Is it true that Gus Dur is a descendant of Tan Kim Han?

Is it true that Gus Dur is a descendant of Tan Kim Han?

Is it true that Gus Dur is of Chinese descent? In several forums, Gus Dur often stated how his family lineage was connected with Chinese blood. Gus Dur also often revealed his family tree, so that he was connected to the Chinese Muslim network during the Majapahit kingdom, and related to the good history of Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He, 1371-1433/1435). How's the story?

While serving as President of Indonesia, Gus Dur had traced the footsteps of his ancestors in Quanzou, Hokkien. On December 3, 1999, Gus Dur made a state visit to China, by visiting Beijing University. At this campus, Gus Dur revealed that his ancestors came from Hokkien.

Then, in 2003, an important archive was uncovered that reported on the lineage of Gus Dur's ancestor, Tan Kim Han. Quanzhou City is located in the Gulf of Olives region, which is the base of the Maritime Silk Road. Chi-Zai Village, Shi-Chun Hamlet, Chi-Dian District, Jinjian County, Quanzhou City, Fujian/Hokkian Province is the ancestral land of Tan Kim Han (Shaykh Abdul Qadir as-Shini). In Anthony Tjio's search ( Menlisik Dusun Ancestor Gus Dur in Hokkien , 2014), in this village, there are several handwritten genealogy books at the house of Abu Marga Tan of Mei-Xi descent, which were composed in 1576. Zai published in 1907.

According to this record, Tan Kim Han was born in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, namely in 1383. Tan Kim Han had a small name Tan Lan Cai. Before joining Cheng Ho's entourage, Tan Kim Ham was a teacher in Leizhou, Guangdong. Later, when Zheng He's fleet pulled up at Quanzhou Bay, Tan Kim Han joined in. In a memoir written by Ma Huan, Admiral Cheng Ho, stopped at Lambri Aceh after visiting Malacca. After in Lambri and the archipelago, Zheng He's entourage continued their journey to the Maldives Islands.

Based on the story of Gus Dur, he is a descendant of Putri Campa who became the concubine of a king in the archipelago. From this marriage, Putri Campa gave birth to two children, namely Tan Eng Hian and Tan A Hok. Tan Eng Hian founded the Demak kingdom, which later changed its name to Raden Patah. Meanwhile, Tan A Lok married a Chinese Muslim named Tan Kim Han.

From this path, then lowered Gus Dur and his family. Gus Dur's ancestor was Tan Kim Han from Hokkien, who joined Admiral Cheng Ho's entourage to the Islamic kingdom in Lambri, Aceh, about 600 years ago. Keram Kevonian Research, mentions the Lambri area originally named Lamuri, which was later called Lambri or Lamreh (Claude Guillot, Old Lobu of New Early History , p. 60). Notes Tomi Pires (1468-1540) also mentions Lambri as an Islamic kingdom, which is in the interior. This is somewhat different from the records of Ma Huan, who referred to Lambri as a kingdom in the coastal area of ​​Aceh.

In Tan Ta Sen's research in his dissertation, Cheng Ho and Islam in Southeast Asia (2009), Tan Kim Han (Chen Jin Han) came from the Jinjiang area, around Quanzhou Bay, Fujian Province. Tan Kim Han alias Tan Kwee Liang, lives in a hamlet called Sinchun. His father's name is Tan Teck (Chen De). Tan Kim Han's journey is also recorded in Ma Huan's work, which follows Admiral Cheng Ho's long journey when exploring the coastal areas of the archipelago (Ta Sen, 2009: 242).

Ma Huan's notes, mentions in 1413, Lambri has become an Islamic kingdom. In this area, it has a population of about 1000 families, most of whom are Muslim. Ma Huan witnessed that all Muslims in this region were honest people. Ma Huan's notes, later published in an international publication in 1970, entitled " Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan: The Overall Survey of the Oceans Shores ", edited by JVG Mills.

During the time of Cheng Ho, then Tan Kim Han settled in the archipelago. Some researchers' notes, such as Sumanto al-Qurtuby, mention that Tan Kim Han helped Raden Patah form a Muslim kingdom in Demak. At that time, Tan Kim Ham was part of the Muslim Chinese army along with Raden Patah's troops to seize the Majapahit kingdom (Siew Min Sai, China Indonesia Reassessed , p. 196) . Until now, the tomb of Tan Kim Han (also known as Shaykh Abdul Qadir as-Shini) is in Trowulan, Mojokerto, in the Majapahit cemetery in Troloyo.

When the author made several pilgrimages to the tomb of Tan Kim Han, not many pilgrims knew who Shaykh Abdul Qadir as-Shini was, who was often referred to as Gus Dur in several forums. The tomb of Tan Kim Han is located near the Tomb of Sheikh Jumadil Kubro, which is familiar to pilgrims in Trowulan.

Then, is it true that Tan Kim Han is Gus Dur's ancestor? If we trace the genealogy of Gus Dur's family, there is a high possibility that Gus Dur's lineage will reach China. The Chinese Muslim community during the Ming Dynasty played an important role, which can be seen from the strong influence of Admiral Zheng He, son of Ma Huan (Haji Ma). It may be true that Gus Dur's lineage is connected to the Chinese Muslim line in the Bamboo Curtain country, although from another lineage, Gus Dur's lineage is also connected to the line of an Arab preacher surnamed Basyaiban.

Gus Yahya Cholil Staquf in a conversation over coffee with the author, has an interesting argument about Gus Dur's genealogy. According to him, Gus Dur did preserve the memory of the family tree, which was connected to influential people in the history of the archipelago. Both the Chinese, Hadrami to the tribes in the archipelago. Gus Dur used “lineage diplomacy” to cement brotherhood with his fellow brothers and ethnic groups, even in the international sphere. A typical Gus Dur intelligence, right?