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10. Living Among Three Walls? The Peranakan Chinese in the Netherlands
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
10 Living Among Three Walls? The Peranakan Chinese in the Netherlands Li Minghuan At the end of the t 9805, there were about 60 000 ethnic Chinese in the Netherlands, among whom were 7000 Peranakan Chinese. They are Chinese desccndams, born in Indonesia but who later emigrated to the Netherlands. They played prominent roles in Dutch society, especially in Dutch academic circles. This chapter will focus on their cultural adaptation and identity problems, tracing their migration history and analysing their migration motivation. A comparison with other immigrant Chinese groups to the Netherlands will be made and the study is essentially based on fieldwork and archival studies in the Netherlands by the author between 1986 and 1988.1 A HISTORICAL PROFilE Viewed historically, the presence of the Chinese in Euro pe can be found in records daring as far back as a few centuries ago. In the Netherlands, according to documentation found by the author, the earliest period when Chinese came as immigrants (not as travellers or visiting officials) was at the end of the nineteenth century.l However, only in the twentieth century did the Chinese as an immigrant group gain recognized attention. The earliest Chinese migrants came mainly from Indonesia (the former Dutch East Indies, as it was commonly known). The Chinese presence in 16!! Li Millgiluall the East Indies preceded that of the Dutch there. The 1930 census shows that among the Chinese in Java, about 79 percent were descended from Chinese-born forebears in the Dutch East Indies, and in the Outer Provinces of the East Indies this percentage was 48 percent. In aggregate, this percentage was 63 percent. In other words, of the rotal 1 190014 Chinese inha bitants of the Dutch East Indies, 756 172 were born in the Dutch East Indies..! Such people are the Peranakan - 'sons of the soil'. Usually, the Peranakan Chinese speak a modified form of Malay, wea r local clothing, prepare their food in Malay fa shion and maintain active social relations with native neighbours, largely in accordance with local cultural rules. However, it is very clear that they still identify themselves as Chinese. The Dutch presence in Indonesia facilitated the immigration of rhe Indonesian Chinese, especially the Peranakan Chinese, to the Netherlands. At the end of the nineteenth century, some Chinese businessmen in the Dutch East Indies were allowed by the Dutch government to do business in Holland. Understandably, those Chinese who had a working knowledge of the Dutch language and a certain understanding of Dutch society were able to establish their business relatively successfull y. According ro historical records, a fter 1863 some Dutch mission schools set up in Java began accepting local Chinese students. This was believed to be th e earliest Western education available to Chinese children, almost all of whom were Peranakan, in the Dutch East Indies.4 Doubtless, the students who could enter such schools ca me only fro m the richest Chinese famili es, mainly of businessmen and entrepreneurs. The Dutch education obtained from such schools would help those younger Peranakan Chinese expand their business in the Netherlands. The fi rst Peranakan Chinese students' association - the Chung Hwa Hui (rj-,1{!lfn - was established in the Netherlands in 1911. Among the earliest members (a bout twenty), a few had grown up and fini shed both their prima ry and secondary education in the Neth e rlands:~ In view of this, some Chinese fam ilies must have already migrated from the Dutch East Indies to the Netherlands no later than the end of the nineteenth cenrury. They formed th e first Chinese immigration group in the Netheriands although their number was very limited. However, most Peranakan Chinese emigrated to the Netherlands only in the twentieth century, which can be briefl y divided into three phases. The first phase lasted from the beginning of the twentieth century [0 the end of the Second World War. It was clear that the number of Peranakan Chinese businessmen in the Netherlands was always very limited as few of {hem could compere with Dutch entrepreneurs in their ho meland. Bur it is noteworthy that only from the beginning of the twentieth century did the Dutch higher schools officially begin to accept Chinese students who [3.145.36.10] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 13:37 GMT) Livillg AmOllg Three Walls? 169 had received an excellent basic Dutch education. The so-called 'HollandschChinese school' was established in the Dutch East Indies in 1908. Since then the number of Chinese who...