Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Chinese who migrated overseas initially brought with them their original culture and identity. Later generations of these early settlers, even though inheriting the original ‘Chinese’ culture and identity, have such an identity, which is in fact an ‘imagined’ (virtual) identity. It was because they had settled there for a long time and had never experienced life in Mainland China. Political turmoil and the international situation then stimulated virtual identities to transform into identities of the place they were born and live, which is more realistic. Lu Po-yeh (1923–1961), a Chinese writer who was born and raised in British Malaya, once considered his identity to be ‘Chinese’ but changed to a local Chinese identity by claiming himself to be a citizen of the Federation of Malaya. This article examines Lu Po-yeh’s shift in national identity, which began with his doubts about his own identity after facing a process of integration, adaptation, and change during his search for self-discovery. Lu Po-yeh had experienced many changes in his life and lived through several important eras, including the era of British colonialism, the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, and the era of Malaya’s struggle for independence. Such life experiences eventually enabled Lu Po-yeh to come to the realisation that his identity was as a Malayan Chinese. Thus, the writings and activities carried out by Lu Po-yeh were closely related to the atmosphere of development at that time. Through Lu Po-yeh’s literary writings and cultural activities, a change in the stance of national identity by his peers was clearly displayed. Lu Po-yeh’s life experiences through the different eras of Malayan history made an impact on the realisation of his true identity – from a vague and virtual ‘China’ identity to a clearer and more realistic ‘Malayan’ identity. Lu Po-yeh’s process of exploring national identity also illustrates the process of the changing stance of Chinese identity in Malaya in the 1950s, where the Chinese wanted to work together to develop a multi-ethnic society in a new and united nation.
Source: Kajian Malaysia
Authors: Ng Wee Nee, Ho Kee Chye
Institution: University of Malaya
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416194536
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