Faye Yik-wei CHAN

Mrs Tjoa Hin Hoeij (1907-1990) : Profile of an Enterprising Peranakan Chinese Woman

Writer in Late Colonial Indonesia

Two years ago when I was researching into the social history of Peranakan Chinese women in late colonial Indonesia, I had the good fortune to establish contact with Mrs Tjoa Hin Hoeij, a former editor and free-lance journalist (1).

Like most aspects of Peranakan Chinese society during those pre-war years, the press was still a predominantly male preserve. Women's journalism was limited to the editing of « women's pages » in newspapers or magazines, and publishing articles, short stories, poetry, and translations of Chinese or Western stories. Peranakan Chinese women writers who were aver- sed to revealing their names in print would use pseudonyms like, for example, Miss Agatha, Beautiful Girl, Spinster, Dahlia, Mrs Leader, and so on. Very few attempts were made by Peranakan Chinese women to run a newspaper or magazine, and such publications which did exist were short-lived due to lack of public interest and support (2). Mrs Tjoa's success with her magazine Maandblad Istri was an exception to the rule. Where similar publications had failed, Maandblad Istri' s survival was assured by the support it received from major social institutions like the Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (THHK) (Chinese Association), and political associations like the Chung Hwa Hwee (CHH), as well as from many of Mrs Tjoa's contacts who were eminent persons in Peranakan Chinese society. Hence, the appearance of Maandblad Istri in the late 1930s could be considered as a significant contribution by women to the Peranakan Chinese press.

After corresponding for almost a year, I finally met Mrs Tjoa in Jakarta on 23 November, 1989. She appeared frail, but was otherwise in good spirits, and we talked for almost two hours. That meeting was my first and last with Mrs Tjoa. She passed away on 26 Septembre 1990. The following is an account of Mrs Tjoa's life and work.

Mrs Tjoa Hin Hoeij (Mrs Visakha Gunadharma) née Kwee Yat Nio, was born in Bogor in 1907 (3), the eldest child and only daughter of Kwee Tek Hoay, an eminent Peranakan Chinese writer and social critic W. As a young girl she already displayed considerable literary talent, whereas her two bro-