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Re-examination of the “Chinese nationalism” and Categorization of the Chinese in Malaya:
The Case of the Chinese in Penang, 1890s-1910s
SHINOZAKI Kaori, Ph.D. student,
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences University of Tokyo
Email: kaoris@pd.jaring.my
ABSTRACT
It is often described that the Chinese in Malaya strongly oriented towards China before the independence. Their activities were all explained by the "China factor", described as if it was always developed only by influences from China. It is also often discussed that how much they contributed to the revolution in China in 1911 and other historical development in China. These points of view are very popular among Chinese scholars and is seldom discussed by Western scholars. The latter would rather focus on the role of the Chinese community in Southeast Asian context, namely, their role as informal bureaucracy system to gain revenue for the colonial governments through operation of opium farms. Both circles hardly link to each other. My paper attempts to try to discuss these topics as a whole and explain “Chinese nationalism” as a result of shifts both in China and Southeast Asia.
1. Review of Studies
In studies on history and politics of the Chinese community in Peninsular Malaysia, there is a widely accepted approach. It is the approach which divides the Chinese leaders into two categories, namely, English-educated leaders and Chinese-educated leaders and understands their personal behaviour based on the prototype of each. This approach can be said to become very common and well established in Heng Pek Koon’s study.[i]
She points out that the division has been developed since the early 20th century in the colonial circumstances and applies this division to analyse behaviour of the Chinese leaders in Malaya in the 1950s, especially those in MCA (Malayan/Malaysian Chinese Association). According to her, English-educated leaders, often labelled as
The Case of the Chinese in Penang, 1890s-1910s
SHINOZAKI Kaori, Ph.D. student,
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences University of Tokyo
Email: kaoris@pd.jaring.my
ABSTRACT
It is often described that the Chinese in Malaya strongly oriented towards China before the independence. Their activities were all explained by the "China factor", described as if it was always developed only by influences from China. It is also often discussed that how much they contributed to the revolution in China in 1911 and other historical development in China. These points of view are very popular among Chinese scholars and is seldom discussed by Western scholars. The latter would rather focus on the role of the Chinese community in Southeast Asian context, namely, their role as informal bureaucracy system to gain revenue for the colonial governments through operation of opium farms. Both circles hardly link to each other. My paper attempts to try to discuss these topics as a whole and explain “Chinese nationalism” as a result of shifts both in China and Southeast Asia.
1. Review of Studies
In studies on history and politics of the Chinese community in Peninsular Malaysia, there is a widely accepted approach. It is the approach which divides the Chinese leaders into two categories, namely, English-educated leaders and Chinese-educated leaders and understands their personal behaviour based on the prototype of each. This approach can be said to become very common and well established in Heng Pek Koon’s study.[i]
She points out that the division has been developed since the early 20th century in the colonial circumstances and applies this division to analyse behaviour of the Chinese leaders in Malaya in the 1950s, especially those in MCA (Malayan/Malaysian Chinese Association). According to her, English-educated leaders, often labelled as