8. Cf. C. Salmon, Literature in Malay, p. 18.
9. See below.
10. According to the Hokkien tradition, girls' first names almost always consist of one character
followed by the term nio (niang) or «girl» allowing us to recognize transcriptions attributed
to women among Hokkien names.
11. Cf. C. Salmon, Literature in Malay, p.26.
12. This poem written by Tan Tjeng Nio was edited by a certain Intje Ismail who was a rather
critically minded journalist; he contributed articles in the Sino-Malay press of Batavia. Judging
from his name, one may assume that he was a peranakan converted to Islam.
13. In 1922 Pek Hiang Nio became the editor of the women section of Hoa Po. The latter was
aimed at promoting Chinese women according to Chinese values. In some of her articles she
did not hesitate to criticize the Western style of emancipation which according to her view did
not fit the Chinese spirit. This section did not last long. Later on Pek Hiang Nio contributed
articles to Doenia Istri. We may of course wonder if she was not a man using a girl's name.
14. Cf. Wei Shaochang, Yuanyang hudie pai yanjiu ziliao, Zhongguo xiandai wenxue shi ziliao
congshu (jia zhong), Shangai, Wenyi chubanshe, 1962, p. 155.
15. Private communication from the author.
16. Cf. John B. Kwee, Chinese Malay Literature of the Peranakan Chinese in Indonesia, 1880-
1942, Unpublished Ph D, The University of Auckland, 1977, p. 198.
17. In the same year 1925 a certain Tan Poen Bhik Sio Tjia translated a Chinese modern novel set
in Shanghai and entitled Mata Allah or «God's Eye» in Malay whose original in Chinese has
not yet been identified. In 1928 she also contributed articles to Doenia Istri.
18. She is now living in Sukabumi where she still runs a shop.
19. See C. Salmon, «Société peranakan et utopie : Deux romans sino-malais (1934-1939)»,
Archipell, 1972, p. 192.
20. In the first issue, Mrs Tjoa explained that her aim was to create a journal that could be an
equivalent to Funti zazhi, «Women's Magazine», in China, Ladies Home Journal'm the USA
 171

and the Modern Women in Great Britain. Interestingly enough the cover of this first issue
bears a portrait of Wilhelmina Queen of Holland. Along this line are also to be mentioned
here two other magazines written in Dutch and devoted to even more Westernized peranakan
ladies of the middle class; both bear Chinese titles in spite of the fact that the contents are
influenced by Western culture. The first Fu Nu Tsa Chin, «Women's Magazine», appeared in
Malang for the first time in 1932. It was under the editorship of Mrs Liem Sam Tjiang and
was published with the help of a peranakan association called Chung Hsioh, we do not know
when it ceased publication; the second entitled Fu Len, «Women», appeared in 1937 in
Batavia under the editorship of Mrs Ong Pik Hwa (1907-1972); it lasted until the occupation of
the Dutch Indies by the Japanese in 1942.
21. These biographical notes are taken from a highly interesting autobiography written in
Indonesian by the author in 1981 and still in manuscript form. We intend to publish it in
translation. Autobiographical works are not numerous among peranakan; as regards women those
written in English by two ladies emanating from the highest circles should be cited here :
Madame Wellington Koo with Isabella Taves, No Feast Lasts Forever, New York,
Quadrangle, The New York Times Co, 1975, 313 p; Queeny Chang, Memories of aNyonya
Singapore, Eastern University Press, 1981, 180 p. The latter also wrote short stories in the 1920s-
1930s (in English) and syair bunga (literary «flower verse») in prose form (in French). Some
of them were recently published for the first time with an introduction by Myra Sidharta in
Archipel 2A (1982), pp. 235-260.
22. Only three novels : two by Selasih and one by Hamidah appeared in the thirties; cf. Henri
Chambert Loir, «Les femmes et l'écriture : la littérature féminine indonésienne», Archipel13
(special issue on Indonesian Women), 1977, p. 272.
23. Cf. H. Chambert Loir, op. cit., p. 273. For a short biography, see Leo Suryadinata, Eminent
Indonesian Chinese, Biographical Sketches, revised éd., Singapore, Gunung Agung, 1981, p.
86.
24. According to Mrs M. Sidharta's information, Mira W. is the daughter of one of the Wong
Brothers who were the pioneers of the movie world in Indonesia.

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