LIM BOON KENG AND STRAITS CHINESE NATIONALISM: ARTICULATING THE CHINESE CRISIS FROM WITHIN

Abstract

During the acute stages of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900, Dr. Lim Boon Keng, a prominent leader of the Straits Chinese community in Singapore, contributed a series of articles to the Singapore Free Press under the pseudonym "Wen Ching." These articles purported to explain the unfolding nightmare of the Boxer Rebellion from a Chinese perspective in order to give the Chinese people a voice for their defence in the midst of countless Western news reports painting them as monstrous savages. These articles were later published as a book in London in 1901, entitled The Chinese Crisis from Within. Earlier analyses done by historians Lee Guan Kin and Wang Gungwu have concluded that Lim's work showcased the centrality of China in expressions of overseas Chinese nationalism. However, in this thesis I argue that the rhetorical strategies deployed by Lim in his articles and the messages they conveyed more accurately indicate a tacit demonstration of Straits Chinese nationalism. First, in his attempts to push all blame for the Boxer Rebellion towards the Manchu government while fervently protesting Chinese innocence, Lim endeavoured to protect the interests of the Straits Chinese in Singapore. Second, Lim's efforts to promote the cause of Chinese reform in turn enriched the Straits Chinese Reform Movement he was personally championing in the Straits Settlements. Third, his masterly demonstration of expertise in both Chinese and European cultural and historical canons made a compelling case for the indispensability of the Straits Chinese in any future attempts at civilisational dialogue between China and the West. Ultimately although his articles were ostensibly centred on China, the audience he addressed and the objectives he pursued were located in the Straits Settlements.