Khouw Tjeng Kee, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen (born in 1832 — died in 1883) was a
Chinese-Indonesian
Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries.
Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...
magnate and landlord in
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
, capital of the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(now
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 ...
Khouw family of Tamboen
The Khouw family of Tamboen was an aristocratic landowning dynasty of bureaucrats and community leaders, part of the ''Cabang Atas'' or the Peranakan Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia.
Many members of the family held the rank of ''Majoor ...
, part 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. He had two brothers, Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Tjoan and Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Po, and two sisters, Khouw Giok Nio and Khouw Kepeng Nio. 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. 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.
Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Kee was ''administrateur'' of the family's extensive private domain (''particuliere land'') of Tamboen in
Bekasi
Bekasi (, su, ) is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta.the city of planet Bekasi is his nickname.It serves as a commuter city within the Jakarta metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census by Statistics ...
, east of Batavia.
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. In contrast to his unpopular eldest brother Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Tjoan, the younger Khouw was lauded for his "generosity, helpfulness and humanity".
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
Parung (Sundanese:ᮕᮛᮥᮀ) is a town and district in Indonesia that is located in the southwestern suburb of South Jakarta but officially still within the area of the Regency of Bogor. Those who travel from Jakarta to Bogor through the west ...
from 1886 until 1895; Khouw Oen Tek was Luitenant in
Buitenzorg
Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Khouw Oen Hoey was Luitenant in Batavia from 1899 until 1905. 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. His nephew,
Khouw Kim An
Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen (; 1875 – February 13, 1945) was a high-ranking Chinese Indonesian bureaucrat, public figure and landlord who served as the fifth and last ''Majoor der Chinezen'' ("Major of the Chinese") of Batavia, Dut ...
, served as the fifth and last ''Majoor der Chinezen'' of Batavia.