The Rose of Cikembang was part of an already remarkable body of modern mass literature, now largely forgotten, which had been created over the previous thirty or so years mainly by Indonesians of Chinese descent in a language that had long been known as Low Malay, or simply Malay. The Rose of Cikembang was inspired by William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream". Kwee adapted the story to reflect Indonesian circumstances, but also used the book to open discussion on the issue of the Nyai, a concubine often kept by young unmarried men. The novel has been adapted for a play and even for a screenplay.