Lim Soe Keng Sia
Community leader
Lim Soe Keng Sia (c. 1819–1883), also known as Liem Soe King Sia, Soe King Sia or Lim Soukeng Sia, was a Pachter, or revenue farmer, in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, best known for his rivalry with the notorious Betawi playboy Oey Tamba Sia. He acted as administrator of the 'Ngo Ho Tjiang' Kongsi, the most influential consortium of opium monopolists in early to mid-19th century Batavia.
Early life
He was born in about 1819 in the port city of Tegal, Central Java. He was the son of Kapitein Lim Ke Tjang (1781–1826) and a grandson of Kapitein Lim Soen Boen (1756–1813) of Tegal, and came from a family belonging to the 'Cabang Atas' aristocracy. His grandfather and father were Kapiteins der Chinezen of Tegal from 1770 until 1813, and from 1813 until 1826, in which capacity they governed and administered the local Chinese community on behalf of the Dutch colonial authorities. His older brother, Lim Soe Tjong, succeeded their father as Kapitein of Tegal, and served from 1826 until 1832. As a descendant of Chinese officers, Lim was born with the hereditary title Sia.
Career
According to historian Phoa Kian Sioe, Lim received a good education and was well-versed in the Chinese classics and in the Dutch language. Phoa also claims that Lim's family fell into genteel poverty due to financial mismanagement, which forced him to move from Tegal to Batavia to seek new opportunities.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 15, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q61118561. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1819, 1883, 1781 and 1826.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lim Soe Keng Sia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.