The Liep Nio

[1] Little is known about her life aside from the fact that she was a Peranakan Chinese woman from Purbalingga in Central Java; she was probably born in the early twentieth century.

[2] The Liep Nio published poems, novels, plays, and short stories in literary magazines such as Tjerita Roman, Liberty, and Djawa Tengah Review.

[4][1] In the novel, the husband Siok Tjwan, son of a contractor, marries Liang Nio, daughter of a rich merchant from Kediri.

[5][6] They move to Surakarta and then to Surabaya and are unable to make any connections in Chinese business communities and Liang Nio supports them by baking cakes and sewing.

Eventually Siok Tjawn sells Liang Nio to a rich merchant who mistreats her; their daughter Liesje becomes a sex worker and outcast from polite society.