Eva
2008-01-24 01:50:46 UTC
Opium Den
When mentioning opium, Chinese people will probably recall the shame—the two opium wars during the late 19th century. Many Chinese consider that it is the opium that directly leads to the decay of The Qing Dynasty. The Opium War was the most humiliating defeat China ever suffered in modern China and numerous literary works and documents record the terrible sight of the Chinese people afflicted by the black drug opium. Opium killed countless Chinese people during the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the historical documents, opium was originally imported from the Middle East into China in the Tang Dynasty. It was first used as medicine for a long time in China. However, about in the Ming Dynasty, opium became a narcotic to which many Chinese were addicted.