Opium Trade and the First Anglo-Chinese War of 1839-42
I.
The Rise Of The Opium Trade
The opium-producing poppy was first brought to Western China by the Turks （土耳其人）and the Arabs（阿
拉伯人） in the late 7th or early 8th century.
Imported as a medicine it was always swallowed raw.
1620 some Formosans began mixing it with tobacco and smoking it.
In
The Chinese eventually developed their
own mode of consumption by burning opium extract, a refinement of the raw stuff, over a lamp and inhaling
its fumes through a pipe.
It afforded the escapist literati much relief.
The Portugals were the first to import opium to China in any sizable amount but the Portugal merchants
failed to have necessary capital to secure the supply for the Chinese market.
Taking advantage of this
situation, English traders carried the drug in their own ships and were able to undersell the Portugal.
The position of the EIC was a delicate one.
To the Chinese, the Company officially declared that they were
not connected with the opium trade and that it was entirely up to the Chinese government to suppress it.
Therefore they cautioned the country traders to avoid referring to their product as
"Company's opium".
On the other hand, that Company when issuing the licence had a conditional clause: the licence would be void
if opium which was not produced by the Company were exported.
In 1729, when Emperor Yung-cheng （雍正）prohibited the importation of opium for the first time, the
amount was about 200 chests.
The importation of opium increased slowly.
Until the end of the 18th
century, its importation increased substantially.
Opium trade may be divided into 3 phrases.
a) 1800-1820
The import amount was about 4500 chests/year.
Because of prohibition and Portugal authority relaxed
their control in 1802, Macao became the emporium.
1805-06, there saw a serious slump in opium trade
because of the disputes with the Portugal, piracy at round Macao and the competition from others.
the harmful effects of opium were apparent, China adopted a hard-line policy.
including eunuchs were heavily punished.
16 opium dealers.
rank.
Because
Both commoners and officials
In 1821, governor-general Juan Yuan （阮沅）arrested in Macau
One of the senior Hong merchants, Howqua（浩官）, was deprived of his third grade official
Therefore, foreign traders retreated to the island of Lintin（伶仃島）.
b) 1821-30
The import increased to 18760 chests/year.
West India beyond EIC control.
standard but expensive.
There saw the introduction of new opium, Malwa, planted in
Originally EIC imported Patna to China, planted in Bengal, a high
Therefore the consumption was threatened by the importation of Malwa.
The
competition between the 2 producers led to the decline of prices for both types of opium but the production
increased.
Patna
Malwa
1821-22
$2075/chest
$1325/chest
1830-31
$870/chest
$566/chest
EIC failed to compete against the Bombay producers because the number of chests imported for Malwa was
greater than the Patna.
c) 1830-40
Import greatly increased because the EIC's monopoly was abolished.
traders.
There saw the rapid influx of British
Opium production was increased (1831-32 Company's production doubled, 1836 production tripled
totalling 30,000 chests).
The new clipper ships, rapid extension of the traffic farther and farther east and
north along the China coast also explained the increase of importation.
running vessels provided escort, staring a new distribution system.
1
In 1834, a fleet of fast, armed,
This was initiated and advocated by
Jardine, Matheson & Co., （怡和） followed by Dent & Co.（甸地）
In dealing with official interference,
private traders used tactics of evasion, bribery, intimidation and even force.
Now opium trade in China had
reached such a large scale that it drew the attention of merchants all over the world.
imported mainly Turkish opium and soon developed an interest in India opium. e.g.
The Americans
Russell & Co.（旗昌）
In 1839, 2,500 chests of opium were submitted by the Americans to Commissioner Lin, it was only surpassed
by two British firms, Dent and Jardine, Matheson.
II. Effects of opium on China, British India and Britain
A.
Effects on China
a)
Social effects
The trade led to widespread corruption, demoralized and degraded the health of the people.
It made a useful
and active life impossible for numerous merchants, sailors, labours and all walks of life.
More and more
people were being drawn away from normal, socially productive careers.
Until 20s, Hong merchants even
secured opium ships at Whampoa.（黃埔）
Corruption due to temptation made by private trade for Chinese smugglers' profits earned were greater than
officials' salaries.
the foreigners.
Profits of opium trade was also greater than legal trade between the Hong merchants and
The officials could get $40/chest as corruption fund.
In 1838, in Kwangtung （廣東）and Fukien （福建） provinces where opium traffic was heavy, nine people
out of ten were addicts (Shih-jen chiu-yin 十人九癮)
In 1881, Robert Hart （赫特）calculated that there was
an increase of 2 million Chinese smokers each year.
Chiang Hsiang-nan （蔣湘南） estimated that: opium
smokers constituted 10-20% of the officials in the central, 20-30% of the officials in the local governments and
50-60% of the private secretaries (mu-yu 募友).
Among the regular attendants (ch'ang-sui 長隨) and
underlings of officials, the smokers were innumerable.
Commissioner Lin also made a similar remark.1
As to demoralization of army, Hsiang-k'ang（祥康）, the military general of Kirin （吉林） province, reported
that it was exceptional to find a non-smoker in the army.
In 1832, governor-general Li Hung-pin's（李鴻賓）
troops suffered a great defeat in the suppression of Yao rebels at Lien-chou（連州徭亂）.
It was found, after
investigation that of his 1,000 troops, 200 were totally unfit for service because they were all drug addicts.
Therefore, in 1833, the Emperor edicted that all the governors-general, governors and provincial commanders
had to stamp out the evil.
Hsiu-pao Chang （張少保） suggested: the effect of drug on the army was one of
the main considerations that emperor Tao-kuang took into so much so that
he was determined to suppress
all traffic. The trade was so lucrative that many people tried their best to engage in it.
Moreover, hundreds of
brigands came together, carrying weapons and associated with secret societies to pursue the trade.
W.S.
Davidson: "nothing could be more simple than to smuggle opium in China."
b) Economic effects
The trade caused a stagnation in the demand for other commodities.
When Lin Zexu was governor of
Kiangsu（江蘇）, he found that there was a depression in almost every area of trade in Soochow（蘇州） and
Hankow（漢口）. The merchants told Lin they could sell only half of the volume of commodities that they had
sold 20-30 years ago.
As reported, these "consumers" spent over half of their income on opium.
opportunity costs were of course consumption of other commodities.
The
2
1
「痼疾不除，足以弱種。如煙不禁，則國日貧，民日弱，數十年後，豈惟無可籌之餉，亦無可用之兵！」
2
「吸鴉片者，每日除衣食外，至少亦須另費銀一錢，是每人每年即另費銀三十六兩。 若一百分之中僅有一分
,此可核數而具者。況且下吸食之人，又何以百分之一分乎？」
2
Opium smoking threatened the economy of the state as the trade drained silver out of China and in this way
affected the bimetallic currency system used in the imperial accounts.
within China.
Silver was not extensively produced
After the early use of silver had begun under the Sung, prohibition on it export were reiterated
at various times.
The Qing government's decree rigorously demanded the direct export of commodities in
foreign trade without the use of silver to pay for imports, therefore the barter system was practised in Canton.
Yet silver became a currency in the Canton trade.
silver imports.
With the rise of opium trade, the imports substituted
Since the circumstances of opium smuggling required that the small bulk and high value
represented in opium chests be exchanged for something equally precious and transportable, silver moved out
as opium moved in.
That outflow of cargoes of silver bullion gradually drew the attention of Chinese officials.
The prohibition of
the export of silver was repeated in 1832 and a flood of memorials began to denounce the trade.
Huang
Chueh-tzu （黃爵滋）estimated:
1823-31 more than 17 million taels/year were spent on opium
1831-34 more than 20 million
1834-38 more than 30 million3
(The above figures were the consumption in Canton only, excluding Fukien, Chekiang
（浙江）and Shandong（山東）.
His argument was not groundless.
Until 1826, the balance of trade had always been favourable to China.
From 1721 to 1740, British payment for Chinese goods was 94.9% specie and only 5.1% goods.
Britain's problem of balancing the trade was eventually found in India's opium and cotton.
A solution to
Beginning at the
19th century, the private trade developed rapidly and after the mid 20s, the flow of specie began to reverse its
direction.
Periods
Flow of silver
1681-1690
189,264 taels
1721-1730
2,287,676 taels
1771-1780
7,564,320 taels
1821-1830
-2,282,038 taels
1831-1833
-9,922,712 taels
From 1828 to 1836, the treasure (silver, sycee silver and gold) amounted to 39 million dollars was drained out
of China.
In July 1837, this increased to $8,974,776, excluding the debts incurred by the Hong merchants
which totalled $2,770,762.
The Chinese fiscal experts assumed that the trouble of the drain of treasure resulted from the import of opium
and to alleviate the silver crisis, they instead of seeking other currency reforms convicted that the only
solution was to stop the trade.
Therefore there was the anti-opium movement.
Whatever the causes were, it could not be denied that there did occur the scarcity of silver and consequently
the whole bimetallic system was distorted.
A currency system using 2 metals as medium of payment
depended on the determination and firm maintenance of a suitable ratio between the two metals.
Any
3 「自道光三年至十一年，歲漏銀一千七八百萬兩，自十四年至今，漸漏至三千萬之多。此外福建、浙江、山東、
天津各海口，合之亦數千萬兩。以中國有用之財，填海外無窮之壑，易此害人之物，漸成病國之憂，日復一日，
年復一年，臣不知伊於胡底。」
3
considerable fluctuation in the supply of one would upset the whole system.
changed substantially, China's economy was affected.
As both silver and copper
The market value of copper cash depreciated
considerably.
Year
Number of copper cash exchangeable for a tael of silver
1644
700
1740
800
1800
1,450-1,650 (Shandong)
1828
2,600(Shandong)
1838
1,650
Since silver was used for tax payment and copper for routine payment, the populace were obliged to convert
copper into silver very extensively when making tax payments.
copper, they would suffer.
If silver became more valuable in terms of
And this was what happened to China.
The Chinese government therefore faced
with the alternatives of popular discontent and economic hardship or decreased value.
Government officials also complained that fiscal difficulties in tax collecting increased as most of the taxes
collected in copper cash in various district had to be converted into silver at a great loss, before being remitted
to Beijing.
B.
So the imperial government lost a lot of revenue.
Effects on British India
The opium provided the British government at Bengal （孟加拉） with an enormous sum.
grown on the EIC's land and sold to China.
than average cynicism.
"The men directing British policy at the time were not of more
They were helped in overcoming moral scruple by an appreciation of the size of the
material interest involved."
It was consumed almost entirely by the Chinese.
Year
Proportion of opium export on India revenue
1800
3%
1826-27
more than 5%
1850s
more than 12% ( 4 million)
The sales of opium furnished resources for the homeward investment to Europe.
than tea trade, therefore avoiding shipping of bullion into China.
its tea investment.
The poppy was
Opium trade was greater
The Company relied on the opium trade for
England's gain from its East India amounted to no less than £ 6.5 million/year, a sum
which would in the end completely ruin this colony if it were remitted in this form.
But this did not happen
because of the opium trade.
It became an essential and permanent element in the India fiscal system.
J. Phipps (1836): the increased
opium production of 1825-35 "enhanced the value of the land fourfold, enriched the zamindars, maintained
thousands of people employed in collecting and preparing the drug, and benefited the commerce and shipping
of Calcutta.（加爾各答）"
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C.
Effects on Britain
The change of the balance of trade enabled India to increase tenfold her consumption of British manufacture,
therefore it substantiated her dominion and expansion (administrative costs) over India and in the East.
It benefited the British exchequer to an extent of 6 million yearly by the operation of exchange and
remittances in tea.
Another significance of opium trade was the rise of foreign merchant community in
China, e.g. W. S. Davidson, James Matheson, William Jardine.
J. Phipps: opium trade "can scarcely be matched in any one article of consumption in any part of the world."
William Jardine (1830): "the safest and most gentlemanlike speculation I am aware of."
III.
The attitude of the Qing court towards the opium trade
There were divergent opinions regarding the opium trade.
A.
A group of officials proposed to legalize the trade.
Hsu Nai-chi（許乃濟）, once provincial judge of
Kwantung:
1) There were too many evils arising from prohibition.
Bandits taking advantage of prohibition
laws would commit robbery by masquerading as government officials responsible for wiping out
the drug.
2) It was impossible to stop the trade because of too many smokers and the practice had spread
through the empire.
China.
It was against the benefits of other S. E. Asian countries which traded with
Thousands of people's livelihoods who depended on trade would be affected.
3) To combat against the outflow of silver, opium was permitted to be imported as before on the
condition that a tariff duty be imposed on it.
Moreover only tea, rhubarb and silk rather than
silver could be exchanged for it.
4) It should be permissible to plant opium in China in order to avoid the troubles caused by importing
it.
Further, China soil was milder and less harmful opium could be grown.
If cheaper domestic
production increased, foreign traders would eventually be pushed out of China's market through
competition.
5) Officials, soldiers and students should be severely forbidden to smoke it but other walks of life
should be free to do so without government restrictions.
The idea of legalization of opium traffic originated
with
a group of scholars at the famous academy
in Canton, the Hsueh-hai t'ang （粵海堂）founded by Juan Yuan in 1820.
Instead of blindly adhering
to the prohibition of opium, they made practical consideration of the real situation and development of
the opium trade.
At any rate, they admitted the harmful effects of opium on health, on national
economy and on normal business.
B.
In June 1838 Grand Debate, there was the emergence of a group of officials demanding entire
suppression of opium.
Huang Chueh-tzu
(1838) said the loss of specie was mainly due to opium
trade which also resulted in the loss of imperial revenue, in the setback to salt merchants and the
collapse of whole country annexed.
The main reason for the previous unsuccess to eliminating the trade was that there were too many
Chinese smokers who were willing to bribe the officials in charge and to purchase the drug because it
was profitable.
The long indented coastline,
too many smokers in the officialdom and
numerous
dens scattered over the country were other factors, therefore the best way was to impose severe
punishment for opium consumers by imposing pao-chia （保甲制）system and check on officials and
army.
Smokers who didn't give up the habit within one year after the promulgation of the law should
5
be subject to capital punishment.
If the number of smokers decreased, the demand for it decreased
and there would be no market for foreigners to seek profits.
Britain and Vietnam used harsh
punishment against opium addict and importation, why not China?
Although different in opinions at the ways to punish
the trade, most officials were in line with
Huang's recommendation of attacking the trade at its source.
One of them, Lin Zexu, warned that, in
a few decades, if opium was not suppressed, China would have no soldiers to fight the enemy and no
funds to support an army.
dealers and consumers.
He suggested a 6-point program4 aiming entirely at the Chinese handlers,
e.g. help addicts to abandon the habit, an interesting procedure for a fair trial
for violators, destruction of the smoking equipment.
Therefore his program impressed Tao Kuang
and was appointed Imperial Commissioner（欽差大臣） by the end of 1838 to suppress the traffic at
Canton.
In Qing dynasty, the first edict against the importation of opium was issued in 1729 by Emperor Yung
Cheng（雍正）.
Since then, edicts were issued from time to time on the ground
deleterious effects on morality and health
(feng-su jen-hsin 風俗人心).
that the
article
had
Economic considerations were not
taken in until 1830 when the effects of opium on China's economy were becoming more and more apparent and
obvious.
opium.
It was mainly the economic crisis that roused Chinese to take acts against the import and spread of
Above all, moral and economic grounds were the main bases forwarded by the Chinese officials in
their recommendation for the suppression of the trade.
4
（一）收繳煙具、以絕饞根；（二）限期一年、勸令自新；（三）販煙製具、一律嚴懲；（四）官吏失察、分別
降調；（五）督令地保、認真稽查；（六）吸食煙犯、詳審定讞。
6
Commissioner Lin at Canton
Basic strategy: 1) follow a severe and aggressive policy towards
all Chinese addicts or those natives related
to the trade.
2) adopt a lenient and defensive line towards
foreign offenders.
But force would be used if
unavoidable, therefore firearms were improved.
Joint methods of coercion and persuasion were
used as this was the characteristic of Chinese
statecraft dealing with barbarians.
Aims: the destruction of opium and the elimination of the sources
of supply at all costs and by all means.
Success against the local smugglers and addicts by
a) compiling a list of suspected opium dealers and sent officials
dressed in plain to investigate and look into the crimes.
b) warning all Canton inhabitants of the harmfulness of opium and
the aim of his mission.
Therefore all submitted the opium and
pipes within 2 months.
c) mobilizing the gentry as his assistants.
Even before he arrived Canton, opium dealers were apprehended and some of them were executed.
In 16 weeks, he imprisoned
times as many people and confiscated 7 times as many opium
5
pipes
as governor-general Teng T'ing-chen had done in three years.
Failure in dealing with foreigners
1. He had unsound conviction about the trade
a) He
thought
health
and
that
tea and rhubarb were
essential
livelihood of the foreigners.
If
trade
suspended, their lives would be ended and the profit
not
be
made.
Therefore he suggested
to
the
the
was
could
suspension
of
trade although it was effective against the EIC.
b) He thought trade with Britain was of small value.
foreign
trade should be restricted, therefore
China's
he
imposed
strict rule on foreigners.
c) He
thought foreigners would make profit
without
bringing
opium to China as legitimate trade would suffice to bring a
300%
profit, therefore opium traffic could be
stopped
if
legal commerce was protected.
d) He
thought that British government would not back
opium
traders
discovered
British
in
in
China.
He thought
opium
made
upon
laws.
smuggling vessels
the
traders,
smuggling opium, would be punished
government according to English
punishment
up
by
the
Therefore
would
cause
repercussions/crisis.
2. He tried at best to avoid direct confrontation with Britain.
He warned soldiers guarding the British factories to avoid
making trouble and leniently treat them in the 6 weeks/47 days
7
if
no
of detention.
3. Methods
a) against
the Hong merchants for being remiss in
preventing
opium.
b) admonished foreigners to submit opium and sign the bonds.
c) detained 350 foreigners including the British
Superintend-
ent Captain Elliot.
d) stopped
all trade, withdrew Chinese compradores and
serv-
ants from serving foreigners.
e) sent
2
letters to Britain to give moral advice
to
Queen
Victoria to check the source of opium.
4. Result
a) His coercion met with superior military force.
b) Opium was not the main issue to Britain.
Rather the
questions of diplomatic equality, freedom of trade and
legal protection for British natives in China were the main
concern.
c) So he failed.
5. Assessment
The main issues confronted by Lin were the suppression of
the opium traffic, the preservation of Chinese control and the
restoration of the lawful and legitimate trade at Canton.
The
Bond
problem and the Lin Weixi incidents showed that
sired
to
China's
assert
soil.
Chinese
He
jurisdiction
over
wanted to preserve the
he
de-
foreigners
status
on
quo.
He
shared with every statesmen of the time by adopting traditional policy in handling with foreigners, therefore the
measures
such as stoppage of trade and detention were adopted and
the
letters
was
written within the
limits
of
even
traditional
tributary language.
Therefore problem arose while Lin insisted and was obstinate
enough
authority.
to pursue traditional policy to
assert
Chinese
There was a direct clash with Elliot who came with
equal determination to achieve his "aims", i.e. breaking
down
the aged-old Canton system.
"Had he been willing to face the reality that England was
not
a
vassal
state but a great power, it
would
have
been
possible for him to sit down at a conference table with Elliot
and iron out the differences."
He
failed to comprehend the real situation and
changing
development of trade at Canton (rise of private trade, lack of
understanding).
He
merchants
ignorant officers to
carry
and
out the poliies.
depended
still
on
gather
a
group
of
information
The source of information
about
Hong
and
the
West was based on piecemeal translations works (foreign
news-
paper
of
in Macao, few geography works and 3 paragraph
tee's International Law), therefore the information was incomplete.
8
Vat-
Conflict
only.
Lin's
was
bound to occur.
hard-line
It was a matter
policy accelerated
the
of
pace
time
only.
There were different interpretation to the same events.
a) The detention - To Lin, it was the enforcement of
Chinese law, the rightful punishment of
a group of degraded smugglers.
- To Elliot, it was a piratical act
against British life, liberty and
property and against the dignity of the
British crown.
b) Lin Weixi incident - If either party clung to its belief
and failed/was unwilling to take in
other's position, misunderstanding
was inevitable and therefore both
Lin and Elliot should be
responsible.
Lin was a scapegoat only (a counter argument).
political
situation of that time, was there a better
Given the
man
to
substitute Lin in the task of suppressing opium?
If the court
determined
other
to
wipe out opium, was there any
strategy
better than that of Lin's that could have successfully stopped
the
trade on the one hand and still averted the
conflict
on
the other?
The
so
he
war.
a hero.
Emperor backed up at his move till Tinghai fell
bore the entire responsibility of bringing
about
and
the
Had the result of the war reversed, he would have become
Indeed, Lin was the best man of the time but
in his authority.
9
limited