In The Early Dutch Sinologists Koos Kuiper gives a detailed account of the studies and work of the 24 Dutchmen trained as “interpreters” for the Netherlands Indies before 1900. Most began studying at Leiden University, then went to Amoy to study southern Chinese dialects. Their main functions were translating Dutch law into Chinese, advising the courts on Chinese law and checking Chinese accounts books, later also regulating coolie affairs. Actually their services were not always appreciated and there was not enough work for them; later many pursued other careers in the Indies administration or in scholarship. This study also analyses the three dictionaries they compiled. Based on a wealth of primary sources, it gives a fascinating picture of personal cross-cultural contacts.

The Netherlands have a long and proud history in Chinese studies. This volume collects not only articles that trace the historical development of Chinese studies in the Netherlands from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present and beyond, but also studies that deal with Dutch research in specific disciplines within Chinese studies. Chinese studies in the Netherlands originated from the needs of the Dutch colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies, but developed a strong philological emphasis in the first part of the twentieth century, to turn increasingly towards disciplinary research on modern and contemporary China in the last few decades. Contributors include Leonard Blussé, Maghiel van Crevel, Barend ter Haar, Albert Hoffstädt, Wilt Idema, Mark Leenhouts, Oliver Moore, Frank Pieke and Rint Sybesma.

Der hollandische Kolonialbeamte und Professor der Sinologie in Berlin (1854-1921) hat bahnbrechend auf dem Gebiet der chinesischen Volkskunde und Religionsgeschichte gearbeitet. Zu seinen Hauptwerken gehoren u.a. Le Code du Mahayana en Chine und The Religious System of China. Daneben hat de Groot fur Emile Guimet, Grunder des Musee Guimet, die Figuren eines volksreligiosen Pantheon zusammengetragen, das heute, neben einer spateren Sammlung von Otto Franke in Berlin, einzigartiges Studienmaterial bietet. Der Jerusalemer Religionswissenschaftler Zwi Werblowsky wurdigt in diesem Band erstmals de Groots Leben und Werk, wobei er sich wesentlich auf unveroffentlichte Quellen, so de Groots Tagebuch, stutzt.

This book offers a comprehensive account of indentured Chinese labour in the Dutch East Indies between 1880 and 1942, particularly in its twilight years after 1917. The author shows that Chinese indenture started and evolved differently from other forms of bonded labour in Southeast Asia and globally, including its Indian and Javanese variants. This difference is reflected in its lexicon, which was in part special to the Chinese strain. Using fieldwork findings from the tin islands of Bangka and Belitung and the Deli plantations on Sumatra as well as archival materials in Dutch, Chinese, and other languages held in libraries in Java, Nanjing, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Leiden, this book presents cutting-edge research that sets out to contribute to the revising of our historical understanding of indenture.