 | ||
Chen Fu Zhen Ren (Hanzi= 陈府真人; Hokkien= Tan Hu Cin Jin) is an ancestral god of the Indonesian Chinese people living throughout Banyuwangi Regency, Java, Bali, and Lombok. He is also worshiped by the indigenous population of Bali and Java (Kejawen).
Contents
- Name
- Written history
- Life as a human
- Life as a god
- List of nine main temples of Chen Fu Zhen Ren
- Religion sects
- The mementos on Hu Tang Miao Temple Banyuwangi
- The mementos from Bao Tang Miao Temple Besuki
- The mementos on Long Quan Miao Temple Probolinggo
- The mementos on Ling Yen Gong Temple Singaraja
- References
The temples that worship Chen Fu Zhen Ren as their main deity are spread over East Java, Bali, and Lombok; but he is also known by the people of the West Java and other countries (i.e. Singapore, China, and Netherlands) because of trade and academic research.
Name
Chen Fu Zhen Ren is a title which means Chen the Truly Man. The title Zhen Ren (or Cin Jin in Hokkien dialect) is translated as Truly Man, while Chen (Hokkien: Tan) is his family name.
Written history
There are only two old scriptures which record the life of Chen Fu Zhen Ren, while the other sources have been handed down orally. The first source is a short biography written on a stele of Liong Coan Bio Temple in Probolinggo, East Java. The second is from the Malayan document that is kept at KITLV, Leiden, Netherlands. The document had been copied by the grandson of the keeper of Ho Tong Bio Temple in Banyuwangi on June 2, 1880, at Buleleng, Bali. The name of the author can’t be identified.
The stele inscription of Liong Coan Bio Temple, Probolinggo, reads:
The Malayan script tells the life story of Chen Fu Zhen Ren when he was still a human and the legend after he left the world. A summary of the story follows.
Life as a human
The script mentions Chen Fu Zhen Ren as Tan Cin Jin (the Hokkien dialect for his name) the eldest of three brothers. Tan Cin Jin became a captain of a single-poled ship. One day the three of them traveled from Batavia to Bali, but their ship was wrecked at Bali Strait. He was cast ashore at Blambangan’s beach, his second brother was lost in the ocean, the third cast upon the shore of Bali. His worshipers believe that the second brother become a deity at Watu Dodol Beach as Ji Kongco (Second Great Grand Father) while the third become a tiger and is called Sa Kongco (Third Great Grand Father). That is why the local population, especially the Fujian tribe, believe that no tiger will devour them as the tigers consider them to be their grandchildren. After that, Tan Cin Jin went to Kingdom of Blambangan. The script states that at the moment, the Chinese just came at Blambangan State. Salmon and Sidharta interpreted the words as at that time, Chinese people just started to live at the Kingdom of Blambangan; while The Chronicle of Blambangan which was written by Raden Haryo Notodiningrat and Ottolander (1915) states that the Chinese people lived at Blambangan on 1631 CE. The script doesn’t mention when it was that happened, but it states that the Kingdom of Blambangan became a vassal of the Kingdom of Mengwi, Bali. That fact was used by Salmon and Sidharta to conclude that he had come into Blambangan after 1729 CE, the year when the Kingdom of Buleleng was defeated by the Kingdom of Mengwi and Blambangan became Mengwi’s vassal.
He was accepted by the king of Blambangan and then was asked to build a palace at Macanputih, Banyuwangi (which is now a Probolinggo Sub-district). The palace was so beautiful that the king of Mengwi heard of Tan Cin Jin's name. At that time, the king of Mengwi had a plan to build a new palace; the king of Blambangan asked Tan Cin Jin to go to Mengwi for that reason. Tan Cin Jin had a precognition that he would be betrayed, so he tried to refuse, but the king insisted that he should go and assured him by swearing a vow: if any misfortune should befall him at Bali, the Kingdom of Blambangan would be far from blessed for many generations. So, reassured, Tan Cin Jin went to Bali and started to build the new palace.
After the palace was half finished, the ministries of Mengwi came to the king and said that actually the local craftsmen could build such a palace, thus the king could save his money as Tan’s payment was so expensive. The king felt confused because he already promised the payment, and he had also called Tan from a far place. The ministries concocted a plan to kill Tan because he had no relatives left to protect or avenge him. The king then sent two men from the Brahmin caste to do the job.
The two officers invited Tan Cin Jin to have a good time at the shore. He came although he knew their true objective. But the officers felt guilty and pitied him. After watching them silently for some time, Tan Cin Jin began the conversation and told them to do the king’s will to him. But, because he was innocent, his murder would be a sign of the fall of Blambangan and Mengwi. The two officers grew scared and asked for forgiveness. They asked to be allowed to follow him, because they were also afraid to return to their king. Tan Cin Jin took them along to Blambangan. It is said that Tan Cin Jin walked over the water across Bali Strait, while the two officers used his sandals as a boat. After that, they climbed Sembulungan Mountain at Blambangan and moksha (disappeared).
Life as a god
Forty or fifty years later, when "a lot of Chinese already lived at Blambangan" and '"four Chinatowns were already built at Banyualit (now Blimbingsari), Kedaleman, Lateng and Kesatrian", the story continued. Salmon and Sidharta believed that this story had happened less than fifty years after the former, by the fact that the year of the coming of Tan Cin Jin at Blambangan was after 1729 and the fall of the Kingdom of Blambangan (by this script) was in 1765. During the seventeenth century CE, there was an important slave trade route between Bali and Batavia, one of the most important slave trade routes in Asia.
One day, a large slaving vessel sailed from Badung to Batavia, carrying about 60-70 slaves "males and females, old and young, simple and lowly", all of them were "chained with iron from their necks to their feet". When the sailboat came near the Sembulungan Mountain, "it seemed the sailboat had left the area for one day and one night, and had a favorable wind and strength, but suddenly in the morning the sailboat returned in the same place". That recurred for almost a month, exhausting their provisions and making the passengers fear imminent death. Some of the slaves were Kshatriyas "who had been sold, and their hands and feet and their neck had been chained with iron." Suddenly one of them was free "although the chain was still locked". He came into a trace, danced and spoke to the captain used Chinese language:
"Hey Captain, you should know that I am a Kongco ("ancestor grandfather") with the name of Tan Cin Jin. I live in the Peak of Sembulungan Mountain. Take me to Blambangan, so I can live there forever."
The man jumped into the ocean and walked carefully over the waves, while the captain followed him by boat. After the Kshatriyan came to the peak of Sembulungan, he regained his senses and found three statues: one big and two small. Both of them took the statues into Banyualit Port.
At Banyualit, the captain gathered the Chinese citizens, and the Kshatriya got into trance once again. He spoke in Chinese language about his life on Macanputih and Mengwi, and how his two former murderers now became his two bodyguards forever:
"You the Chinese of Blambangan, let it be known... [the word cannot be identified] ..there was three brothers, the middle lives at Batudodol, the youngest has become a tiger and lives in the jungle of Blambangan and Bali. I never mean to leave this place, so I will know what will happen on Blambangan and Mengwi; I will satisfy myself and enjoy the result from Blambangan and Bali."
The Chinese people accepted him with joy and built him a temple at Lateng, Banyuwangi Regency. But after Blambangan was attacked by the Dutch on 1765, the center of Blambangan had been removed to Banyuwangi City until now (the former was at Muncar). The Chinese people also migrated and they removed the old temple to what now is Hu Tang Miao Temple.
The anonymous manuscript author also added that on 1880 only three temples of Chen Fu Zhen Ren had been built on Java, i.e. at Banyuwangi City, Besuki, and Probolinggo; while Bali had two temples, i.e. at Buleleng and Badung. And the Chinese at Tabanan, Mengwi, Bangli, Gianyar, Klungkung, Karangasem, and Sasak set home altars for Chen Fu Zhen Ren. Every year, the keepers of Banyuwangi temple would travel Bali to arranged Ghost Festival. The writer stated:
"I got this explanation from my parent …wangi, from my grandfather and.. [the name cannot be identified] ..were the keepers of Kongco’s temple." The unidentified word before wangi is generally considered to mean "at Banyuwangi".
List of nine main temples of Chen Fu Zhen Ren
Religion sects
Chen Fu Zhen Ren is known as a gentle and kind grand ancestor, honest in speech and well mannered. Some spiritualists describe him as an old man with a healthy body, white dressed, white haired, and white bearded. People usually ask him about medication and other problems of life; and his answers are believed very accurate. The worshipers from Indonesia and other countries leave many mementos on his temples.
The mementos on Hu Tang Miao Temple, Banyuwangi
Some of the wooden poetry planks on Hu Tang Miao Temple are:
Tan by his virtuousness had raised into Heaven; Cin by his great deeds protects humanity.
Kong’s virtue is perfect, his kindness is amazing, he supports thousand of households; Co’s heart is honest, his laws are perfect, he protects ten thousand families.
His kindness shines over all things.
He gives good health to the citizens.
If there is a prayer there must be an answer.
The mementos from Bao Tang Miao Temple, Besuki
Some of the wooden poetry planks are:
The strength of the god protects maritime countries.
Kong’s virtues drown the Chinese and the indigenous peoples, everyone gets their fortune, peoples pray for him as before; Co’s helps the Fujianese and Cantonese, four peoples had done their job well, the efforts on the winter has recovered.
Kong’s way leads to full happiness, the Easterners realize this and have changed; Co’s help spreads everywhere, Yi the Westerner merchant gets fortune from his virtue.
The mementos on Long Quan Miao Temple, Probolinggo
Some of the wooden poetry planks are:
Kong is addressed as True Man, the villagers of the southern Probolinggo are covered by his virtue; Co addressed as a wise man, citizens and the civil bureaucrats get his help.
The mementos on Ling Yen Gong Temple, Singaraja
Some of the wooden poetry planks are:
Kong’s blessings are like the rain that pours over and over, his help waters every place; Co’s virtues are like the mountain that is covered by clouds, his great blessings bring happiness and peace.
Gong is Famous.
His medicinal is Holy.
Kong gives his virtues; the Chinese and the indigenous are fortunate because of that. Co prepares medicinal recipes; males and females praise him.
His elegance covers Hainanese.
The virtues that he gives to us are limitless.
His sanctuary brings happiness.