introduction
In the 1820s and 1830s, after the Completion of the Industrial Revolution in the West, in order to open the door of the closed Qing Dynasty, a large amount of opium was deliberately imported into China. At that time, a group of people of insight led by Lin Zexu deeply felt that opium was poisonous and left endless harm, and fully advocated that the Qing government order the prohibition of the people from smoking opium. The famous scholar Chen Li even cried blood in the "Ballad of cannons": "Please don't be afraid of cannons, a hundred cannons only smell a few deaths!" Please don't be afraid of rocket burning, burn it all night for two or three miles. I know opium smoke, killing hundreds of millions of people. ”
In the eighteenth year of Daoguang (1838 AD), the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty finally made up his mind to ban smoking, appointed Lin Zexu as the minister of Chincha, and went to Guangzhou to preside over the anti-smoking matter, and the following year, the famous "Humen Tobacco Sale" incident occurred in history - 2.37 million kilograms of opium were destroyed at one time. According to historical records, when Humen sold cigarettes, Lin Zexu did not burn these opiums with a single fire, but chose the laborious "seawater immersion method".
▲Humen tobacco sales scene restoration
01
In the nineteenth year of Daoguang (1839 AD), as soon as Lin Zexu arrived in Guangzhou, he ordered the local tobacco merchants to hand over all the opium within three days and promised not to sell opium again, but most of the tobacco merchants were unmoved. So he declared: "The opium will not be extinguished every day, and the minister will not return it for a day", and at the same time, he took strong measures to confiscate opium and arrest smokers.
Lin Zexu seized more than 2.37 million kilograms of opium this time, and he wanted to transport it back to the Beijing Division and destroy it, but he was worried about an accident. With the consent of the Daoguang Emperor, Lin Zexu decided to publicly destroy the opium at Humen Beach to set an example.
▲Old photos of late Qing smokers
Lin Zexu had also sold cigarettes before, but he found that the traditional "smoke and soil mixed with tung oil incineration method" could not completely destroy opium, and the residue produced by it would seep into the land. For those "addicts" who smoke opium, Lin Zexu knows perfectly well that they will definitely dig out the residue of these opium residues afterwards and continue to smoke. What's more, the amount of opium that needs to be destroyed is too much, and when destroyed by the "smoke and soil mixing tung oil incineration method", a large number of toxic and harmful gases will be generated, which will endanger the health of the nearby people.
After many explorations and experiments, Lin Zexu invented the "seawater immersion method" - digging out two pools at the seaside in advance, then laying stones on the bottom of the pool, and nailing wooden planks around it to prevent opium leakage; when destroying opium, cut it into 4 pieces and pour it into the pool, then soak it in salt water for half a day and then put it into lime, use the heat generated when lime meets water to dissolve the opium, at this time, soldiers also need to use wooden sticks to constantly stir in the pool to dissolve the opium more thoroughly. After the above series of operations, the opium was completely destroyed. Experts said that Lin Zexu's move was really smart. When the sea recedes in the evening, the water dissolved with opium in the pool is brought into the sea, which is the real problem.
02
On June 3 of the same year, the Humen tobacco sales ceremony, presided over by Lin Zexu, the minister of Chincha, officially began. At that time, it was The Dragon Boat Festival in China, not only officials at all levels in Guangdong Province, foreign consuls and traders, but also ordinary people came to Humen Beach to visit the process of destroying opium.
Before carrying out the "seawater immersion method", Lin Zexu also ordered people to drive away the creatures in the nearby sea in advance to avoid being poisoned by opium. The sale lasted for 23 days and was not announced until June 25. The more than 2.37 million kilograms of opium previously confiscated were completely destroyed, except for a small amount that was returned to the Beijing Division as samples.
▲The former site of the Humen tobacco pond
03
After foreign newspapers reported on The tobacco sales incident at Lin Zexuhumen, even many foreigners who had nothing to do with the opium trade expressed their affirmation and support for him. This time the sale of cigarettes not only popularized the harm of opium to the people of the Qing Dynasty, but also dealt a heavy blow to the trade plundering of the Qing Dynasty by Western countries led by Britain. Lin Zexu also became a hero of anti-smoking and was praised by posterity.
From this point of view, the "seawater leaching method" invented by Lin Zexu in order to destroy opium is indeed much more practical than the "smoke and soil mixed with tung oil incineration method". However, in Jakarta, Indonesia after 176 years, the local police still chose to burn 3.3 tons of marijuana outside the police station. Although the police wore gas masks, the city's residents suffered from headaches, dizziness, and hallucinations.
▲ Indonesian police burned 3.3 tons of marijuana
After the world's major media reported on the actions of the police in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world laughed. This incident also proved the cleverness of Lin Zexu's "seawater immersion method" for opium.
epilogue
Although Lin Zexu's Humen cigarette sales became an excuse for the British to launch the first Opium War against the Qing Dynasty, as in the verse in his poem "Going to Shu Dengchengkou to Show His Family": "If the country lives and dies by profit, will it avoid it because of misfortune and happiness?" Lin Zexu's bold loyalty and family and country feelings are still admired by future generations.
Resources:
Ballad of the Cannon
"To Shu Dengchengkou Zhan Zhi Family"