Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang is a 1927 vernacular Malay-language novel
written by Kwee Tek Hoay. The book follows a man who leaves his beloved
concubine so that he can be married; eighteen years later, he discovers
that she had been pregnant, and takes responsibility for his daughter's
marriage. The novel has been interpreted variously as promotion of
theosophy, a treatise on the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, a call
for education, an ode to concubines, and a condemnation of how such
women are treated. Inspired by the lyrics to the song "If Those Lips
Could Only Speak" and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the book
was written as an outline for the stage drama troupe Union Dalia before
being published as a serial in Kwee's magazine Panorama. By 1930 there
had been a number of stage adaptations (advertisement pictured) – some
unauthorised. The work was filmed in 1931 by The Teng Chun and then in
1975 by Fred Young. Though not considered part of the Indonesian
literary canon, the book ranks amongst the most reprinted works of
Chinese Malay literature, and is Kwee's most popular publication. An
English translation by George Fowler, titled The Rose of Cikembang, was
published in 2013.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boenga_Roos_dari_Tjikembang_(novel)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
324:
Roman emperor Constantine the Great defeated former colleague
Licinius in the Battle of Adrianople.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_(324)>
1754:
French and Indian War: George Washington surrendered Fort
Necessity in Pennsylvania, the only military surrender in his entire
career.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Necessity>
1844:
The last known pair of great auks, the only modern species in
the genus Pinguinus, were killed in Eldey, off the coast of Iceland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk>
1940:
Second World War: The British Navy attacked the French fleet
(French destroyer Mogador pictured), fearing that the ships would fall
into German hands after the armistice between those two nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir>
1970:
The Troubles: The British Army imposed the Falls Curfew on
Belfast, Northern Ireland, which only resulted in greater Irish
republican resistance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_Curfew>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Panglossian:
1. (pejorative) Naively or unreasonably optimistic.
2. (pejorative) Of or relating to the view that this is the best of all
possible worlds.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Panglossian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 How the hell do I know what I find incredible? Credibility is
an expanding field... Sheer disbelief hardly registers on the face
before the head is nodding with all the wisdom of instant hindsight.
--Tom Stoppard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Stoppard>