Han Siong Kong (1673-1743) is best known as the founder of the

Han family of Lasem The Han family of Lasem, also called the Han family of East Java or Surabaya, was an influential family of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (today known as Indonesia). They came to power in the Indies through their ...

, one of the oldest dynasties of the ''

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas) — literally 'highest branch' in Indonesian language, Indonesian — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of Dutch East Indies, colonial Indonesia. They were the fa ...

'' or the Chinese gentry (''baba bangsawan'') of colonial Indonesia. As government bureaucrats, landlords and politicians, his descendants played an important role in the

colonial history Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 aut ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

History

He was born in Tianbao of

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

, in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

province of

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Han was from a long line of

scholar-officials The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

. His first attested ancestor is Han Zhaode, a general in the army of the warlord

Tan Goan-kong Chen Yuanguang (; 657–711), courtesy name Tingju (), Art name, pseudonym Longhu (), was a Tang Dynasty general and official. He was from Gushi County, Henan. The people of Zhangzhou, Fujian, along with the descendants of immigrants from Zhangz ...

(died 711), who pacified Fujian for the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618-907). Han Siong Kong's branch of the family is descended from Han Hong, who received the degree of Metropolitan Graduate in the

Imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

of 1121, then received an appointment as Secretary in the Ministry of Inland Revenue during the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960-1279). Around 1700, Han Siong Kong left his native country for

Lasem Lasem ( fa, لاسم, also romanized as Lāsem and Lasm; also known as Lishan) is a village in Bala Larijan Rural District, Larijan District, Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, ...

, a port on the north coast of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

island. By an unnamed woman of at least part-native ancestry, Han had five sons and four daughters. According to J. Hageman, Han's wife was the daughter of the regent of Rajegwesi (now part of

Tegal regency Tegal Regency is one of the regencies in the northwest part of Central Java province of Indonesia, with an area of . The administrative center used to be in Tegal City, in the northwest corner of the regency, but then Tegal City was administrat ...

). Two of their sons, Ngabehi Soero Pernollo and Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen, would play a significant role in establishing and consolidating Dutch colonial rule in

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

Death

Han Siong Kong died in 1743 in Rajegwesi, Central Java. Local legend has it that in the course of Han's funeral ceremony, there was a thunderstorm. As a result, Han's children abandoned their father's coffin in the forest in order to seek shelter. The displeased spirit of Han Siong Kong is said to have cast down a curse on his descendants who dared settle down in

References

{{Reflist, 36em . People of the Dutch East Indies 1673 births 1743 deaths Businesspeople from Fujian Hokkien people Chinese emigrants to Indonesia Indonesian Hokkien people Indonesian people of Chinese descent People from East Java People from Zhangzhou Cabang Atas

History

Death

See also

References