Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang (novel)

Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang (novel)

Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang is a 1927 vernacular Malay-language novel written by Kwee Tek Hoay. The novel has been interpreted variously as a promotion of theosophy, a treatise on the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, a call for education, an ode to njais, and a condemnation of how such women are treated. The book is not considered part of the Indonesian literary canon, but it ranks amongst the most reprinted works of Chinese Malay literature. The film version of the novel was released in 1975, and it has been adapted into a play by the Indonesian company The T Eng Chun.

About Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang (novel) in brief

Summary Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang (novel)Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang is a 1927 vernacular Malay-language novel written by Kwee Tek Hoay. The novel has been interpreted variously as a promotion of theosophy, a treatise on the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, a call for education, an ode to njais, and a condemnation of how such women are treated. It was initially written as an outline for the stage drama troupe Union Dalia. The work was filmed in 1931 by The Teng Chun and then in 1975 by Fred Young and Rempo Urip. It has been translated into Dutch, Sundanese, and English. The book is not considered part of the Indonesian literary canon, but it ranks amongst the most reprinted works of Chinese Malay literature. The seventeen- chapter book follows a plantation manager, Aij Tjeng, who must leave his beloved njai Marsiti so that he can be married. Eighteen years later, after Aij’s daughter Lily dies, her fiancé Bian Koen discovers that Marsiti had a daughter with a man named Roosminah, who greatly resembles Lily. When he chases her away, he falls and passes out at his parents’ home. After investigating the grave, he discovers that Aij Jeng’s daughter is in fact with Roos Minah, and falls in love with her as well. He tells his parents that he saw Lily in Cikembangs, the village where she is buried. The couple have a daughter, Lily, who is obsessed with death and sadness; she believes that she is destined to die young.

She eventually tells Bian Koen to find another fiancée as she will soon leave him. After the death of Lily, Bian Koen, remains, however, and intends to go to war in China to find Lily’s death, having restraining orders imposed on him by his parents. The only thing that stops him is his promise to wait for the anniversary of the passing of Lily’s mother, Cikesmbang, for the village to be cleansed of the evil spirits that have haunted it for centuries. The story was initially published as a serial in the magazine Panorama; it proved to be his most popular work. By 1930 there had been a number of stage adaptations, not all of which were authorised, leading K wee to ask readers to help him enforce his copyright. The novel was first published in Malay, then in Dutch, and finally in English. It is now considered one of the most popular works of Malay literary history, and is translated into English and Dutch as well as SundanESE and English, and has been made into a film and a TV series. The film version of the novel was released in 1975, and it has been adapted into a play by the Indonesian company The T Eng Chun. The play is called The Rose of Cikemang, which is based on the novel’s main character, Sim Bian Koen.