CHIN 50 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Li Hongzhang, Extraterritoriality, Zeng Guofan
Document Summary
Opium -- narcotic derived from the poppy plant. Affected imperial officials and all levels of society. Lin zexu, imperial commissioner to guangzhou (canton), 1839. After a brief court debate over how to handle the opium problem, lin zexu sent to guangzhou to stamp it out. Tried to force foreign traders from importing opium. Demanded that the foreigners surrender all their opium and sign a pledge to refrain from importing the drug in the future at the risk of confiscation and death. In all, 21306 opium chests were delivered to lin zexu to be destroyed. Wrote a letter to queen victoria (an ethical appeal) in an attempt to persuade britain not to trade opium in china. In 1840, britain sent a massive expeditionary force to china after a formal declaration of war. Blockaded guangzhou (canton), then moved north up the coast, attacking ningbo and tianjin.
