Dutch historian tracing forgotten Chinese migrants overseas

On the overseas Chinese, the professor initiated grand scale projects leading to comprehensive works such as "A History of Sino-Dutch Relations" (1989), "The Chinese of Batavia and Sino-Dutch trade" (1997), "The Chinese Community of Batavia at the End of the Eighteenth Century" (2002) and "Visible Cities: Canton, Nagasaki and Batavia and the Coming of the Americans" (2008).

Together with scholars from Xiamen University, the Dutch scholar also produced 13 volumes of "Gong An Bu," which draw from the minutes of the board meetings of the Chinese Council in Java in the 17th and 18th centuries.

At the same time, he is particularly interested in micro-research projects based on the life stories of individuals. In 2000, he published the biography of Anny Tan, a Chinese woman who was born in Java, studied in the Netherlands, lived through the Japanese invasion in Indonesia and returned to China in the 1960s.

Blusse met Anny Tan and her family in Xiamen in 1980. Fascinated by her life, Blusse interviewed her and corresponded with her for years. When writing the biography, he told the story from the first-person perspective, presenting the 20th century through the eyes of a Chinese woman in the former Dutch East Indies.

"Even if these intrepid Chinese migrants overseas have become devoted and loyal subjects of the countries of their choice, they continue to serve as exemplary global citizens. In my opinion, they have laid the groundwork on which contemporary China seeks to reclaim its important position on a global scale. Much can be learned from their life stories," said Blusse.

Earlier this year, he wrote an article about the first Chinese who came to the Netherlands, a man called En Pu.

"En Pu came to Vlissingen and Middelburg and stayed in Zeeland (a province in the south of the Netherlands) for one year. Later on he became the advisor to the VOC on how they should approach China. When in Middelburg, he made a picture of himself and added a Chinese text to it. Until you start to read it aloud in Fujianese (a Chinese dialect of En Pu's home region), you will not see that he said things sounding like the Dutch words for January, Flushing and Friday," said the professor.

In the past two years, Blusse has been doing work related to the massacre of the Chinese population of Batavia in 1740.

"What can explain this sudden outrage? Certainly not the conventional story of suppressed masses that rise against oppressive colonial rulers. By bringing all the different factors (social, economic, personal, political) together, I hope to come up with a new explanation for this terrible massacre," he stated.

The 70-year-old scholar, also a devotee of maritime activities, currently suffers from an injury inflicted by sailing, which prevents him from going to Beijing to accept the prize himself.

Scholar as well as professor, Blusse said his "most useful contribution" lies in the training of young Asian scholars.