The Enigmatic and Controversial Life of Tan Jin Sing in Yogyakarta

 

In the annals of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, few figures are as enigmatic and controversial as Tan Jin Sing. His political career, marked by both brilliance and controversy, began in 1793 when he succeeded his father, Oei Tek Liong, as the Chinese Captain in Kedu at the age of 33.

In 1802, pressured by his elderly and ailing father-in-law, Tan Jin Sing relocated to Yogyakarta to continue the family business and assume the role of captain in the region. His arrival in Yogyakarta coincided with a period of turmoil within the royal palace, including a succession dispute between Raden Mas Surojo and Prince Notodiningrat and the Geger Sepehi incident, which saw Sultan Hamengku Buwono II dethroned and the palace treasures looted.

Baha Uddin, in his work The Position and Political Relations of Tan Jin Sing in the Geger Sepehi Event, describes how the British conquest of the Dutch East Indies under Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1811 disrupted Yogyakarta’s political landscape. Two months after the regime change, Raffles appointed John Crawfurd as the Resident of Yogyakarta. Crawfurd, recognizing Tan Jin Sing’s influence, sought to establish a good relationship with him.

Peter Carey, in Chinese, Toll Collectors, Opium, & the Java War: Changing Perceptions of Chinese 1755–1825, notes that Europeans regarded Tan Jin Sing as “a truly intelligent and skilled man” who combined Chinese sharpness with Javanese knowledge and ingenuity. His linguistic abilities, spanning Hokkian, Malay, Javanese, Dutch, and English, further solidified his position as a key intermediary.

Tan Jin Sing’s involvement in palace politics deepened when he became Raden Mas Surojo’s secret envoy to Resident Crawfurd. Through his clandestine contacts, Raffles promised to help Surojo seize power from his father. When Sultan Hamengku Buwono II received Raffles’ letter demanding he cede power to Surojo, he read it carefully before discarding it and preparing for the worst.

After diplomacy failed, British forces, supported by local troops, attacked the palace on June 19–20, 1812, in the event known as the Geger Sepehi. The palace was bombarded, its treasures looted, and Sultan Hamengku Buwono II exiled to Penang. Tan Jin Sing, tasked with preparing logistical supplies for the British, sold his clothes to provide food for the troops.

In recognition of his loyalty, Raden Mas Surojo, who became Sultan Hamengku Buwono III, appointed Tan Jin Sing as regent with the title Raden Tumenggung Secodiningrat and granted him land in eastern Bagelen. Shortly after assuming this new role, Tan Jin Sing converted to Islam, underwent circumcision, and cut his queue, distancing himself from his Chinese cultural identity.

Tan Jin Sing’s appointment as regent sparked unrest among Yogyakarta’s nobility, particularly Pakualam I, who saw him as the architect of his son’s rival’s rise to power. His behavior, deemed insolent by palace standards, further fueled resentment. Peter Carey highlights instances of Tan Jin Sing sitting alongside senior princes, demanding envoys kneel before him, and bestowing noble titles on his common-born Javanese wife.

Tan Jin Sing’s origins are shrouded in mystery, with some sources suggesting he was born to a Javanese priyayi family and later adopted by a Chinese couple, while others claim he was the offspring of a Chinese-Javanese union. Baha Uddin notes that his mother was a Javanese noblewoman, linking Tan Jin Sing to the lineage of Sunan Amangkurat I and Sultan Agung of the Mataram Sultanate.

By the time Dutch Ambassador Wouter Hendrik van Ijsseldijk visited Yogyakarta in 1816, Tan Jin Sing had become isolated from the noble circles. Pakualam I’s letter to van Ijsseldijk accused him of being an English collaborator. Sultan Hamengku Buwono I had predicted that a Chinese in a powerful palace position would bring disaster, a sentiment van Ijsseldijk echoed, advising Tan Jin Sing to leave Yogyakarta. However, Tan Jin Sing refused, knowing he was unwelcome in nearby cities.

His last resort, seeking equal status with Europeans, was denied. By the end of the Java War (1825–1830), Tan Jin Sing was forced to sell his lands to pay debts. He died on May 10, 1831, with Yogyakarta’s people mocking him as “no longer Chinese, not yet Dutch, and still incomplete as Javanese.”

Tan Jin Sing’s life remains a testament to the complexities of identity, loyalty, and power in the colonial era. His story is a vivid reminder of the intricate interplay between personal ambition and the broader forces of history.