Khouw Tjeng Kee

Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Kee
Born1832
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Died1883
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Occupation(s)Luitenant der Chinezen, community leader, tycoon, landowner
Years activemid-nineteenth - late nineteenth century
SpouseShie Hok Nio[1]
ChildrenKhouw Oen Djioe, Luitenant der Chinezen (son)
Khouw Oen Tek, Luitenant der Chinezen (son)
Khouw Oen Hoey, Kapitein der Chinezen (son)
Oen Giok Khouw (son)
FatherLuitenant Khouw Tian Sek
RelativesKhouw Tjeng Tjoan, Luitenant der Chinezen (brother)
Khouw Tjeng Po, Luitenant der Chinezen (brother)
Khouw Yauw Kie, Kapitein der Chinezen (nephew)
Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen (nephew)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Khouw.

Khouw Tjeng Kee, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen (born in 1832 — died in 1883) was a Chinese-Indonesian magnate and landlord in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).[2][3][4]

Khouw was the second of three sons born to Khouw Tian Sek, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen (died in 1843), a Batavia magnate and patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen, part of the Cabang Atas or the Chinese gentry (baba bangsawan) of colonial Indonesia.[3][4] He had two brothers, Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Tjoan and Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Po, and two sisters, Khouw Giok Nio and Khouw Kepeng Nio.[4] Khouw, his father and brothers held the rank of Luitenant der Chinezen, proper to high-ranking, Chinese officials of the civil bureaucracy in the Dutch East Indies.[5] In their case, however, the title had been granted on an honorary basis without administrative responsibilities. Prior to his Chinese lieutenancy, he had the hereditary title of Sia as the son of a Chinese officer. Together with his eldest brother, Khouw Tjeng Tjoan, Khouw Tjeng Kee was elevated to the Chinese lieutenancy in 1856. From the mid-nineteenth century until the end of colonial rule, the family was acknowledged as the wealthiest Chinese-Indonesian family in Batavia.[2][6]

Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Kee was administrateur of the family's extensive private domain (particuliere land) of Tamboen in Bekasi, east of Batavia.[7]

The Luitenant was well-known for both his generous philanthropy and for his lavish parties, the last of which he hosted for Cap Go Meh (Chinese Lantern Festival) in 1883 with Lie Tjoe Hong, 3rd Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia.[8][2] In contrast to his unpopular eldest brother Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Tjoan, the younger Khouw was lauded for his "generosity, helpfulness and humanity".[9]

Three of Khouw's sons would later serve as substantive Chinese officers in the colonial bureaucracy. His eldest, Khouw Oen Djioe, was Luitenant der Chinezen of Parung from 1886 until 1895; Khouw Oen Tek was Luitenant in Buitenzorg from 1886 until 1889; and Khouw Oen Hoey was Luitenant in Batavia from 1899 until 1905.[10] Another son, the philanthropist O. G. Khouw, achieved notoriety by becoming - together with Oey Tiang Hoei and Mas Asmioen - Indonesia's first Dutch citizen, thus bypassing the colony's racial segregation laws.[11] His nephew, Khouw Kim An, served as the fifth and last Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia.[5][4]

  1. ^ "Familiebericht". Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië. NV Mij tot Expl. van Dagbladen. 16 September 1931. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Sugiastuti, Natasya Yunita (2003). Tradisi hukum Cina: negara dan masyarakat : studi mengenai peristiwa-peristiwa hukum di Pulau Jawa zaman kolonial, 1870-1942 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Universitas Indonesia, Fakultas Hukum, Pascasarjana. ISBN 9789793115115. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b Knapp, Ronald G. (2013). Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462905874. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Erkelens, Monique (2013). The decline of the Chinese Council of Batavia: the loss of prestige and authority of the traditional elite amongst the Chinese community from the end of the nineteenth century until 1942. Leiden: Leiden University. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b Lohanda, Mona (1996). The Kapitan Cina of Batavia, 1837-1942: A History of Chinese Establishment in Colonial Society. Jakarta: Djambatan. ISBN 9789794282571. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  6. ^ Osterhammel, Jürgen (2014). The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400849949. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  7. ^ Staatsspoorwegen, Dutch East Indies (1908). Verslag (in Dutch). Batavia. Retrieved 21 July 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ "De Majoor Lie Tjoe Hong en de luitenant". De locomotief : Samarangsch handels- en advertentie-blad. De Groot, Kolff & Co. 21 February 1883. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  9. ^ "NEDERLANDSCH-INDIE. BATAVIA, 18 OKTOBER". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. Bruining. 18 October 1880. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Bestuur over vrermde oosterlingen". Bataviaasch nieuwsblad. 29 November 1886. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. ^ Setyautama, Sam (2008). Tokoh-tokoh etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. ISBN 9789799101259. Retrieved 21 July 2017.