The social life of opium in China / Zheng Yangwen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zheng, Yangwen.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Opium abuse--China--History.

Opium abuse.

History.

China.

Physical Description:

xiii, 241 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Summary:

In a remarkable and broad-ranging narrative, Zheng Yangwen's book explores the history of opium consumption in China from 1483 to the late twentieth century. The story begins in the mid-Ming dynasty, when opium was sent as a gift by vassal states and used as an aphrodisiac in court. Over time, the Chinese people from different classes and regions began to use it for recreational purposes, so beginning a complex culture of opium consumption. The book traces this transformation over a period of 500 years, asking who introduced opium to China, how it spread through all sections of society, embraced by rich and poor alike as a culture and an institution. The book, which is accompanied by a fascinating collection of illustrations, offers a vivid and alternative perspective on life in China, which will be embraced by students of history, anthropology and sociology, and all those with an interest in China.

Contents:

1 'The art of alchemists, sex and court ladies' 10

2 As the empire changed hands 25

3 'The age of calicoes and tea and opium' 41

4 'A hobby among the high and the low in officialdom' 56

5 Taste-making and trendsetting 71

6 The political redefinition of opium consumption 87

7 Outward and downward 'liquidation' 101

8 'The volume of smoke and powder' 116

9 'The unofficial history of the poppy' 131

10 Opiate of the people 146

11 The road to St Louis 164

12 'Shanghai vice' 186.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-236) and index.

ISBN:

0521846080

0521608562

OCLC:

56103922

Publisher Number:

9780521846080 (hbk.)

9780521608565 (pbk.)

9780521846080

9780521608565

Online:

Publisher description