Pontianak, also known as Khuntien in Hakka, is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.21 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River, at a point where it is joined by its major tributary, the Landak River. The city is on the equator, hence it is widely known as Kota Khatulistiwa. The city center is less than 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of the equator. Pontianak is the 23rd most populous city in Indonesia, and the fourth most populous city on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) after Samarinda, Balikpapan and (Malaysia's) Kuching; it is now slightly ahead of Banjarmasin. It had a population of 658,685 at the 2020 Census within the city limits, with significant suburbs outside those limits. The official estimate as of mid-2023 was 675,468.
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen, is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ancestral organization. As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including the Sanhehui. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups. Branches of the Hongmen were also formed by Chinese communities overseas, some of which became known as Chinese Freemasons. Its current iteration is purely secular.
Hui is a Chinese word, generally meaning 'conference', but which is sometimes used to refer to a secret society. It is often mutually interchangeable with terms like kongsi, a term generally used to mean 'corporation' or 'company'. For overseas Chinese, kongsi can also denote a Chinese clan or a Chinese district association. The Hokkien-derived term kongsi is more widely known in Southeast Asia, however, whereas in China, the secret societies were just simply known as hui.
The Lanfang Republic, also known as Lanfang Company, was a Kongsi republic in Western Borneo in the territory of Sultanate of Sambas. It was established by a Hakka Chinese named Low Lan Pak in 1777 until it was ended by Dutch occupation in 1884.
The Leong San TongKhoo Kongsi or "Khoo Kongsi" for short, is the largest Hokkien clanhouse in Malaysia with elaborate and highly ornamented architecture, a mark of the dominant presence of the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia. The famous Khoo Kongsi is the grandest clan temple in the country. It is also one of the city's major historic attractions. The clan temple has retained its authentic historic setting, which includes an association building, a traditional theatre and the late 19th century rowhouses for clan members, all clustered around a granite-paved square. It is located in Cannon Square in the heart of the oldest part of the city of George Town, in the midst of narrow, winding lanes and quaint-looking pre-War houses exuding a palpable old world charm.
The Siyi refers to the four former counties of Xinhui (Sunwui), Taishan (Toisan), Kaiping (Hoiping) and Enping (Yanping) on the west side of the Pearl River Delta in Southern Guangdong Province, China.
The Kangchu system was a socio-economic system of organisation and administration developed by Chinese agricultural settlers in Johor during the 19th century. The settlers organised themselves into informal associations, and chose a leader from among themselves.
The Ngee Ann Kongsi is a charitable foundation in Singapore and governed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance of 1933. It is one of many Overseas Chinese Kongsi, or clan associations, that were set up by immigrants from China in the late 19th century.
Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan is a Teochew clan association in Singapore. Poit Ip, which means eight districts in the Teochew dialect, stood for the eight Teochew districts in the province of Guangdong, China. Huay Kuan means "clan association". On 12 December 1928, there was a temporary committee convened a meeting at the Tuan Mong School in preparation of the formation of the Huay Kuan. On 20 March 1929, British colonial authorities exempted the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan from registration, and it was formally established.
Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino, was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, and the Philippines. Office holders exercised varying degrees of power and influence: from near-sovereign political and legal jurisdiction over local Chinese communities, to ceremonial precedence for community leaders. Corresponding posts existed for other ethnic groups, such as Kapitan Arab and Kapitan Keling for the local Arab and Indian communities respectively.
The Mandor rebellion in 1884 and 1885, also called the Third Kongsi War, was an uprising of ethnic Chinese, helped by the Dayaks, against the Dutch East Indies government.
An ancestral shrine, hall or temple, also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestral temples are closely linked to Confucian philosophy and culture and the emphasis that it places on filial piety.
Chinese folk religion plays a dynamic role in the lives of the overseas Chinese who have settled in the countries of this geographic region, particularly Burmese Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese, Indonesian Chinese and Hoa. Some Chinese Filipinos also still practice some Chinese traditional religions, besides Christianity of either Roman Catholicism or Protestantism, with which some have also varyingly syncretized traditional Chinese religious practices. Chinese folk religion, the ethnic religion of Han Chinese, "Shenism" was especially coined referring to its Southeast Asian expression; another Southeast Asian name for the religion is the Sanskrit expression Satya Dharma.
The kongsi republics, also known as kongsi democracies or kongsi federations, were self-governing political entities in Borneo that formed as federations of Chinese mining communities known as kongsis. By the mid-nineteenth century, the kongsi republics controlled most of western Borneo. The three largest kongsi republics were the Lanfang Republic, the Heshun Confederation (Fosjoen), and the Santiaogou Federation (Samtiaokioe) after it had split from the Heshun.
Eng Chuan Tong Tan Kongsi is a Hokkien clan house at Beach Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It was founded in the early 19th century by a Tan family from the Fujian province of Zhangzhou in China. The building is a place of worship devoted to Kai Zhang Sheng Wang or Tan Goan-kong (陳元光), the founder of Zhangzhou, and his two deputies, Generals Fushun and Fusheng. It was also the ancestral temple of Tan clansmen for the purposes of cultural integration. Members of the Tan family worship their ancestor, Tan Guan Kong.
The Lintian Republic, known post-1850 as Xinle Republic was an autonomous Chinese kongsi federation located in Budok, Lembah Bawang kecamatan, Bengkayang Regency of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It joined the Heshun Confederation in 1850 and was dissolved in 1854 at the hands of the Dutch East Indies.
The Kengwei Republic was an autonomous Chinese kongsi federation associated with Monterado kecamatan in Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan, Borneo but operates mainly in territories west of Montrado. It joined the Heshun Confederation in 1776 and was dissolved in 1839 at the hands of the Dagang kongsi.
The Santiaogou Republic, sometimes spelled as Santiago Republic in some sources, later renamed as the Sanda Futing, and lastly as the Hexian Zhengting, was a powerful Chinese kongsi federation formerly associated with Monterado district before moving to Sepang in West Kalimantan, Borneo. It joined the Heshun Confederation in 1776, but left due to disputes and allied with the sultan of Sambas, succeeding in destroying its former ally Heshun and the Dagang kongsi. It was one of several miners' confederations in Borneo that later came into conflict with the Dutch to maintain their form of government, described as democratic.
Luo Fangbo, formerly known as LoFong Pak, was born in Sak-san-po, Guangdong Province. He was the first Chinese person to hold the government position of 'president' and the founding father of the Lanfang Republic.
