Comment

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on February 4, 2024 at 2:06pm

Moreover, there was mutual desire and interest to appreciate the unique treasures of the local culture and civilization. It can be seen in the records by Ma Huan (c. 1380-1460) and Fei Xin (c. 1385-1436) about the situation in Malacca. Generally, Liang Liji (1996) summarized three important things which is a result of the relation and interaction of the two great civilization which can be simplified as such:

1 The establishment of friendship which was mutual in all things such as respect, understanding and appreciation to the extent that no conflicts can affect the friendly relation of both nation.

2 The existence of similar attitude in promoting peace and justice by revoking violence and hostility. This is different from the arrival of the Western fleet with the intent and mission to colonize.

3The existence of economic cooperation in the form of bilateral trade through three systems of that era; the trade between the ruler (in the form of tributes and reply in awards and various valuables), trade between the kingdoms based on the contract of sale of certain goods only to China with prices that favours Malacca and common trade among the general public.

Another benefit that is no less important in the context of civilization is the influence and the expansion of the use of the Malay language as the lingua franca of the Malacca Sultanate era. If during the Srivijaya era had already existed the Chinese Buddhist monk who learnt ancient Malay, hence, during the Malacca Sultanate, the Malay language was not only learnt by the religious ministers but also a language learnt and used to manage trades and livelihood by the Chinese especially among traders.

More important than that was the “royal attention” on the Ming Dynasty when the committee set up interpreters (Da Tong Shi) to meet the interests and needs of external relations. Tong Shi or interpreters who served in 18 sub-committees (Xiao Tong Shi) amounted to 60 people and two were dedicated to the Malay language; one for Malacca and the other for Sumatera. To train interpreters, in 1405, Emperor Ming Yongle established a language academy known as “Si Yi Guan” (Center of Foreign Languages) in the capital of Yingtian Fu (now Nanjing). There were eight departments in the rab, Malacca, Java and others). The foreign language academy lasted over 400 years and extended into the Qing Dynasty from the Ming although its name was changed in 1748 to Hui Tong Si Yi Guan. The role of the academy only stopped after the Opium War in 1840, after the Qing Dynasty faced political instability.

The importance of the Malay language as the language of communication across civilizations created an effort to compile a bilingual dictionary which was important for Chinese traders and others in the interaction in the Malay world. Initial efforts in compiling a bilingual dictionary was traced back as early as 14th century during the era of Emperor Ming Hongwu (1368 – 1399), the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (Liang Liji 1996: 92).

Related:

海絲路·文化·軟實力

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on February 2, 2024 at 11:01pm

However, in the dictionary as a list of Chinese words - the word of foreign states (Hua Yi Yi Yu) is not clear if the Malay language is also embodied in it. However, it was found in the 15th century that a Chinese-Malay bilingual dictionary was made as was researched by western scholars such as E. D. Edwards and C. O. Blagden in the 1930s. The title of the dictionary in Chinese was Ma La Jia Guo Yi Yu (A Chinese Vocabulary of Malacca Words and Phrases, 滿剌加館譯語). The words collected in it are believed to include the vocabulary of the early days of the onset of the Ming Dynasty’s relationship with the Malacca Sultanate from 1403 until the fall of Malacca in the hands of the Portuguese in 1511. The dictionary consists of 482 entries of Chinese words which are considered important and categorized into 17 fields namely astronomy, geography, season and time, plants, birds and animals, houses and castles, behaviours, body, gold and jewels, society and history, color, counting and common words. Each entry is given a Malay translation written in Chinese (Liang Liji 1996: 92).

The dictionary was compiled with the needs of the Ming Dynasty to establish a relationship with Malacca. Until the end of the 16th century it was still a reference dictionary, including in the preparation of Chinese history books. Thus, the close and familiar relationship between the two civilizations have also left a large and important impact on the language as well, as evidenced by the widespread role of the Malay language.

The relationship and interaction between the two civilizations was later ended for a long period due to the change in the system in China and from the effects of colonization on Malacca and the Malay kingdom by the Western powers. Only in the 18th century an onwards, the relationship was reconnected however with a pattern that is much different, because the arrival of the Chinese was not sent by the Chinese government on diplomatic relations but rather an attempt by Western colonialists to meet the needs of its economy, with most of the migrants made workers in the tin mines and a number of others trying their luck in business. According to Blythe (1947: 66), 1850 was the date of commencement of a large-scale immigration from mainland China to Peninsular Malaysia. Mc Gee (1964: 70) has noted that the Chinese arrived by the largest numbers between 1880 and 1914. On the contrary, Tregonning (1962) stated that the number of Chinese migration increased from 50,000 in 1880 to 200,000 in 1990 and peaked to a record level of more than 360,000 in 1927. More than 6 million Chinese have signed into colonies and territories under British protection in Peninsular Malaysia (Tregonning, 1962).

History finally gives reference to the pattern of demographic and social system in the Federation of Malaya and then Malaysia when Chinese residents were granted citizenship at the time of the Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957. Now (2014), Chinese makes up 22.6 percent of Malaysian citizen and they contribute to the various cultures through their way of life in the areas of art, festivals, food, clothes, belief system and so on.

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on February 2, 2024 at 5:59pm

The longstanding relations between Malaysia and China was disconnected as a result of the Cold War and Western colonialism that do not want to have any relation with countries that practiced communism. However, a new hope in the relation between Malaysia and Republic of China emergesin the 1970s when the need to build a diplomatic relationship for mutual benefit arise. Malaysia’s foreign policy after the conclusion of the Indonesian confrontation that emphasizes efforts to maintain national security and interests through improved relations and cooperation with regional countries regardless of their view of life and professed political system, contributed to the success of

Malaysia establishing a diplomatic relation with the People’s Republic of China.

The relationship was accomplished due to the effort and confidnce of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein who dared to take risks when other countries do not want a relationship with China. The relationship actually begin with a letter written by Abdul Razak to China’s Prime Minister, Zhou En-Lai in 1971.

The letter was sent through the Chairman of the Table Tennis Association of Malaysia, who was alsosecretary-general of the Alliance Party (now Barisan Nasional), Tan Sri Michael Chen Wing Sum, when the country joined the table tennis tournament in Beijing in September, 1971. After reading the letter, Zhou En-Lai requested that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ji Pengfei to meet with Chen. The brief meeting paved the way for a serious decision to establish diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Three years later, Tun Abdul Razak made a historic visit to China which not only formed a bond of

friendship between Malaysia and China, but also opened up new chapters in the two way relationship between both countries (Sin Chew Jit Poh 1974).

Tun Abdul Razak stated that, In our foreign policy, we have shown our commitment to the cause of peace by consistently pursuing a policy of nonalignment and regional co-operation and of extending our hand of friendship to all countries who wish to be friends with us irrespective of their political ideology or social system on the basic of mutual respect, non-interference and co-existence.(Jain 1984: 215).

Malaysia was the first Southeast Asian country to form diplomatic relations with the People’sRepublic of China in 1974. It was an important relationship for Malaysia as it helped to curbcommunist activities and to maintain the stability and peace in the Southeast Asian region. China’scommitment to communist movements in Malaysia made it easier for the latter to tackle communistproblems in the country. Following Malaysia’s initiative to form good ties with China, other ASEAN countries also developed similar relations with the republic. Philippines and Thailand were thefirst to do so in July 1975, followed by Singapore in 1990, and finally Brunei in 1991. Indonesia who suspended their diplomatic relationship with China in October 1967 also renewed their relations in July 1990. Thanks to Malaysia’s insistence, China was successfully accepted into the United Nations Organization in 1971. Tun Abdul Razak’s wise and bold decision resolved the Cold War which drovea wedge between China and The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. It also became the basis upon which Southeast Asian countries could boost their relations with the most powerful force in the region.

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on January 31, 2024 at 3:00pm

As both countries’ governments sealed a joint statement between Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China on 31st May 1974, various joint ventures were explored for the benefit of both parties. After over 50 years today, the ties and joint ventures between the two countries have grown stronger especially in the main sectors such as trade, tourism, culture, education, healthcare, and science and technology. Within this time period, leaders from both countries have exchanged visits in order to discuss arising issues and their solutions for the sake of both countries’ economic and social wellbeing. Malaysia and China’s understanding of and dependence on each other have slowly destroyed the dividing wall built by Western colonizers during the Cold War. In truth, the diplomatic ties were simply a political formality to a relationship which had been established way before. Since 1946, Malay (Indonesia) language had been taught at the Foreign Language Institute in Nanjing City, before being moved to Beijing in 1949 following the formation of the People’s Republic of China (Awang Sariyan 2014: 13).

Malaysia and China also nurtured special relations in the field of education and academia. Thiswas evident in the formation of Malaysia-People’s Republic of China Malay Studies Chair. The Malay Studies Chair is an honorary academic position created by both governments to recognise the role that Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) had in establishing and expanding Malay Studies programs in the republic since 1961. The Malaysian government’s first Malay Studies Chair in China was Datuk Dr. Awang Sariyan who was elected to the chair in 2008. Among other responsibilities, the chair is responsible for introducing new fields to Malay Studies including language, literature, culture, and so on. The chair is also in charge of improving academic programs for degree and post graduate levels, conducting research and publications, organising seminars, and assisting the establishment and fortification of Malay studies or language programs in China’s higher education institutions.

Beijing city is the fourth foreign location to hold an academic chair with the Malaysian government after the University of Ohio in the United States of America, Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

The idea for the conception of the chair in Beijing , the Malay Language Teaching Centre was established in BFSU as an agreement between both governments to collaborate in the field of education; specifically the teaching of Malay language in China. (Daily Express 2014).

On 1st September 2005, the China School of Malay Studies was formed and officiated by the PrimeMinister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak. With the Malay language teaching program being upgraded to Malay studies program, the China School of Malay Studies became the official base for all academic activities and efforts to expand the Malay language, literature and culture in the republic. It also helped to establish Malay Language and Studies Programs in other higher education institutions throughout the country. [Con't Below]

延續閱讀：

文化特區專綫

海絲路·文化·軟實力

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on January 29, 2024 at 4:33pm

Among the pioneers of the China School of Malay Studies was Professor Dr. Wu Zongyu (Awang
Sariyan 2014: 12). Malay studies continued to flourish in China with the addition of six universities which offered Malay Language courses. Apart from BFSU, Peking University and Communication University of China which are in Beijing, Malay Language course is also offered in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies during the 2008-2009 academic years, Guangxi University for Nationalities in Nanning, Yunnan Nationalities University in Kunming in 2008, as well as Luoyang Military Academy in Henan in 1988.

The Malay Language Section of the China Radio International (CRI) which broadcasted in Malay and
reported various topics pertaining to China and its relations with foreign countries in Malay, also helped to spread the Malay language, literature and culture in the country. This indirectly placed CRI as an agent for promoting Malay language and culture in China.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka’s (DBP, Malay for the Institute of Language and Literature) publication,
Dewan Budaya magazine have published writings from China through the section ‘Bingkisan CRI’ in
order to introduce China’s culture and tradition to the Malaysian society (http://dwnbudaya.dbp.my/
wordpress/?cat=24). With both states working hand in hand on the matter, Malay studies continued to flourish in China.

DBP had launched an internationalization program in the People’s Republic of China as the centre for the expansion of Malay language and culture in the East Asian region. The long standing foundation is reinforced through current and updated programs which are concrete and matches the requirements of the times. Both countries proved they had a strong bond by learning each other’s official language. This was attested when Malaysian students taking up Mandarin studies at BFSU performed a dikir barat in Mandarin while Chinese students doing Malay studies sang a number of Malay songs and also performed a Malay dance during the delegation’s visit lead by Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail in year 2014. There are roughly 200 students from Malaysia studying for their degree in the Mandarin language at BFSU, Beijing (The Star Online 2014).

In addition to the education sector, Malaysia and China also nurture good relations in the tourism
sector. Despite experiencing a 2.71 percent drop, specifically from 520,466 to 379,265, in the number of China tourists coming in to Malaysia following the disappearance of flight MH370 and the Sabah kidnapping case, China remains the third country with the most number of tourists to Malaysia.

Malaysia’s decision to provide visa exemption to China nationalities is expected to allow Malaysia
to explore the republic’s domestic tourism market potential. MCA’s president, Liow Tiong Lai (The
Sun Daily 2015), stated that the visa exemption will generate even more income from tourism activities coming in from China into Malaysia. In the recently announced modification to the 2016 Budget, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd.  (Con't Below)

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on January 29, 2024 at 2:43pm

Najib Tun Abdul Razak (Sin Chew Jit Poh 2016) announced that as of 1st March until 31st December 2016, tourists from China do not need to obtain visas in order to visit Malaysia. The Prime Minister hoped that a comprehensive strategic relationship with China will be strengthened and thus not only become more productive but also more successful.

In the meantime, the Chinese government is also actively promoting the Muslim Tour Program
in China which is organised by China Radio International (CRI), in order to attract Malaysians
to visit the country. The Muslim tour package reassures Malaysians on the halal status of the food
provided by the organisers since China also has a large Muslim community of 22 million citizens.
Based on the 2015 China Religion Survey, Islam had the youngest followers whereby 22.4 percent
of them were under the age of 30 (The International Business Times 2015).

As the world’s economic giant, China has taken the initiative to revive the silk roads and maritime
routes through their ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. China plans to build and connect their railways
to East Asian countries and is working hard to encourage more neighbouring countries to improve
their port structures in order to proceed with their maritime Silk Road mission. From China, the route
is expected to span the entire globe to Europe, Africa, the Arab countries, and Southeast Asia. The
idea to develop one economic belt and road came from President Xi Jinping in 2013, who viewed
it as a symbol of trust, unity and cooperation to create a win-win situation for all parties. Malaysia,
along with other ASEAN countries, were of the view that many globalisation challenges had arisen
and will continue to affect the socioeconomic and sociocultural growth process in both countries. Its
impact will be felt in various aspects of two-way relationships, including in the ASEAN context.
However, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi is optimistic that Malaysia holds an important role as a gateway to ASEAN that can balance the global trade flow with China (The Malay
Mail Online 2016).

Therefore, China views Southeast Asian countries as viable gateways to this maritime route who will share in the benefits and economic prosperity resulting from the efforts they have in plan. The Secretary General of the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD),Xu Zhensui, announced in his speech that China is offering Shenzhen as a future global trade window.

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on January 29, 2024 at 12:33am

According to Xu, history has proven that China was a trade force and not a colonising force, and so more large cities should mirror Shenzhen. Following that, the President of The Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) Malaysia, Mirzan Mahathir, commented that China’s approach was a project to ‘Prosper the Neighbour’. He stated that, “In order to ensure the success of this aspiration, the plan must be understood by all of China’s neighbouring countries so that they too may share the same aspirations.” He also added that from the business point of view, participating countries must reap direct benefits through steps such as creating more work opportunities and reducing trade restrictions in order to ensure the viability of global free trade (Utusan Malaysia 2015).

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Dr. Bhokin Bhalakula on the other hand, suggested that this plan be included in discussions among ASEAN countries in order to create a sense of trust that could promote solidarity amongst member countries. He stated that only by doing so can China and ASEAN work on their own Free Trade Agreements framework as the plan involved a huge investment in order to develop transportation infrastructures, financial cooperation, risk management, and maritime collaboration (Utusan Malaysia 2015).

CONCLUSION

Malaysia’s history of friendship with China goes a long way back and was first founded over 600 years ago during the time of the Malacca Sultanate. The Sino-Malaysian cultural exchange was developed out of the trade between China and India on the route between these two ancient civilisations. It was during that time that the sultanate forged strong relations with China and eventually turned to China for protection against the kingdom of Siam and Majapahit. Hence, the diplomatic relation formed between the two countries after World War II in 1974 was in fact a continuation of the long standing relationship from hundreds of years before. This friendship was forged upon solidarity, understanding and respect from the highest of ranks down to the everyday folks. Tun Abdul Razak’s initiative to reestablish relations with China was then continued by subsequent Prime Ministers as a result of its success and benefits to Malaysia. Various issues and agreements in various sectors were formed in order to boost both countries’ economic growth. It is the hope of both countries that the ties that bind Malaysia and China will remain steadfast in the years to come and that many new collaborations will be formed for the economic wellbeing and prosperity of both countries. Perhaps the tragedy of MH370 will become a lesson that could increase the collaboration between Malaysia and China in the aviation, safety, and deep sea rescue sector.

（Ku Boon Dar, 2016, Preserving the Cultural Bond towards Strengthening Sino-Malaysian Friendship ，International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation [Iman] 4[3], 2016: 87 – 96 [http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/IMAN-2016-0403-09])

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on August 28, 2023 at 10:23am

離散政治

離散政治或稱僑民政治，研究跨國種族離散（或稱流移）中的政治行為、離散者們跟他們的故鄉和所在國的關係、以及他們在種族衝突中的顯著角色。[1] 離散政治是離散學（diaspora studies）的一部份。

要明白離散者的政治，必先要明白歷史背景及其附帶事件 [2]: 離散者是一個跨國群體，基於他們的共同身份而把自己定義為一個獨特的族群。離散是從故鄉或「祖國」僑居他處而生。在現代，這種移居可能有歷史文獻記載，而離散者們可能跟某片土地有關係。某片土地是否是某族群的祖國或家鄉是一個政治問題。該次遷移發生的時間愈久遠，證據就愈少：以羅姆人為例，他們的祖國、遷移、以及遷移路線都仍未能確定。去宣示一片土地為祖國必定會有政治涵意，而且經常帶來爭議。

因為那個地方和他們的種族以及文化的關係，對自己身份有所認知的離散者很看重他們的故鄉 － 特別當那是失土或佔領區時。有幾個離散者群因此發起種族民族主義運動，亦時常以成功建立主權國為家作終結。但即使建立了「祖國」，全數離散者回歸故鄉卻很少有，而沒有回鄉的離散者通常對故鄉，以及當地其他種族的居民保有重要的情感。

學者現在認為種族離散群體是國際系統裏「無法避免」和「在地」的特徵，Yossi Shain和Tamara Cofman Wittes提出的原因是 [1]：

在離散者所居住的每一個國家中，他們都可以在當地組織起來以加強他們的政治影響力。

離散者可以為了他們所關心的問題而對其祖國當地的政治圈施加強大壓力。

一個離散者跨國群體可以直接跟某第三國及國際組織接觸, 繞過祖國以及所在地政府。

離散者因此被視為跨國政治實體，「為同胞奔走」，而且有能力獨立於任何國家行事，不論是祖國或所在地政府。

1 Shain, Yossi & Tamara Cofman Wittes. Peace as a Three-Level Game: The Role of Diasporas in Conflict Resolution in Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275975339

2 Ambrosio, Thomas. 2002. "Ethnic identity groups and U.S. foreign policy." Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275975339

（原載：维基百科）

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on July 27, 2023 at 11:18am

分而治之的把戏

马来西亚最古老的清真寺，建于1729年；

中国现存最古老的清真寺，早在1115年建成。

西方新殖民主义者偏偏一再利用

伊斯兰议题恐吓华人

阻碍华巫联袂一起促进

一带一路商机与文化交流

不外还是分而治之的把戏

Comment by 美索 布達米亞 on July 25, 2023 at 12:10pm

愛墾評註：穆斯林東南亞的華教意義

......在東南亞國家中，泰國華人與當地民族通婚的比率最高，不同民族間的文化融合程度最深①，泰國華人的中華民族認同是在民族同化過程中得以實現的。進而言之，泰國政府長期以來通過關閉華校、鼓勵泰華聯姻的方式對華人進行同化，其結果是越來越多的泰人擁有華人血統，這種被壓抑的中華民族認同感待機而發，並將呈現其獨特的文化新質。近年來泰國華文教育的空前盛況便是明証，擁有35家孔子學院和孔子課堂，絶大多數有條件的泰國學校均已開設華文課程，這與其説是華文的商業實用價值所致，還不如説是源於一種基於文化認同的集體無意識。中華文化與泰國當地文化交融過程中所體現的“文化新質”，需要進一步研究。大小乘佛教與儒家文化、關公信仰、中華禮俗之高度融合所産生的新的文化形態已構成泰國華人社會的共同精神根基，成爲中華文化在東南亞生成的支脈，泰國華人新文化無疑是中華文化海外傳播及現代化變遷的重要一環。

如泰國的“華僧宗”就是一種誕生於泰國本土的華人宗教信仰，具有華人新文化的特質。清末南粵禪僧續行和尚赴暹羅傳播大乘教法，營建寺廟，侍奉觀音，吸引當地信衆，在此基礎上形成“華僧宗”，並得到泰國王室的禮敬，“華僧宗”後來又奉神醫華佗爲菩薩，構建了集宗教和慈善爲一體的宗教體系，成爲泰國華人和當地社會的共同信仰。正如學者所言：“‘華僧宗’在適應泰國環境時，對泰國華人文化的‘本土化’必然會産生積極作用，從而促進當地華人逐漸融入於居住國社會。正因爲中泰兩個民族佛教文化形態的相似性，使泰人能以更親近的態度對待華人，而華人因爲相近的文化氛圍能很順利地融合到泰族社會中去。”②泰國的“華僧宗”是中華文化在海外傳播與發展的典型，對於構建華人新文化具有啟示意義。

與泰國不同的是，華僑在處於伊斯蘭世界的印度尼西亞、馬來西亞遭受到較大的文化排斥。英國、荷蘭殖民者長期的民族分化政策，中華文化與伊斯蘭教文化之間異質性特徵的擴大，印度尼西亞、馬來西亞華人在融入當地社會過程中出現了劇烈的對峙和衝突。儘管早期在印度尼西亞、馬來西亞已有爲數衆多的土生華人，鄭和下西洋的歷史影響也在一定程度緩解了中華文化與伊斯蘭文化之間的矛盾，但隨着這兩個伊斯蘭教民族國家的興起，加上20世紀政治、種族因素的衝擊，印度尼西亞、馬來西亞華人一方面肇啟了從適應當地文化、逐漸本土化乃至與異族融合的歷程，另一方面則更顯明地體現了對中華文化的認同和堅守。（下續）

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