Ong Hok Ham (1 May 1933 – 30 August 2007) was an eminent Chinese Indonesian historian considered one of the leading experts on

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 ...

n history during the 19th century Dutch colonial rule. His particular area of knowledge centered on events in

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 mos ...

during the period, and he authored a number of works dealing with the subject. A native of Surabaya,

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 ...

which, until the founding of Indonesia in 1945, was a part of the Dutch East Indies, Ong Hok Ham lived in the city of his birth for the first twenty-five years of his life. Ong's family was upper-middle class, but through his maternal grandmother, Han Loen Nio, Ong hailed from the patrician

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 ...

, part of the '' baba bangsawan'' or the Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia, and from a long line of Chinese officers who served in the civil bureaucracy in the Dutch East Indies. Ong could, thus, trace his lineage in Java back, through Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen (1727 – 1778), to

Han Siong Kong Han Siong Kong (1673-1743) is best known as the founder of the Han family of Lasem, one of the oldest dynasties of the ''Cabang Atas'' or the Chinese gentry (''baba bangsawan'') of colonial Indonesia. As government bureaucrats, landlords and poli ...

(1673 – 1743), a Chinese-born migrant of ancient lineage. Like others from old

Peranakan Chinese The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, t ...

families, Ong grew up between Chinese, Javanese and Dutch cultures. In 1958, Ong moved to Bandung,

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

, where he received his schooling and began his writing career. He became increasingly well-known for the historical and cultural articles he wrote for the Jakarta-based magazine ''

Star Weekly The ''Star Weekly'' magazine was a Canadian periodical published from 1910 until 1973. The publication was read widely in rural Canada where delivery of daily newspapers was infrequent. History Formation The newspaper was founded as the ''Toronto ...

''. In 1975, he received his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in History from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

with the dissertation ''The Residency of Madiun: Priyayi and Peasant in the Nineteenth Century''. He was a regular contributor to the Indonesian magazine ''Tempo'' and a collection of his pieces for the magazine written between 1976 and 2001, ''Wahyu yang Hilang, Negeri yang Guncang'' (''A Lost Mandate, an Agitated Country'') was published in 2002. He wrote a series of other books, mostly a collection of essays and articles, including ''Runtuhnya Hindia Belanda'' (''The Fall of the Netherlands Indies''), ''Negara dan Rakyat'' (''The State and the People''), and ''Dari Soal Priayi sampai Nyi Blorong—Refleksi Historis Nusantara'' (''From Priayi to Nyi Blorong—Historical Reflections on the Indonesian Archipelago''). An English-language collection of his writings, ''The Thugs, the Curtain Thief, and the Sugar Lord'', received publication in 2003. The book chronicled power, politics and culture in colonial Java. In 1989, he retired from his duties as professor of history at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the D ...

. His final responsibility was as chairman of the ''Lembaga Studi Sejarah Indonesia'' (the Indonesian Institute of Historical Studies). Ong Hok Ham, who was a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, suffered a stroke in 2001 and died six years later at Dharmais Cancer Hospital in

West Jakarta West Jakarta ( bew, Jakarte Bekulon; id, Jakarta Barat) is one of the five administrative cities of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. West Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city council, hence it is not classified ...

at the age of 74.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Hok Ham 1933 births 2007 deaths People from Surabaya Indonesian people of Chinese descent Yale University alumni Indonesian writers Tempo (Indonesian magazine) people University of Indonesia faculty Indonesian Buddhists Han family of Lasem Javanists

See also

Notes

References