Modern Endangered Archives Program: Recovering Chinese Religions Printed Materials in Central Java (2023 – 2024)

The project aims to digitize Chinese religions printed materials in Malay and Indonesian language, dated from 1900s to 1998. Since the Dutch colonial period, Chinese communities have used magazines and periodicals to promote their religions, which include Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, or the syncretic form of the three religions, which is commonly called Tridharma (Three Teachings). The publications continued in early post-colonial Indonesia (1945-1965). During the New Order regime (1966-1998), Soeharto oppressed Chinese cultural and religious expressions in the public sphere to accelerate Indonesian nationalism. Even worse, Soeharto degraded Confucianism as a sect. During this period, the Chinese religious communities maintained and circulated the periodicals internally. When the oppression grew stronger, many temples concealed and/or abandoned their collections, which made these periodicals damaged.

PI: Evi Sutrisno (the Faculty of Social and Political Science Gadjah Mada University)

Research Supervisor: Rezza Maulana & Haetam

Research Assistance: Astrid Syifa Salsabila, Refan Aditya, Yohanes Babtista Lemuel Christandi, Ferry Mahulette