We visited the Chinese temple Sam Poo Kong next. Sam Poo Kong (known as “Gedung Batu” during the Suharto years), is one of the most significant Chinese temple complexes in Indonesia. It is located where the coast and harbor once was, but after silt buildup and geographic changes, now sits over a kilometer away from the water. New parts of the complex are still under construction, indicating how recently it has been able to expand beyond the base temple. Chinese dragons and characters appear once again as well. (during the Suharto years Chinese were forced to change their names to more Indonesian sounding names, no Chinese characters were allowed, and Chinese celebrations were banned in public.) The openness of today shows how far the Chinese community has come in the last 10 years.
This complex celebrates a Chinese version of history that few Indonesians seem aware of; specifically in contributions to the spreading of Islam in Java. The Lonely Planet version of the story explains that Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho, a Muslim eunuch of the Ming dynasty, led his fleet on 7 expeditions to Java in the early 15th century. He is credited for spreading Islam on Java as early as 1405 as well. This is the part that seems to run afoul of the Javanese version of events, as most Indonesians credit the Walisongo (9 pious leaders) for spreading Islam in Java during the 15th century.
It seems even harder for Javanese to imagine this legendary version of history, considering the perception that the large majority of Chinese in Indonesia today profess to be Catholic or Christian. According to the Chinese, Cheng Ho became a saint, and was renamed Sam Poo Kong. This complex is in his honor, and is located above a sacred cave where he once prayed.
As I walked through Sam Poo Kong temple, I recognized the familiar tone of Pancasila; much like Taman Mini puts across in Jakarta. Three main temples display the six authorized religions living harmoniously together (Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism). If you didn’t know some 80% of Chinese describe themselves as Christians here, you would think the Chinese community is more evenly divided. Reliefs on the wall behind the temple accentuate the long tradition of cooperation between Chinese and Javanese. This temple seems like a carefully constructed attempt to build an image of Chinese fitting more positively into Indonesian history, and upholding the familiar Pancasila ideology of the state.