The Cabang Atas —literally 'upper branch' in Indonesian—was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese officers, high-ranking colonial civil bureaucrats with the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen. They were referred to as the baba bangsawan [‘Chinese gentry’] in Indonesian, and the ba-poco in Java Hokkien.
Portrait of Yan and Coen, grandsons of Khouw Kim An, Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia (by Charles Sayers, circa 1937).
Kebon Dalem, residence of Be Biauw Tjoan, Majoor der Chinezen of Semarang.
Majoor Be Biauw Tjoan's private gamelan orchestra.
Oey Djie San, Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang with European guests.
Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China, was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines. Office holders exercised varying degrees of power and influence: from near-sovereign political and legal jurisdiction over local Chinese communities, to ceremonial precedence for community leaders. Corresponding posts existed for other ethnic groups, such as Kapitan Arab and Kapitan Keling for the local Arab and Indian communities respectively.
Tjong Ah Fie, Majoor der Chinezen of Medan
Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy, founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur
Official portrait of Khouw Kim An, the 5th and last Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia
A court of law in Jepara, Central Java with the European, native, Chinese and Arab officials of the district (late 19th century).
