Tjerita Roman ("

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

story" in Malay;

Perfected Spelling Indonesian orthography refers to the official spelling system used in the Indonesian language. The current system uses the Latin alphabet and is called (EYD), commonly translated as ''Enhanced Spelling'', ''Perfected Spelling'' or ''Improved Spel ...

''Cerita Roman'') was a monthly Peranakan Chinese, Malay-language literary magazine published in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

from 1929 to 1942. It was one of the most successful literary publications in the Indies, publishing hundreds of novels, plays, and short stories during its run. Among its authors were many of the notables of the

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

literary world including Njoo Cheong Seng, Pouw Kioe An, Tan Boen Soan, and Liem Khing Hoo.

History

was founded in

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

, East Java, Dutch East Indies (now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) in late 1929 by Ong Ping Lok and others from the editorial team behind the successful magazines '' Penghidoepan'' and ''Liberty''. At first, it was printed by the firm Hahn & Co. in Surabaya, with capital provided by a businessman named Han Sing Thjiang, who was the owner of ''Liberty'' magazine. As in , each issue usually featured an original or translated novel, sometimes followed by a short play, poem, or story. Ong Ping Lok, who in addition to being an editor wrote fiction under the pen name Monsieur Novel, often printed his pieces in the magazine. The covers were often illustrated by

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

-based artist Tan Liep Poen, who also did most of the covers for . The magazine quickly rose in popularity to surpass and ''Liberty''. The contents of the magazine also reflected shifting tastes among Chinese Indonesian readers; while publications of the 1910s had often consisted of historical martial arts or cloak-and-dagger stories set in China, mainly printed stories written and set in the contemporary Dutch East Indies. The magazine also sometimes printed stories or novels by women authors, which was unheard of before the 1920s in the Indies; these included Nyonya The Tiang Ek and The Liep Nio. The magazine is considered to be an important part of the golden age of Peranakan Chinese literature. At some point, another printing firm, Kwee Sing Tjhiang's Paragon Press in Malang, took over the publication of the magazine from Hahn & Co. Liem Khing Hoo, who published under the pen name Romaro, was also the editor of for a time and published many of his novels on its pages. Soe Lie Pit was another novelist who was editor of for a time in the mid-1930s. Later the magazine switched printers once again to Niro-Thaysiang in Surabaya. The magazine's run ended in 1942 with the

Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied forces attempted unsuccessfully t ...

. It was re-launched in January 1949 as (Romance Youth).

References

{{Reflist 1929 establishments in the Dutch East Indies 1942 disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies Malay-language magazines Literary magazines published in the Dutch East Indies Mass media in Surabaya Defunct literary magazines