Chinese urbanisation in Java: eighteenth century to nineteenth century

© 2009 Susetyo FirmaningtyasThe development of Chinese quarters in the harbour cities on Java’s northern coast accompanied the growth of these early cities during twelfth to fifteenth centuries. However the histories of these quarters and their role in the development of Javanese cities have received inadequate attention. This research examines the urbanisation of the Chinese quarters, particularly in the eighteenth nineteenth centuries, and the characteristics of their built form. This is achieved through a case study of the city of Surabaya, where the city government recently established a program to revitalise the banks of the Kalimas River – the location of the city’s Chinese quarter. Because of time and access limitations, this study focuses only on prayer buildings. The analysis was undertaken mainly by interpreting archival materials such as pictures, maps and family records, and through a comparison of Surabaya’s Chinese quarter and its prayer buildings to those in Semarang and Jakarta. Interviews were also conducted with Chinese community leaders and building owners. This study reveals that although local and western cultures influenced the lives of the Indonesian Chinese on Java, their cultural life was still based upon mainland Chinese culture. This study also demonstrates the uniqueness of the Chinese buildings in Surabaya compared to those in China, Semarang and Jakarta. Moreover, the buildings represent adaptations made by Chinese community in response to political changes over time. Generally though, the findings indicate that despite political and social changes as well as urban growth, the Chinese quarter has constantly played an important role in the development of Surabaya