JULES CLAINE WAS a French explorer and diplomat who spent a year travelling across Malaysia in 1889 and 1890, photographing and commenting upon all that he saw and encountered here. This he published in Un An En Malaisie (One Year in Malaysia), and gave a paper for the 9th International Congress of Orientalists in London in 1891. He appeared on the cover of the Journal des Voyages, where his travels were featured as the cover story.

Instalments of his story appeared in Journal des Voyages in 1892 with the cover illustration showing two tigers looking on as a paddle-boat steamed up a river. Journal des Voyages was a French weekly travel journal sold through a network of railway stations. Aimed at a popular readership, it devoted its content to travel and exploration.

Claine also spent time in Singapore, and collected reptiles which are now specimens in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. His records are kept at the Société de Géographie of Paris, of which he was a member.

Jules Claine, the intrepid photographer, captured images of kampungs in Kedah, a Buddhist monastery in Singora in Siam, and temples and gardens in Penang. His photos are available in Gallica BnF, the digital archive of the National Library of France. Each photo bears a handwritten title in French and Claine’s name.

Jules Claine In Penang: Temples and Mosques

This photograph captures the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. Jules Claine simply titled it Temple Chinois—a very general description.

While still recognisable from the 19th century framing, some present-day figures on the roof ridges have been enlarged and made more prominent. The distinctive roof with a sweeping curvature that rises at the corners has a deeper meaning than merely protecting structures against the elements. Chinese temple roofs are curved because Buddhists believe that it wards off evil spirits, which were believed to assume the form of straight lines. The front is now more enclosed, and the beautiful, ornate street lamp has become a victim of progress. Then and now, the temple is busy with worshippers and passers-by.

La grande mosque captured the gaze of Jules Claine. Known as the Kapitan Keling Mosque, this building at the corner of Jalan Masjid Kapitan and Buckingham Street is a good example of Indian Muslim architecture, with the original dating back to the early 19th century.

As seen in this photo, the mosque was a small single story brick structure, with a sloping roof on all sides. A minaret stood at each corner and two of these can be clearly seen in Claine’s photo. Visible also is the outer colonnade and granite flooring where the photo’s subjects are gathered. This photo precedes one of the mosque’s major facelifts which begun in 1910 and was completed in 1916. The present day grand mosque has been expanded many times, and is today the largest mosque in George Town.

Jules Claine also photographed a Burmese and a Siamese temple. The Burmese temple, described as “temple Birman”, was a modest building back then. Claine did not mention the location of this temple, but it is most likely the one situated in Lorong Burmah, at Pulau Tikus.

The present day Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple is much grander, and has a pair of large stone elephants flanking the front gates. Renovations have continued through the years, and the new Golden Pagoda Bell Tower was added in 2011.

The Siamese temple, or Temple Siamois, as described by Claine, is likely the present day Thai Sleeping Buddha temple opposite Dhammikarama Burmese Temple.

The stupa to the left in Claine’s photo still stands today. The temple was founded in 1845, and, since its establishment, has undergone several renovations. The reclining Buddha statue, one of the world’s longest, was constructed in the temple in 1958. The statue serves as a columbarium in which the urns of the cremated are housed.

The Journal des Voyages, in which Jules Claine’s travels appeared, was a prominent travel magazine in its day. Its subject matter described in detail most of the great expeditions which marked the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century—the last great period of exploration of the world by Western travellers.

Claine’s observations and comments allowed for readers’ vicarious travel. His writing displayed his taste for both geography and ethnology. He wrote of Sumatra: “...The site is of a picturesque and grandiose savagery. A few beautiful flowers of a brilliant red bloom at the top of tall gnarled stems, sheltered by tree ferns whose immense parasol invites to rest.” He described seeing towering peaks and semi-active volcanoes. Also in Sumatra, he found himself housed in the same lodging as a woman’s grandfather who had recently died of cholera. With phenic (carbolic) acid, he made a sanitary cordon to protect himself from being infected!

Of “Poulo-Pinang” (as Claine called Penang), he wrote of the diversity of its inhabitants and of the climate. He located the island of Penang in the Sunda Strait— geologically Penang is in the Strait of Malacca, but it sits on the Sunda Shelf. He recognised the diverse Malaysian population: “... the preponderance belongs to the Babas, Chinese born in the Straits, of which they are more masters than the English, who nevertheless consider them as subjects. While not abandoning anything from outside or from Chinese customs, they have monopolised almost all commerce and industry, and leave little chance for Europeans to establish themselves there successfully…” The Portuguese rated a mention also, although Claine compared them unfavourably with the young Chinese.

He made mention of the climate in Penang, describing it in terms which might easily resonate with present-day travellers. “The temperature of Pinang is more variable than in Singapour; on the mountains which dominate the city are installed sanatoria, where come to quench the Europeans exhausted by the fevers of the lowlands of the surrounding countries.”

Claine was far from complimentary with regards to provisioning his table: “... here, you can only buy fish, rice and tough beef!” On the other hand, if one has sufficient money, that “allows him to obtain in Europe everything that should provide him with a somewhat decent table.”

Jules Claine left Penang and travelled to “Alos-Stah” (Alor Setar) in Kedah, by means of small steamers. In June 1890, he left Singapore “from where the Yangtze brought [him] back to France”.

“I brought back numerous collections of ethnography and natural history destined for our museums,” he recorded.

References

[1] Jules Claine’s photographs accessed via gallica.bnf.fr

[2] Claine, Jules. (1892) Un an en Malaisie, 1889- 1890. Cornell University Library. Ithaca: NY.