人生如戲：黃蕙蘭的自傳研究

Life as a Play: A Study on the Autobiographies of Oei Hui Lan

傳統的南洋華人研究，較關注中國出生的男性菁英；本文則是藉分析由黃蕙蘭在1943年與1975年的自傳，討論當地出生的女性菁英。
本文發現：一、她雖然被譽為「中國大使夫人」，但與中國的聯繫非常薄弱；二、她雖然被認為是印尼女性運動先驅Raden Ajeng Kartini的「啟發者」，但晚年對婚姻與性別的態度卻是相對保守；三、她藉由「中國風」的寫作風格，滿足了西方社會對東方的獵奇想像，也維持了自己是上層社會華人女性的身分地位。不論將自傳視為歷史檔案或文學作品，這兩份自傳都是土生華人女性菁英研究的重要參考資料。

Conventional studies on Chinese in Nanyang concentrate on the life experiences of elite males born in China. By exploring the autobiographies of Oei Hui Lan in 1943 and 1975, this article discusses the female elites who were locally born.
This article reveals the following findings. First, although Oei was often referred as “Wife of the Chinese Ambassador”, her relationship with China was fragile indeed. Second, although Oei was often referred as the “Inspirer” of Raden Ajeng Kartini, the pioneer of women’s movements in Indonesia, she was relatively reserved on the issues of marriage and gender. Third, by practicing the “Chinoiserie” style in her writings, Oei successfully pleased Westerners’ exotic imagination of the East and maintained her status as an upper-class Chinese lady. The two autobiographies, whether treated as historical records or literary works, are good base for studies on the female Peranakan elites in Nanyang.