Wang, Tai Peng
Description
A precise definition and translation of the term kongsi is , as
Schlegel has pointed out, almost impossible. However, it is of necessity
in this introduction of the thesis to set out various ways in which the
term has been used and, in contrast to them all , the particular sense that
I wi11 use. Old and new usages of the word sprang to life all over Islands of
Southeast Asia, with waves of Chinese immigration and the evolution of the
Chinese ways of life that have become the Chinese...[Show more] institutions - the kongsi.
Of all the general usages, the account given by Beknopte Encyclopaedia van
Nederlandsche Oost-Indie is so far the best, the clearest and the most
detailed : Kongsi is a Chinese word which indicate s a firm,
partnership or society in a very broad sense. The
word has been commonly used in the archipelago
over centuries and has become current in both
Dutch and various native languages. Literally it
means government by a general public or administration
of public affairs . The word, kongsi, is
derived from the dialect of the Hokkien people who
have established themselves throughout Java and
commercial ports of the outer islands . In the
Hakka dialect , it reads as Kung-sze. In Riouw
and Java, administrators of a firm are customarily
addressed and referred to as kongsi. Chinese
officials also used this title .
Owing to the untiring pursuit of the Chinese of the
means to raise capital , the Chinese kongsi is numerous
not only in our colony but also in the Malay Peninsula,
in the outer islands of Indonesia and in the Philippines.
The significance of the kongsi for the flowering and development of Chinese industry, commerce and
navigation is hard to overestimate. The kongsi
were entirely established to hold people of the
same home countries and clans in a closer tie or
relationship. In the family kongsi, no one,
because of the tradition, could have private
fortune so long as their father lived. All the
family capital were at the disposal of the patriarch.
Undoubtedly, if under closer examination, many
kongsi would no longer be family kongsi as they
at first seem to be. The Chinese kongsi have,
however become more and more divorced from the
above-mentioned origins over time, more especially
recently.
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