Editing Chinese Indonesians (section)

== Classification ==
The term Chinese Indonesian has never been clearly defined, especially for the period before 1900. There was no Indonesian identity or nationality before the 20th century. The ethno-political category [[Han Chinese]] was also poorly defined before the rise of modern Chinese nationalism in the late 19th century.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} At its broadest, the term Chinese Indonesian is used to refer to anyone from, or having an ancestor from, the present-day territory of China and Taiwan. This usage is problematic because it conflates Han Chinese with other ethnic groups under Chinese rule. For instance, Admiral [[Zheng He]] (1371–1433), who led several Chinese maritime expeditions into Southeast Asia, was a Muslim from Yunnan and was not of Chinese ancestry, yet he is generally characterized as Chinese. This broad use is also problematic because it prioritizes a line of descent from China over all other lines and may conflict with an individual's own self-identity. Many people who identify as Chinese Indonesian are of mixed Chinese and Indonesian descent. Indonesia's 4th president [[Abdurrahman Wahid]] (1940–2009) is of [[Arab Indonesians|Arab]], Chinese, and [[Javanese people|Javanese]] ancestry.<ref name="Chinese1">{{cite book|last1=Lindsey|first1=Tim|last2=Pausacker|first2=Helen|title=Chinese Indonesians: Remembering, Distorting, Forgetting|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkaWBgAAQBAJ&q=Abdurrahman+Wahid+chinese+ancestry&pg=PA102|page=102|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=9789812303035}}</ref><ref name="Chinese2">{{cite book|last1=Lim|first1=Hua Sing|title=Japan and China in East Asian Integration|year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJv6eO2Izm8C&q=Abdurrahman+Wahid+chinese+ancestry&pg=PA290|page=290|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=9789812307446}}</ref>

Some narrower uses of the term focus on culture, defining as Chinese Indonesian those who choose to prioritize their Chinese ancestry, especially those who have [[Chinese name]]s or follow aspects of [[Religion in China|Chinese religion]] or [[Chinese culture|culture]]. Within this cultural definition, a distinction has commonly been made between ''[[peranakan]]'' and ''[[totok]]'' Chinese. Peranakan were generally said to have mixed Chinese and local ancestry and to have developed a hybrid culture that included elements from both Chinese and local cultures. ''Totoks'' were generally said to be first-generation migrants and to have retained a strong Chinese identity.

Other definitions focus on the succession of legal classifications that have separated Chinese from other inhabitants of the archipelago. Both the [[Dutch East India Company]] and the [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch colonial government]] (from 1815) applied complex systems of ethnic classification to their subjects, based on religion, culture and place of origin. Chinese Indonesians were sometimes classified as Natives, sometimes as Chinese, sometimes as Foreign Orientals, a category that included Arabs, Indians and Siamese.<ref>C. Fasseur, 'Cornerstone and Stumbling Block: Racial Classification and the Late Colonial State in Indonesia', in Robert Cribb (ed.), The Late Colonial State in Indonesia: political and economic foundations of the Netherlands Indies, 1880-1942 (Leiden: KITLV, 1994), pp. 31-56.</ref> After independence, the community was divided between those who accepted Indonesian citizenship and those who did not. Under the New Order of President [[Suharto]], citizens of Chinese descent were formally classified as "Indonesian citizens of foreign descent" (''Warga Negara Indonesia keturunan asing''). In public discourse, they were distinguished from [[native Indonesians]] as non''-pribumi'' (lit., non-native).