Intoxicating Manchuria : alcohol, opium, and culture in China's northeast / Norman Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Norman.

Series:

Contemporary Chinese studies, 1206-9523.

Contemporary Chinese studies, 1206-9523

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drinking of alcoholic beverages--China--Manchuria--History--20th century.

Drinking of alcoholic beverages.

Opium abuse--China--Manchuria--History--20th century.

Opium abuse.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (313 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In China, both opium and alcohol were used for centuries in the pursuit of health and leisure while simultaneously linked to personal and social decline. The impact of these substances is undeniable, and the role they have played in Chinese social, cultural, and economic history is extremely complex. In Intoxicating Manchuria, Norman Smith reveals how warlord rule, Japanese occupation, and political conflict affected local intoxicant industries. These industries flourished throughout the early twentieth century, even as a vigorous anti-intoxicant movement raged. Through the lens of popular Chinese media depictions of alcohol and opium, Smith analyzes how intoxicants and addiction were understood in this society, the role the Japanese occupation of Manchuria played in their portrayal, and the efforts made to reduce opium and alcohol consumption. This is the first English-language book-length study to focus on alcohol use in modern China and the first dealing with intoxicant restrictions in the region.

Contents:

Alcohol and opium in China

Manchurian context

Evaluating alcohol

Selling slcohol, selling modernity

Writing intoxicant consumption

The hostess scare

Reasoning addiction, taking the cures

The opium monopoly's "interesting discussion"

Conclusion

Glossary.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-71433-7

0-7748-2430-1

OCLC:

798415578