The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-18
CHINESE HISTORY OF OPIUM.
The Use of the Drug in China Is Not
a Modern Evil.
Baltimore Sun.

In a work by DR.: Edkins. a distinguished
Chinese scholar. who was. for forty years,
missionary in China, recently reprinted
commission. the responsibility, for the in
PRODUCTION OF opium into China is traced on
the basis of information from the Chinese
ish interference forced China to import
opium. and that if British pressure were
removed China would cease to use 1t. Pre-
missing that it was not till 1857 that the
British East India Company established
relations with China, and not till 1871 that
the company took the opium trade into
forth the facts as stated in Chinese his
torical documents. The poppy was brought
into China. he finds. by Arab traders. be-
d. Its cultivation in China began in the
eighth century. and the Imperial Pharma-
c9poeia Of 97s mentions it; The editor of the
enth century remarks: THE poppy is found
everywhere" In the fourteenth century,
says Barbosa, the Portuguese traded in
opium at the Chinese ports. Its value Is
at two mace of silver per ten cotties."
The Arabs, Portuguese and Dutch pre-
coded the British East India Company in
the opium trade with China. The Canton
valuation book of 1887 shows that the Board
of Revenue at Pekin sanctioned the fmpor-
tation OF the drug at duty of per cent:
refers to opium coming from Java and to
the practice of opium smoking in Formosa.
opium SiuohiHS, dccOrulIS 10 SHineSe MS
tories, had its origin from efforts of
Ming emperor Q62S-164D to suppress to-
bacco smoking. But the practice of tobacco
smoking was established, and the only eff
feet of the interdict was to cause opium
TO be used along with tobacco or instead
of II, to exc out a diminished supply.
Opium smoking became most common in
parts of the empire that had been most
given to tobacco smoking. In 1923 opium
smoking fell under the imperial interdict,
but the trade In opium Continued as be-
fore, the annual Importation being two
hundred chests. BY 1867 the quantity had
grown to one thousand chests, under
tariff rate of taels per chest. 1t was re-
ceived at the custom houses OF Annoy and
Canton, and the items in the books show
that the proceeds of the tariff on opium
were RENTED to Picking. When the East.
India Company took the opium trade into
its hands. in 1881, the drug had been legal
import for from two hundred to three hum
dred years. The people demanded opium.
import was forbidden by law at the capital.
IT was permitted by the constituted author
tiles on the coast.
The net result OF DR.. EdkinS's reading of
Chinese documents is the conclusion that
opium was widely grown and used in China
before 1887. and opium smoking was firmly
established before 1881, when the East In
dia Company first engaged in the trade.
After 1871 the trade was conducted, first.
with the concurrence, then, from 1900 to
1872. with the practical consent of the Chi
nese port authorities. After 1872 it was
conducted under a distinct arrangement. 1t
follows, If the Chinese records are cor
rectly read. that the Anglo-Chinese war of
recent date was not the beginning of the
opium evil in China, and did not force
upon the Chinese an unwonted and unde-
sired article of traffic.