
My Forgotten Race : A journey to prove that I am not a ‘Banana’, a ‘Cina’ and not even a ‘Chinese’.
This article is an updated version from the Original LinkedIn Article dated 08 August 2018 as there were several new stories added to make this updated version on Medium more substantiated with recent global happenings as support.
Crazy Rich Asians. Today I read it broke some sales record and well the show is gaining traction globally and once more the world get to know a “Hollywood Approved Stereotype” version of an ethnic group. But what caught my attention in one of the cast interviews was one by Michelle Yeoh, where she used the reference “Banana” as she too, like me was a victim of this unnecessary tag despite our love for our ethnic culture and heritage.
As for me, my story sounds a little more complex. Thank you for reading.
In the later part of my growing up years, I have come to understand that I have been grossly misunderstood. Firstly by people close to me, as friends and family who have “Chinese” education would refer to people like me who have a National education background as a “banana”, roughly means yellow outside, white inside. And then, Malaysia, the country I called home don’t think I belonged, with my then Prime Minister having lost the 2/3 majority in Parliament again back in 2013, attributing it to a “Chinese” tsunami asking “Apa lagi Cina mau?” (What more do the Chinese want?) and lastly, the community I am most popularly referenced to in this region, the “Overseas Chinese” somehow does nothing for me.
The above collage is that of my paternal grandparents, Their wedding photo still in original frame (only to have its glass shattered by me…) given by my beloved grandma before she passed. She kept all these photographs very close to her side. The baby she is seen cradling lovingly is my father. Photo circa 1915.
“I am not a banana damn it!” — Yellow outside, white inside.
This wasn’t a one month or two journey, but one that spanned more than a decade. It wasn’t impulsive. It was developed first an interest before it became a passion.
After some digging up the family tree, I was told that grand-dad was a Johannian (to be confirmed), and so was my dad and myself. 3 generations of Johannians — old boys who studied at the prestigious St. John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur which was established by the La Salle brothers in 1904. So that makes us all educated without any Chinese influence and that would rendered us a bit disadvantaged when it comes to being able to full identify ourselves with the local “Chinese”, their customs and festivals. Even grand-dad’s wedding was all in good old Western suit and a bow while grand-ma, although donning a white dress, I believe she is wearing a sarong to reflect her Penang Nyonya heritage. Dad’s side of the family has always been more Western influenced and many of my uncles and aunties are Christian converts.
The term “banana” was first used on me if not mistaken in High School, where there are some who had Primary education in Chinese medium schools but decided to switch to National schools to fortify their English and Bahasa. This gave them an even better advantage as they could read and write all 3 languages fairly well. It really angered me a lot. You see, mum and dad brought us up in a matter of “choices and consequences”. When we make a choice, we learn to live with the consequences, but in making that choice, we must make it with full knowledge and confidence that it is for our good. But in this case, I did not make the choice to be born a “Chinese” in a supposedly adopted land call Malaysia. And trust me when I say this that till today, I get people in their perplexing expression staring at me after I told them that I am a Malaysian Chinese, practicing Catholicism. And the first statement I get is “Oh! Then you cannot celebrate Chinese New Year lah”. I almost died.
That moment prompted me to start on this journey to understand my heritage, to find a sense of belonging in my country, as a Malaysian first and “Chinese” after (this definition confused the f*** out of me) And being a fan of history, I started from there, reading stories, watching period dramas, listening to my mum, her side of her “Chinese” heritage, and a very interesting view which was the key to my enlightenment in this search, learning to speak Mandarin, improve on my Hokkien and well, picked up Cantonese easily watching those Hong Kong movies. But I didn’t leave Malays out of the equation as I fell in love with the language in High School, and continued to practice my Malay and surround myself with Malay friends. This wasn’t a one month or two journey, but one that spanned more than a decade. It wasn’t impulsive. It was developed first an interest before it became a passion. I immerse myself in history, journals and biographies and kept on reading when I have time. Speaking to elders helped too. And only most recent, I came to realise, my true identity.
“My ancestors are not Chinese/Cina. They are T’ng Lang (Hokkien)”
Huaxia is a historical concept representing the “Chinese” nation and civilization. This development is unique, as it is a reference of a race, by virtue of romantic reminisce of bygone eras.
To understand the general use of the word “Chinese” in identification of people found throughout the world, whom ancestors migrated centuries ago from “China” and resettled in foreign lands like Malaysia, I went back into history to get a better grasp of how such a great civilization identify themselves more than 2500 years ago, as the word “China’ only became a popular Western reference of the country in the mid 19th century.
So, 2200 years ago, with the formation of the first Imperial Empire by Qin Shi Huang, the great but short lived Qin Dynasty ruled for 21 years. It was succeeded by ‘heaven’s mandate’ in 202 BC by the the Han Dynasty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty) and ruled till 220 AD. To this day, China’s majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the “Han” people and the Mandarin script is referred to as “Han characters”. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered a golden age in Chinese history. The second longest dynasty to come would be the Tang Dynasty, ruling for 289 years from 618 AD to 907 AD. “ It is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty).
In China’s illustrious history, only two of its dynasties were not ruled by Han emperors. This means that the Han people we conquered by outsiders, despite their long and mighty history in the region and mentions of wisdom in strategic warfare and weapon mastery. In 1271 AD, the Mongols took control and ruled for 97 years as the Yuan Dynasty only to be toppled by the Hans to regain rule over their homeland and establishment of the mighty Ming Dynasty in 1368 AD to 1644 AD, a span of 276 years. Modern history remember the Mings for their exquisite hand works and porcelains, but one of it’s mightiest and most adventurous deed was the formation of the Imperial fleet, led by the Muslim Eunuch Admiral Zheng He (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He). But history has its bittersweet way to end the Imperial rule of China in the hands of the Manchurians, a northern nomadic tribe, who conquered Beijing in 1644 AD and established the last Dynasty of China and a non-Han Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty ruled for the next 276 years till 1912.
The person in the picture on the left is my maternal grandfather. He was born in Guang Zhou, Southern China and as a child, he was trained to portray female characters in the Chinese Opera troupe. Those days, no females are allowed to perform, hence boys are trained from young, so that their voice and movements are precise to bring out the various character they portray. Unknown to many, Chinese Opera is a preservation movement. One that aims to keep the stories, cultural practices, heroes and heroines, costumes, teachings of the Han culture during the reigns of the Manchurian Qing Emperors and even survived the Communist Cultural Revolution. And this is where my blood runs thick. Thicker than banana smoothie. To know the ethno-cultural differences of the Hans during the Ming rule and ruled Hans during the Qing rule. The same spirit was passed on to my mother, who in her special ways taught me to appreciate this special side of my heritage. That I am Han. 汉子
Peking Opera Blues is a Hong Kong movie that depicts the political struggles by different groups after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
The mention of the three major Han dynasties is important to my study as the Han, Tang and Ming all has significant race identification of the Han people to this day, especially the community living outside of the mainland. You see, the argument here is that from ancient time till today, the Han people in all their dynastic rules and languages never referred to themselves as China or Chinese even. The origins of the word “China”, “Cina” or “Chinese” came from the outsiders. “China, the name in English for the country, was derived from Portuguese in the 16th century, and became popular in the mid 19th century.It is believed to be a borrowing from Middle Persian, and some have traced it further back to Sanskrit. It is also generally thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese word “Qin” (Chinese: 秦), the name of the dynasty that unified China but also existed as a state for many centuries prior. There are however other alternative suggestions for the origin of the word. Chinese names for China, aside from Zhongguo, include Zhonghua (中華/中华), Huaxia (華夏/华夏), Shenzhou (神州) and Jiuzhou (九州). Han (漢/汉) and Tang (唐) are common names given for the people’s ethnicity reference. The People’s Republic of China is known as Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó (中华人民共和国) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_China#Huaxia)
Thus the so called “Chinese” people historically never reference themselves as Chinese. Although here in Malaysia, you may not have heard the usage of ‘Han’ per se but the description of ‘Thong Yan’ or “T’ng Lang’ or maybe ‘Wa Yan’ or ‘Hua Ren’ — People from Mainland/China. This development is unique, as it is a reference of a race, by virtue of romantic reminisce of bygone eras. The reference of Hua Ren came about early in the Chinese civilization. The term Huaren (華人) for a Chinese person is an abbreviation of Huaxia with ren (人, person). ‘Huaxia is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civilization. It came forth out of a self-awareness of the Han Chinese people towards their ancestral tribes, collectively known as the Huaxia. It was a reference to a civilized society that was distinct and stood in contrast to what was perceived as the barbaric peoples around them. Today, the official Chinese names of both the People’s Republic of China (PRC) use the term Huaxia in combination with the term Zhongguo (中國, 中国, translated as “Middle Kingdom”), that is, as Zhonghua (中華, 中华). And again, the PRC’s official Chinese name is Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo (中华人民共和国). Today, the term Zhongguo usually refers to the nation itself and Zhonghua to the civilization. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaxia)
“Overseas Chinese who are ethnically Han Chinese, such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, or Teochew refer as 唐人 (Tángrén), pronounced tòhng yàn in Cantonese, Tn̂g-lâng in Hokkien, and Tong Nyin in Hakka. Literally, it means Tang people, a reference to Tang dynasty China when it was ruling China proper. This term is commonly used by the Cantonese, Hakka and Hokkien as a colloquial reference to the Chinese people. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Chinese)
So now. Why am I am ‘Cina/Chinese’? So who am I ethnically?
Correction please. I am not Chinese/Cina. I am ethnically Han!
The matters of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia is that of the welfare of Chinese citizens and diplomatic relationship with Malaysia. I am not a Chinese citizen, so why do I need its ambassador’s help?
The infamous line “Apa lagi Cina mau?” uttered in 2013 by the President of UMNO, the ruling Malay party in the Barisan Nasional coalition which won a simple majority in the Lower House of the Malaysian Parliament as he prepares to be sworn in as Prime Minister for all Malaysians. He must have forgotten that. Silly boy. And from that day onwards, the “Chinese” community was accused for everything that is not right in this country and we became the bogeyman on the Government who is desperately trying to stay in power for as long as they can. Soon after, we see a rise of public statements and remarks, often seditious in nature, made by some people or groups (Ministers included) in the Malaysian mainstream media. Scuffles and tensions were seen with road rages and small time thief caused a racial fight scene at a local IT Mall, with the perpetrator vilified as a hero. And amidst such a tensed background, conversations about the ‘Cina’ diverged and we were introduced to two types of “Cina.” in Malaysia.
“Cina” born in Malaysia, some with ancestral linage, tracing back as far as 4 to 5 generations.
- Pendatang (Immigrants)
- Pengacau (Disturbance)
- Pengkhianat (Traitors)
- Pembangkang (Opposition)
“Cina” from China, Not born in Malaysia but in the People’s Republic of China.
- Pelabur (Investors)
- Pelancong (Tourists)
- Pembina (Builders)
- Peniaga (Businessmen)
This became apparent when a rumour of Red Shirt (Far Right Malay group led by Sg. Besar’s Umno Division Chief, Datuk Jamal Yunos to hold a demonstration outside of Kuala Lumpur Chinatown was met with an impromptu “Mooncake Festival” visit by the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, HE. Dr. Huang HuiKang in the morning of protest day. Obviously, the Red Shirt planned protest did not take place. Many rejoiced by this move, but not me. Why do need the Chinese Ambassador to stand in for our safety? Where are the Police and leaders we look up to to protect us from such a threat to our community? The matters of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia is that of the welfare of Chinese citizens and diplomatic relationship with Malaysia. I am not a Chinese citizen, so why do I need its ambassador’s help? And to finally put a stop to this ridiculous question of “Apa lagi Cina mau?” My answer would be, “Saya tak tahu, sebab saya bukan Cina/I don’t know because I am not Chinese.”
The above article published a year ago in the Economist is a prime example as to why and how changes and definition of being Chinese that is taking place in China, should not affect me as a Malaysian citizen and I am not bound by their definition. So how do I go about defining my unique Han etho-cultural practices in my multi-racial, multi-cultural country?
A much needed paradigm shift, internally and externally. #PeranakanTNG
I like to call this fresh sense of revival, #PeranakanTNG.
Merdeka! It’s August and the country is all geared up to celebrate Independence Day on the 31st of August and National Day on the 16th of September to commemorate the formation of Malaysia. The Federation is made up of people of various races but all united under one nationality. Bangsa Malaysia. This year is special, as Malaysians, we showed the world that we are capable to use our democratic voting rights to transition political parties peacefully, in forming a better government, whom the people entrust the welfare, resources and forward planning of this beloved land and country. It’s an era of Malaysia Baru.
And to my kins, living in this country or region. It is perhaps time to examine our heritage. To look internally as a people or community that practices Han culture but learn to adopt local Malay way of life. Speaks the Malay language with pride and calls Malaysia, “tanah tumpahnya darahku.” Eat with your hands once a while la can? or pick up some Malay sopan santun, like “minta lalu/asking for passage” in a crowded room. Wear the kebaya proudly — like my cousins at a wedding in Germany (picture on your left). I like to call this fresh sense of revival, #PeranakanTNG — The Next Generation. And with this paradigm shift, externally, we shall do away with the “Cina/Chinese” reference as it is more often than not used negatively to question our place — “Tak suka? Balik Tongsan la/If you don’t like it here, go back to mainland.”, our loyalty — “Cina semuanya Komunis/All Chinese are Communist.” and our birth right, our nationality as citizens of Malaysia and not the People’s Republic of China.
Aku anak bangsa Malaysia! Dan inilah Negaraku.
After Thoughts — “Peranakan” is how the Malay community calls them. “Straits Settlers” are how the British describes them. “Nyonya & Baba” is how they refer to themselves in describing their new identity.
A community that with its birth, either through marriage or resettlement of Chinese immigrants in the Malay archipelagos, or better known as Nusantara, 500 years ago, leaves us today with a culture that speaks of acceptance (and not tolerance) adoption (and not assimilation) and acknowledgement (and not mere existence). A culture that gently with time, weaves itself into the larger tapestry of its host country/region and in waves of “authentic remix” in a non-disruptive manner, manifested today in the forms of architecture, furniture, household and kitchenwares, cuisine, language, rites and rituals and most importantly, its fashion.
Today, as we face unprecedented mass migration across continents and massive “clash of cultures and identities” driven by globalization, natural disasters or man made tragedies like war, prompted me to question my identity as an 3rd generation immigrant and a so called “Chinese” living in Malaysia. What impact does my identity have on the host society in particularly politics that shapes public policies. What role do I play as a “second class citizen” in nation building initiatives by the host country to promote harmony and tolerance. And finally, an increasing presence of China’s economic, military and foreign policies are creating an air of discontent often being lashed out at “Chinese” immigrants in their host countries, often being singled out and have their loyalty questioned.
#PeranakanTNG (The Next Generation) hopes to spark a new conversation among prominent members from immigrant societies (especially the Peranakans), academics and historians, NGOs like UNHCR, politicians and policy influencers and makers, and bring them all together to uncover great lessons and monuments of survival of the Peranakans whom today, “walks among us.” and their popularly accepted way of life, may hold the key to a code of co-existence for both immigrants and hosts to live by that yields harmony, prosperity and sustainability for nations and the world.