| Liu Shan Bang | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 刘善邦 |
| Born |
1800 Lufeng, Qing Empire |
| Died |
December Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{"., 1857 (aged Error: Need valid year, month, day) Siniawan, Sarawak |
| Place of burial | Liu Shang Bang Temple, Siniawan, Sarawak |
| Occupation | gold miner |
Liu Shan Bang (simplified Chinese: 刘善邦; traditional Chinese: 劉善邦; pinyin: Liú Shànbāng) (1800 – 1857) was a Chinese gold miner in Bau, Sarawak. He was best known as the leader of the 1857 Chinese Uprising against the White Rajahs .
History[]
A Hakka born in Lufeng, Guangdong of the Qing dynasty, around 1800, Liu left for Sambas, Borneo, at the age of 20. He is said to have worked at the Sam Tiau Kow gold mine there until mistreatment by the Dutch caused him to lead a group of miners to the Bau area of Sarawak[1] (perhaps Pangkalan Tebang). He organised the 'Twelve Kongsi' company which operated the Mau San gold mine and made the mining town of Mau San (or Bau Lama) effectively self-governing.[2]
They unearthed a 24 carat gold deep under the ground and turn the Mau San become a prosperous thriving gold town. Events took a wrong turn, when The White Rajah James Brooke eyeing the gold mine by imposing a high tax on Mau San gold mine business.
Revolt and massacre[]
On 18 February 1857, Liu Shan Bang led 600 Chinese by the Sarawak River to attack the White Rajah in Kuching. Five Europeans were killed, properties burnt, and the town in disarray, with most Europeans sheltering in the grounds of the Anglican Church. However, the insurgents did not want to assume the government; they offered it to Helms the manager of the Borneo Company and another trader called Ruppell, with the Datu Bandar administering the Malays, and withdrew upriver.
Death[]
On 23 February Charles Brooke led a force of Ibans to join up with the local Bidayuh tribes in retaliation. Liu was killed together with 3,000 villagers including children and old folks in a massacre in Bau.[3]
Legacy[]
A stone was placed to mark his grave, and a small temple erected by it, although the reason was kept secret for over a century.[4][5] Liu was elevated by the community to a deity named “Shin”.[6]
On 27 July 1993, Liu Shanbang was included in the 'freedom fighters, liberators, and martyrs' unveiled on the new Heroes' Monument in the Sarawak Museum Garden.
References[]
- ↑ Chang Pat Foh, (1995), Liu Shanbang (The Hero who refused to be ruled by the White Rajah), pp.78-82 in "The Land of Freedom Fighters"
- ↑ Kaur, Amarjit (February 1995) "The Babbling Brookes: Economic Change in Sarawak 1841-1941" Modern Asian Studies 29(1): pp. 65-109, p.73.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Chang Pat Foh, (1995), Bau Chinese Rebellion 1857, pp.44-57 in "The Land of Freedom Fighters"
- ↑ The Bau Chinese Insurgence 1857|http://worshipdevotion.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/bau-chinese-insurgence-1857.html
- ↑ A Chinese Rajah — Story of Liu Shan Bang|https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/news/a-chinese-rajah-story-of-liu-shan-bang/?amp
The original article can be found at Liu Shan Bang and the edit history here.