Semarang's temple, a tribute to Adm. Zheng He

Semarang's temple, a tribute to Adm. Zheng He

By Tjahjono Rahardjo and Tyas Susanti

SEMARANG (JP): Gedung Batu Temple is the oldest and one of the
two most important Chinese temples in Semarang. Yet, there is
only a very brief mention of it in Semarang's official tourist
guidebooks. Even worse, it is not included in the list of
protected buildings.

The reason for this is because the New Order regime forbade
any public display of all aspects of Chinese culture. It is
ironic that the existence of Chinese temples were barely
acknowledged, while at the same time huge sums of money were
being spent to revive the Dutch colonial old town, alas without
much success.

This does not mean that no one comes to Gedung Batu temple,
known also as klenteng Sampo. On the contrary, despite its forced
obscurity, it is often very crowded, especially on auspicious
days according to the Javanese calendar, such as Friday Kliwon
and Tuesday Kliwon.

Javanese days and Chinese temples might seem to be strange
bedfellows but the fact is that besides ethnic Chinese (including
those coming from as far away as Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan),
many so-called native Indonesians are regular visitors to the
temple.

The Klenteng Sampo was built to commemorate Admiral Zheng He
(Cheng Ho, 1371-1435). Zheng He was a Muslim eunuch at the court
of Yongle (Yung Lo), the third Ming emperor, who ruled between
1402-1424. To demonstrate China's power, Yongle ordered several
great naval expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, the Persian
Gulf and East Africa. Because of his administrative competence,
diplomatic finesse and navigational skill, the trusted Zheng He
was asked to lead these missions. On his first voyage in 1405
that took him to Vietnam, Siam, Java, Ceylon, and India, Zheng He
commanded 60 seagoing ships, each carrying several hundred
people.

This expedition, to be followed by six others in the next 28
years, was made nearly a century before Columbus' discovery of
the New World. They explored areas that were still unknown to the
West at that time.

Surprisingly, China did not colonize any single territory
visited by Zheng He. Indeed, the main purpose of Zheng He's
mission was to mend ties between China and its southern and
western neighbors, which had been strained by the brutal
imperialism of the Mongols who ruled China before the Ming
dynasty overthrew them. True, after Zheng He's expeditions,
Chinese settlements started to appear in many parts of Southeast
Asia, but all this happened peacefully.

Zheng He's expeditions were highly successful. He succeeded in
establishing trade ties and strategic alliances with Southeast
Asian states. Rulers like Malacca's Parameswara, seeing that
China could offset Siam's and Majapahit's dominance, voluntarily
sought the Middle Kingdom's protection and agreed to pay homage
to the Son of Heaven. Zheng He himself became a legend and
shrines to honor him can be found in China, peninsular Malaysia,
Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and
Indonesia. One of them is Gedung Batu temple or Klenteng Sampo in
Semarang.

The people of Semarang believe that Zheng He and his fleet
landed on the 30th day of the sixth month of the lunar year but
in which year that actually was is unclear. The event is
commemorated every year with a big procession--complete with
dragon and lion dances accompanied by deafening music--from Tay
Kak Sie, Semarang's other main temple, to Gedung Batu.

During Soeharto's rule this procession was banned and only
this year has it been resumed. Zheng He stopped in Semarang
because his helmsman Wan Jin-Hong was taken ill. After some time,
Zheng He decided to leave Semarang and continue his voyage to the
west. He left behind a ship and 10 crew members to look after Wan
Jin-Hong.

Turned into temple

When Wan Jin-Hong recovered, he decided to settle in Semarang.
He started to cultivate the land and used the ship to trade along
the coast. Meanwhile, his men married local women. The new
settlement grew and prospered. As a Muslim, Wan Jin-Hong
promulgated Islam to the people and to honor Admiral Zheng He,
Wan Jin-Hong turned the cave where he first took refuge into a
place of worship, probably a mosque. Wan Jin-Hong died at the age
of 87 and has become reverently known as Kyai Juru Mudi.

In 1704 the cave collapsed; in 1724 the Chinese community
rebuild it and turned it into a temple. Further improvements were
made in 1937 and 1950. As a result of these improvements the
temple developed into a complex of buildings surrounded by a
Chinese garden. This garden, unfortunately, does not exist
anymore.

The most important building in the complex is, of course,
Zheng He's shrine. It is a large hall with the sacred cave behind
it. Inside the cave there is now an altar where people come to
have their fortunes told.

The second building is dedicated to Kyai Juru Mudi (Wan Jin-
Hong). Like Zheng He's shrine, it consists of two parts: an
antechamber, an inner sanctum containing Kyai Juru Mudi's grave
and an Islamic praying niche next to it.

The third building in the complex is divided into three
compartments. The first section houses the anchor believed to
have come from Zheng He's ship. The second part is dedicated to
Confucius, while the third part is a shrine for ancestor worship.

The next building is the Earth God shrine, which adjoins two
other buildings containing Javanese style graves. No one really
knows whose graves these are but this does not prevent people
from seeking their blessings, a la Javanese, by strewing flowers
and burning incense.

At a glance Gedung Batu may look like any other Chinese temple
but a closer observation shows that it is rather unique. Within
this single complex, elements of several faiths and cultures
exist harmoniously side by side.

Islamic and animistic Javanese influences as well as Buddhist,
Taoist and Confucian elements are discernible in the history,
rituals and architecture of the temple.

What indeed could be a more fitting tribute for a broad-minded
person like Admiral Zheng He? And perhaps by visiting it we can
learn a lesson or two from Zheng He and the early founders of
Gedung Batu on how to live peacefully with each other, despite
our differences.

The writers are researchers with the Center for Urban
Studies, Soegijapranata Catholic University Semarang.