Myra Sidharta

Myra Sidharta (born Auw Jong Tjhoen Moy simplified Chinese: 欧阳春梅; traditional Chinese: 歐陽春梅; pinyin: Ōuyáng Chūnméi on 6 March 1927, Belitung) is an Indonesian writer, psychologist, and educator of Chinese descent.^[1][2][3] She specializes in Chinese Indonesian communities and Malay literature.^[2][4] In 2001, she published In Search of My Ancestral Home, which followed her journey back to her grandfather's town in China.^[4][5]

Myra Sidharta
歐陽春梅 欧阳春梅 Ōuyáng Chūnméi
Born	Auw Jong Tjhoen Moy (1927-03-06) 6 March 1927 (age 98) Belitung, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia)
Education	Leiden University University of Indonesia
Occupations	Writer professor psychologist
Spouse	Priguna Sidharta ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 2003)​
Children	3

Biography

Sidharta was born on the Indonesian island of Belitung^[4][1][2] into a Hakka Peranakan Chinese family.^[5] Her grandfather had emigrated from Meixian, Meizhou, Guangdong, China in 1872 and married a local Hakka woman.^[5][4] He and Sidharta's father worked for a Dutch mining company in town, allowing them to send their children to the Dutch schools available to employees.^[4][1][2] Her grandfather was concerned that his children and grandchildren would lose touch with their Chinese heritage, so encouraged them to learn Mandarin, which Sidharta excelled at.^[4][5] She also spoke Hakka Chinese at home.^[4] When the Japanese invaded in 1942, she finished her education at a hogere burgerschool in Batavia.^[1] She then studied psychology at Leiden University^[2][1] before returning home to study Indonesian literature at the University of Indonesia. She also began teaching psychology at the University of Indonesia at that time.^[2] Sidharta, who was born Auw Jong Tjhoen Moy, and other Chinese Indonesians were forced to change their names in 1966, so she adopted the name Myra Sidharta.^[6][2] Around this time, she began writing for publications including Kompas and The Jakarta Post.^[2]

Sidharta speaks German, Dutch, French, Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay, Indonesian, and English, and is proficient in Cantonese and Minnan.^[2][5][4]

Personal life

Sidharta met her husband, neuroscientist Priguna Sidharta (born Sie Pek Giok), while studying in Leiden. They married on 31 January 1953 and had three children: Sylvia, Julie, and Amir.^[2][5][7] After his death, she donated his medical books to Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia.^[5]

Selected works

Articles

• Myra Sidharta (1994). "Asmaraman Sukowati Kho Ping Hoo (b. 1926): Writer of Cloak-and-dagger Stories in Indonesia". Archipel. 48: 157–176.
• Claudine Salmon; Myra Sidharta (2000). "The Hainanese of Bali : A Little Known Community". Archipel. 60: 87–124.
• Claudine Salmon; Myra Sidharta (2006). "The Manufacture of Chinese Gravestones in Indonesia - A Preliminary Survey". Archipel. 72: 195–220.
• Claudine Salmon; Myra Sidharta (2007). "Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy in Indonesia – Some Sidelights". Archipel. 74: 165–204.
• Claudia Salmon; Myra Sidharta (2018). "Sino-Insulindian Private History Museums, Cultural Heritage Places, and the (Re)construction of the Past". Asian Culture.

Books

• Myra Sidharta (1989). 100 tahun Kwee Tek Hoay: dari penjaja tekstil sampai ke pendekar pena (in Indonesian). Pustaka Sinar Harapan. ISBN 978-979-416-040-4.
• Myra Sidharta (1992). "The Making of the Indonesian Chinese Woman". In E. B. Locher-Scholten; A. Niehof (eds.). Indonesian Women in Focus. Werkgroep lndonesische Vrouwenstudies. pp. 58–76. doi:10.1163/9789004488816_007. ISBN 978-90-67-18047-4.
• Myra Sidharta (2001). "In Search of My Ancestral Home". In Josephine Khu (ed.). Cultural Curiosity: Thirteen Stories about the Search for Chinese Roots. University of California Press. pp. 149–159. doi:10.1525/california/9780520223400.003.0009.
• Myra Sidharta (2001). "Jakarta through the eyes of 'Ko Put On'". In Peter J. M. Nas (ed.). Jakarta Batavia: Socio-Cultural Essays. Leiden: KITLV Press. pp. 157–173. doi:10.1163/9789004454293_010.
• Myra Sidharta (2004). Dari penjaja tekstil sampai superwoman: biografi delapan penulis peranakan (in Indonesian). Kepustakaan Populer Gramedi. ISBN 978-979-910-016-0.
• Myra Sidharta (2008). "10. Soyfoods in Indonesia". In Christine M. Du Bois; Chee Beng Tan; Sidney Wilfred Mintz (eds.). The World of Joy. NUS Press. pp. 195–207. ISBN 978-997-169-413-5.
• Myra Sidharta (2011). "CHAPTER 4: The Dragon's Trail in Chinese Indonesian Foodways". In Tan Chee-Beng (ed.). Chinese Food and Foodways in Southeast Asia and Beyond. NUS Press. pp. 107–123. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1ntg4x.9.
• Myra Sidharta (2015). Rita Sri Hastuti (ed.). Seribu senyum dan setetes air mata: kumpulan esai Myra Sidharta (in Indonesian). Penerbit Buku Kompas. ISBN 978-979-709-919-0.