Ong Hok Ham

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Ong Hok Ham (Wang Fu-Han 王福涵) is an Indonesian Chinese historian born in Surabaya on May 1, 1933. In 1975, he received his Ph.D. in History from Yale University with a dissertation entitled "The Residency of Madiun: Priyayi and Peasant in the Nineteenth Century".

He is a regular contributor for the Indonesian magazine Tempo. A collection of his writings for the magazine from 1976-2001 was published in 2002 titled "Wahyu yang Hilang, Negeri yang Guncang" ("A Lost Mandate, An Agitated Country").

He wrote a series of other books, mostly a collection of essays and articles, including "Runtuhnya Hindia Belanda" ("The Fall of the Netherlands Indies"), "Negara dan Rakyat" ("The State and The People"), and "Dari Soal Priayi sampai Nyi Blorong -- Refleksi Historis Nusantara" ("From Priayi to Nyi Blorong -- Historical Reflections on the Indonesian Archipelago").

Another collection of writings, this time in English, was published in 2003, entitled "The Thugs, The Curtain Thief, and The Sugar Lord". The book chronicles power, politics and culture in colonial Java.

In 1989, he retired from his duties as professor of History at the University of Indonesia. He is now chairman of the Lembaga Studi Sejarah Indonesia (the Indonesian Institute of Historical Studies).

He is a Buddhist.