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In the context of the linked letter, quite the opposite...
do you know why he specifically mentioned about England need tea leaf? because he trust that if foreigners do not drink tea, they will constipate and die...
Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
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Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#12For sure, the UK was deeply responsible for so much death and suffering from the Opium trade in China in this era. Just like modern China (and Mexico) should be considered deeply responsible for the current massive opioid crisis in the United States: 1. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-... 2. https://www.science.org/content/article/underground-labs-chi... 3. https://www.npr.org/2020/11/17/9…
If the drugs are produced in China and thus are available there, why doesn't China (nor Mexico) have the same level of problems? And the other way round: For sure, Opium was imported to England. Why didn't it become a problem?
>And the other way round: For sure, Opium was imported to England. Why didn't it become a problem?
Opium was produced around Calcutta(Kolkata). Shipping it to China was cheap, shipping it to the UK was expensive. Only the wealthy British could afford opium, and they used a ton of it. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_English_Opiu...
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#13FYI, Celestial grace in his letter meant the grace of Qing Emperor, and Celestial Court the Qing Government. Lin's perspective was pretty Qing-centric which was of course orthodox in his ideology. The letter reads so supercilious as if it were written by someone much worse than D. Trump. I doubt if the messenger had the guts to deliver or just burnt it silently.
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#14The behavior of the few barbarians undid all the good work done by the company to help both the nations. And sadly the queen did not do anything to stop the barbarians.
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#15Chinese court rejects Canadian’s appeal against death sentence for drug smuggling
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/10/china/china-robert-schellenbe...
Singapore executes disabled Malaysian convicted in drug case https://www.npr.org/2022/04/27/1094965375/singapore-executes...
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#16For sure, the UK was deeply responsible for so much death and suffering from the Opium trade in China in this era. Just like modern China (and Mexico) should be considered deeply responsible for the current massive opioid crisis in the United States: 1. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-... 2. https://www.science.org/content/article/underground-labs-chi... 3. https://www.npr.org/2020/11/17/9…
If the drugs are produced in China and thus are available there, why doesn't China (nor Mexico) have the same level of problems? And the other way round: For sure, Opium was imported to England. Why didn't it become a problem?
Well, in that historical case, the sale of Opium to China was a state sponsored project. Opium was only a minor problem in England, but it wasn't being smuggled into England by a quasi-hostile foreign country trying to re-balance its trade deficits.
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#17The behavior of the few barbarians undid all the good work done by the company to help both the nations. And sadly the queen did not do anything to stop the barbarians.
Well, England had a massive trade deficit, and failed to find anything the Chinese wanted to buy, except opium. In the end, this was approved by the queen to balance their trade deficit, as they were bleeding silver.
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#18For sure, the UK was deeply responsible for so much death and suffering from the Opium trade in China in this era. Just like modern China (and Mexico) should be considered deeply responsible for the current massive opioid crisis in the United States: 1. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-... 2. https://www.science.org/content/article/underground-labs-chi... 3. https://www.npr.org/2020/11/17/9…
If the drugs are produced in China and thus are available there, why doesn't China (nor Mexico) have the same level of problems? And the other way round: For sure, Opium was imported to England. Why didn't it become a problem?
If you think opium wasn't a problem in England, you're delusional. A quick google search will prove you wrong: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Opium...
The drugs that China exports to the US aren't legal to be sold in China, but are legal (for them) to export to other countries.
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#19And queue the first Opium War. The Chinese did indeed start a crackdown on opium trade after this, including sending troops to seize warehouses full of it. This action sparked off the first Opium War with Britian, and kicking off the so-called Chinese “Century of Humiliation”.
It is important to stress that China was ruled, at the time, by a government that was widely seen as "Nonchinese" -- this sense of external rule surely had a great deal to do with the emergence of mass addiction, as the Ching state that imposed the laws had serious legitimacy issues (and would collapse less than a century later.)
How was it nonchinese?
Re: Lin Zexu's Letter to Queen Victoria (1839)
#20>We find your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li make one mile, ordinarily] from China Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous drug to injure the Chinese people? Even though the barbarians may not necessarily intend to do us harm, yet in coveting profit to an extreme, they have no regard for injuring others. Let us ask, where is your conscience? I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forbidden by your country; that is because the harm caused by opium is clearly understood. Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries -- how much less to China! Of all that China exports to foreign countries, there is not a single thing which is not beneficial to people: they are of benefit when eaten, or of benefit when used, or of benefit when resold: all are beneficial. Is there a single article from China which has done any harm to foreign countries?
>Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused. We have heard heretofore that your honorable ruler is kind and benevolent.
>We have further learned that in London, the capital of your honorable rule, and in Scotland, Ireland, and other places, originally no opium has been produced. Only in several places of India under your control such as Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Patna, Benares, and Malwa has opium been planted from hill to hill, and ponds have been opened for its manufacture. For months and years work is continued in order to accumulate the poison. The obnoxious odor ascends, irritating heaven and frightening the spirits. Indeed you, O King, can eradicate the opium plant in these places, hoe over the fields entirely, and sow in its stead the five grains [millet, barley, wheat, etc.]. Anyone who dares again attempt to plant and manufacture opium should be severely punished. This will really be a great, benevolent government policy that will increase the common weal and get rid of evil. For this, Heaven must support you and the spirits must bring you good fortune, prolonging your old age and extending your descendants. All will depend on this act.
Reading this was pretty sad. So many vain appeals to reason. "We know you know it's bad for you, you've banned it yourself, please stop dumping it on us." Unfortunately the people he wrote that letter to didnt see them as equals.