Tio Ie Soei
| Tio Ie Soei | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
22 June 1890 Batavia, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 20 August 1974 (aged 84) Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Other names | Tjoa Pit Bak |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist |
Tio Ie Soei (Chinese: 赵雨水; pinyin: Zhào Yǔshuǐ; 22 June 1890 – 20 August 1974; also known by the pen name Tjoa Pit Bak) was a peranakan Chinese writer and journalist active in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia. Born in the capital at Batavia (now Jakarta), Tio entered journalism while still a teenager. By 1911 he had begun writing fiction, publishing Sie Po Giok – his first novel – that year. Over the next 50 years Tio wrote extensively in several newspapers and magazines, serving as an editor for some. He also wrote several novels and biographies, including ones on Tan Sie Tat and Lie Kim Hok.
Tio was born in Pasar Baru, Batavia, on 22 June 1890. His father was to a Chinese immigrant from Fujian province, while his mother was peranakan Chinese (mixed race). The young Tio was educated at a Dutch-run school for ethnic Chinese, learning Dutch and a smattering of various other languages.
He made his first venture into journalism in 1905, working for a short period for Sinar Betawi. Not long afterwards he quit and joined Perniagaan, which was mostly targeted at ethnic Chinese. He stayed with the publication for another fifteen years. Tio eventually rose to editor. During this period he married the daughter of one of his coworkers.
Tio wrote his earliest fiction in the 1910s. His first novel – targeted at children – was published 1911. Entitled Sie Po Giok, it followed a young orphan who is treated unfairly by his uncle and eventually leaves for China. The story proved popular upon its release, and Tio followed with several further short stories. He also wrote several biographical anthologies in this period.
In 1920 Tio fell ill and resigned from Perniagaan. He and his family moved to Pengalengan, south of Bandung, so he could recuperate. There they opened a vegetable farm. Tio continued to write, sending his work to various publications, including Bintang Soerabaia, Warna Warta, and Kong Po. One of these writings, published in the Bandung-based Lay Po in 1923, revealed that Lie Kim Hok's Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari (1884) had based heavily on Raja Ali Haji's 1846 poem Sjair Abdoel Moeloek. This created a scandal, and Lie was accused of plagiarism. In 1924 he established a literary review, entitled Tjerita Pilihan (Choice Stories) which published translations of European literature; although initial circulation was remarkably high, at 5,000 copies, it had gone bankrupt by the tenth issue.
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