The Troublesome Legacy of Commissioner Lin: The Opium Trade and Opium Suppression in Fujian Province, 1820s to 1920s
by Joyce A. Madancy
Harvard University Press, 2003 Cloth: 978-0-674-01215-8 Library of Congress Classification HV5840.C62M33 2003 Dewey Decimal Classification 362.293095124509
ABOUT THIS BOOK | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In 1908, a very public crusade against opium was in full swing throughout China, and the provincial capital and treaty port of Fuzhou was a central stage for the campaign. This, the most successful attempt undertaken by the Chinese state before 1949 to eliminate opium, came at a time when, according to many historians, China's central state was virtually powerless. This volume attempts to reconcile that apparent contradiction.
The remarkable, albeit temporary, success of the anti-opium campaign between 1906 and 1920 is as yet largely unexplained. How these results were achieved, how that progress was squandered, and why China's opium problem proved so tenacious are the questions that inspired this volume. The attack on this social problem was led by China's central and provincial authorities, aided by reformist elites, and seemingly supported by most Chinese. The anti-opium movement relied on the control and oversight provided by a multilayered state bureaucracy, the activism and support of unofficial elite-led reform groups, the broad nationalistic and humanitarian appeal of the campaign, and the cooperation of the British government. The extent to which the Chinese state was able to control the pace and direction of the anti-opium campaign and the evolving nature of the political space in which elite reformers publicized and enforced that campaign are the guiding themes of this analysis.
REVIEWS The Troublesome Legacy of Commissioner Lin is a highly valuable book for the study of late Qing society...Indeed, this depth of research and understanding makes it especially valuable. The book should find a prominent place in many history courses covering modern China. It would be a valuable addition to many reading lists in the field.
-- Joseph Askew Asian Affairs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Tables, Maps, and Figures xi
Preface xiii
1 Commerce, Compulsion, and Control 1
State, Society, and a New Public
Space?8/? Opium in Rhetoric and Reality:
A Historiographical Caveat?17/?
Structure of the Volume?23/?"Portable
Ecstasies"?28/? Setting the Analytical
Stage?37
2 Constructing Fujian's Opium Economy,
1820s-1906 42
The Setting?44/? The Supply Side:
Clandestine Commerce and Taxable
Vice?48/?"Can You Hear the Poppies
Sing?"?62/? Morality, Money, and
Demand?78/? Opium in Fujian on the Eve
of Suppression?92
3 Ambitious Interlude, 1906-1910 96
The View from Fujian?98/? The Framework
of Opium Reform in
Fujian?103/? Opium Reform and the Public
Sphere, 1906-1910?120/?
The Provincial Assembly and the
Deliberate Dismantling of the Public
Sphere?133/? Opium and Conflicting
Loyalties?141
4 Provincial Patterns of Reform Before
the Revolution of 1911 144
Opium Suppression in the Northwest?149/?
Opium Suppression in the Northeast?154/?
Opium Suppression in the Southeast?164/?
Opium
Suppression in the Southwest?171/?
Glimpses of Reform Across the
Province?177
5 Tartars, Treaties, and Turmoil 182
Tartars: Opium and the Fuzhou Banner
Garrison?185/? Revolutionary
Rumblings?198/? The Treaty: Opium and
the British Factor on the Eve
of Revolution?202/? Revolution in Fuzhou
and the End of Manchu
Rule?211/? A Pivotal Year?217
6 Opium Reform Under the Republic,
1912-1914 220
Opium and the Military?222/? Opium, the
Public Sphere, and
Imperialism?226/? Opium Reform Outside
Fuzhou?238/? The
Joint Inspections?253/? The Closure of
Fujian?253/? The Beginning
of the End?253
7 Race, Religion, and Reform 266
Protestant Missionaries and Opium in
Fujian?268/? Missionary
Motivations?273/? Missionary Involvement
in Fujian's Anti-Opium
Campaign?288/? The Impact of Missionary
Activism?298
8 Huang Lian's Revolt and the Politics of
Prohibition 302
Context for Rebellion?304/? Huang Lian's
Revolt?314/? A Rancorous
Resolution?329/? The Politics of Reform
and Revolution?333
9 The Collapse of the Crusade, 1914-19273
39
Opium and China's New Reality?342/?
Opium in Fujian, 1914-1917?345/?
Civil War, Unification, and Opium?349/?
Opium and the Public Sphere,
1914-1927?357/? The Ignominious End of
the Crusade?369
Epilogue: The Challenge of Narcotics
Control in China 373
Reference Matter
Character List 391
Bibliography 397
Index
419
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Opium trade China Fujian Sheng History, Opium habit China Fujian Sheng Prevention History, Narcotics, Control of China Fujian Sheng History, Lin, Zexu, 1785-1850
The Troublesome Legacy of Commissioner Lin: The Opium Trade and Opium Suppression in Fujian Province, 1820s to 1920s
by Joyce A. Madancy
Harvard University Press, 2003 Cloth: 978-0-674-01215-8
In 1908, a very public crusade against opium was in full swing throughout China, and the provincial capital and treaty port of Fuzhou was a central stage for the campaign. This, the most successful attempt undertaken by the Chinese state before 1949 to eliminate opium, came at a time when, according to many historians, China's central state was virtually powerless. This volume attempts to reconcile that apparent contradiction.
The remarkable, albeit temporary, success of the anti-opium campaign between 1906 and 1920 is as yet largely unexplained. How these results were achieved, how that progress was squandered, and why China's opium problem proved so tenacious are the questions that inspired this volume. The attack on this social problem was led by China's central and provincial authorities, aided by reformist elites, and seemingly supported by most Chinese. The anti-opium movement relied on the control and oversight provided by a multilayered state bureaucracy, the activism and support of unofficial elite-led reform groups, the broad nationalistic and humanitarian appeal of the campaign, and the cooperation of the British government. The extent to which the Chinese state was able to control the pace and direction of the anti-opium campaign and the evolving nature of the political space in which elite reformers publicized and enforced that campaign are the guiding themes of this analysis.
REVIEWS The Troublesome Legacy of Commissioner Lin is a highly valuable book for the study of late Qing society...Indeed, this depth of research and understanding makes it especially valuable. The book should find a prominent place in many history courses covering modern China. It would be a valuable addition to many reading lists in the field.
-- Joseph Askew Asian Affairs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Tables, Maps, and Figures xi
Preface xiii
1 Commerce, Compulsion, and Control 1
State, Society, and a New Public
Space?8/? Opium in Rhetoric and Reality:
A Historiographical Caveat?17/?
Structure of the Volume?23/?"Portable
Ecstasies"?28/? Setting the Analytical
Stage?37
2 Constructing Fujian's Opium Economy,
1820s-1906 42
The Setting?44/? The Supply Side:
Clandestine Commerce and Taxable
Vice?48/?"Can You Hear the Poppies
Sing?"?62/? Morality, Money, and
Demand?78/? Opium in Fujian on the Eve
of Suppression?92
3 Ambitious Interlude, 1906-1910 96
The View from Fujian?98/? The Framework
of Opium Reform in
Fujian?103/? Opium Reform and the Public
Sphere, 1906-1910?120/?
The Provincial Assembly and the
Deliberate Dismantling of the Public
Sphere?133/? Opium and Conflicting
Loyalties?141
4 Provincial Patterns of Reform Before
the Revolution of 1911 144
Opium Suppression in the Northwest?149/?
Opium Suppression in the Northeast?154/?
Opium Suppression in the Southeast?164/?
Opium
Suppression in the Southwest?171/?
Glimpses of Reform Across the
Province?177
5 Tartars, Treaties, and Turmoil 182
Tartars: Opium and the Fuzhou Banner
Garrison?185/? Revolutionary
Rumblings?198/? The Treaty: Opium and
the British Factor on the Eve
of Revolution?202/? Revolution in Fuzhou
and the End of Manchu
Rule?211/? A Pivotal Year?217
6 Opium Reform Under the Republic,
1912-1914 220
Opium and the Military?222/? Opium, the
Public Sphere, and
Imperialism?226/? Opium Reform Outside
Fuzhou?238/? The
Joint Inspections?253/? The Closure of
Fujian?253/? The Beginning
of the End?253
7 Race, Religion, and Reform 266
Protestant Missionaries and Opium in
Fujian?268/? Missionary
Motivations?273/? Missionary Involvement
in Fujian's Anti-Opium
Campaign?288/? The Impact of Missionary
Activism?298
8 Huang Lian's Revolt and the Politics of
Prohibition 302
Context for Rebellion?304/? Huang Lian's
Revolt?314/? A Rancorous
Resolution?329/? The Politics of Reform
and Revolution?333
9 The Collapse of the Crusade, 1914-19273
39
Opium and China's New Reality?342/?
Opium in Fujian, 1914-1917?345/?
Civil War, Unification, and Opium?349/?
Opium and the Public Sphere,
1914-1927?357/? The Ignominious End of
the Crusade?369
Epilogue: The Challenge of Narcotics
Control in China 373
Reference Matter
Character List 391
Bibliography 397
Index
419
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Opium trade China Fujian Sheng History, Opium habit China Fujian Sheng Prevention History, Narcotics, Control of China Fujian Sheng History, Lin, Zexu, 1785-1850