Liu Shan Bang

Liu Shan Bang (simplified Chinese: 刘善邦; traditional Chinese: 劉善邦; pinyin: Liú Shànbāng) (1800-1857) was a Chinese gold miner in Bau, Sarawak. He is now known as the leader of the 1857 Chinese Uprising against the White Rajahs .

Born in Kwan Tung province, China, around 1800, Liu left for Sambas, Borneo, at the age of 20. He is said to have worked at the Sam Tiau Kow gold mine there until mistreatment by the Dutch caused him to lead a group of miners to the Bau area of Sarawak[1] (perhaps Pangkalan Tebang). He organised the 'Twelve Kongsi' company which operated the Mau San gold mine and made the mining town of Mau San (or Bau Lama) effectively self-governing.[2]

On 18 February 1857, he led 600 Chinese down the Sarawak River to attack the government of James Brooke in Kuching. Five Europeans were killed, properties burnt, and the town in disarray, with most Europeans sheltering in the grounds of the Anglican Church. However, the insurgents did not want to assume the government; they offered it to Helms the manager of the Borneo Company and another trader called Ruppell, with the Datu Bandar administering the Malays, and withdrew upriver. On 23 February Charles Brooke led a force of Ibans to join up with the local Bidayuh tribes in retaliation. Liu was killed at Jugan, on the way to Bau, on 24th. A stone was placed to mark his grave, and a small temple erected by it, although the reason was kept secret for over a century.[3][4]

On 27 July 1993, Liu Shanbang was included in the 'freedom fighters, liberators, and martyrs' unveiled on the new Heroes' Monument in the Sarawak Museum Garden.

References

  1. ↑ Chang Pat Foh, (1995), Liu Shanbang (The Hero who refused to be ruled by the White Rajah), pp.78-82 in "The Land of Freedom Fighters"
  2. ↑ Kaur, Amarjit (February 1995) "The Babbling Brookes: Economic Change in Sarawak 1841-1941" Modern Asian Studies 29(1): pp. 65-109, p.73
  3. ↑ Chang Pat Foh, (1995), Bau Chinese Rebellion 1857, pp.44-57 in "The Land of Freedom Fighters"
  4. ↑ The Bau Chinese Insurgence 1857|http://worshipdevotion.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/bau-chinese-insurgence-1857.html
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