Children of the Monkey God - Chinese Culture / History
   

F. S. Choo grew up in a traditional Chinese Hakka family in Sarawak,
Malaysia at a time when it was administered by British colonial rule.
Written in the gentle style of his native culture, he charts and reveals
a fascinating world beginning with his great grandfather’s migra-tion
from China to West Kalimantan, Borneo in the early 1850’s; his life as a
gold miner and his connection to the mysterious Kongsi, a unique
self-governing democratic organ-ization that flourished until the mid
1800’s when it came into conflict with Dutch colonial rule and the White
Rajahs of Sarawak, Borneo.
Covering a period of 115 years, 1850-1965, Children of the Monkey God
deals with the experiences of four generations of a Chinese family in
Sarawak. Candid and at times humorous, satirical and controversial, it
vividly captures life at the crossroads of change in the 1950’s and ‘60’s
when the sun was setting on the colonial era. It conveys to the reader the
multi-layered cultural influences of British colonialism, the burgeoning
American pop-scene, and that of the different Chinese dialect groups. It
offers a fascinating insight into some of the social, cultural and religious
beliefs and practices of a world that is fast disappearing and seldom seen
by westerners.

|