Koen van der Lijn is an intern an education and research staff member at the Institute for Area Studies.

More information about Koen van der Lijn

Fields of interest

• Chinese labor migration
• Dutch colonial history
• Dutch-Chinese relations
• Colonial photography & visual culture
• Sinology

Research

My PhD-project investigates Chinese labor migration to the Dutch East Indies. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when global policies restricted Chinese migration, hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers migrated to the Dutch East Indies. This migration relied on collaboration between Dutch consuls, Chinese networks, and colonial employers, bypassing global restrictions. Chinese networks played a key role in this system, operating beyond colonial oversight. By studying this complex system, my research project highlights how Chinese labor migration was shaped by multiple actors, challenging the Eurocentric view of this history and revealing the overlooked contributions of Chinese migrants in Dutch colonial development.

Grants and awards

• NWO PhD in the Humanities. 2025. 
• Johan Huizinga Fellowship, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. 2024-2025.

Curriculum vitae

• Johan Huizinga Fellow, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (2024-25)
• Teaching Assistant, Leiden University (2022-2025)
• Student Assistant, Leiden University (2019-2022)
• MA Asian Studies (research), Leiden University (2022)
• BA Chinese Studies, Leiden University (2019)