A Preliminary Survey of the Parallel, Independent and Interdependent Dvelopments of the Chinese Peranakan Literature in Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract

The development of Chinese peranakan literatures in Indonesia and Malaysia have so far been studied separately. This means that a comparison of their similarities, differences and influences on one and the another has not been made. Whatever the reasons, this article is a preliminary survey of their parallel, independent, and interdependent developments taking place in roughly the same time at the end of the 19th century. No complete survey can be done without studying all of them, which is impossible at the moment without reading all of them. Whether in prose, or in poetry, whether original or translation or even transliteration, Chinese peranakan literatures were popular in big towns, concentration centres of these peoples, in Jakarta, Malang, Madium, Malacca, Penang, Singapore, Solo, Sukabumi, Surabaya, to mention a few. The golden age of Chinese peranakan literature was clearly at the height of their economic position developed in close connection with the expansion of their economic power. Most of the extant publications are devoted to education and entertainment with some political overtures which make some of the Indonesion novels to appear like immigrant literature in the colonial period.

Keywords: Straits Settlements, East Indies, Chinese peranakan, Serialised Publications, cloak and dagger novels