Opium War

Every morning, I make black tea and have a cup of tea. It reminds me of the history of the Opium War. In 1840, the Opium War was actually related to tea. In Britain, there was no Chinese product which created a greater demand than tea, for which the British developed an insatiable appetite. However, Chinese interest in European goods was limited and payment was only accepted in silver.  The British had to purchase silver from other countries in order to trade with China.     This created a huge trade deficit. How then could the British trade for these goods? There is one crop, abundant in British-controlled India, which might solve the problem. Opium was originally used for medicinal purposes as an aphrodisiac. Many Chinese had started smoking tobacco and opium together recreationally. It became a popular social pastime and by the late 18th century, increasingly large amounts of opium produced by the British East India Compay were being shipped to China. The number of Chinese opium addicts grew as large as 12 million, obviously a cause for concerns. More and more Chinese are addicted to opium, including soldiers. As a result, the military's ability to fight has been severely affected. [cb]Thus, in the late 19th century, the Chinese became known as the "sick man of East Asia". The Chinese imperial government was the loser in the Opium War, and thus Hong Kong became a British colony.[/cb]

每天早上，我泡红茶，喝茶。 这让我想起了鸦片战争的历史。 1840年的鸦片战争其实与茶叶有关。 在英国没有哪一件中国产品比茶叶有更大的需求。 但是中国对欧洲商品兴趣不大，并且只接受白银支付。 英国人不得不从其他国家购买白银，以便与中国进行贸易，这创造了巨额贸易逆差。 英国人怎样维持这桩贸易呢？ 有一种作物盛产于英国控制之下的印度，可以解决这个问题。 鸦片最初被用于医药目的，作为壮阳药。 许多中国人开始同时吸烟草和鸦片作为消遣。 吸鸦片成为一种流行的社交消遣，到18世纪晚期，英国东印度公司生产的越来越多的鸦片被运往中国。 中国鸦片成瘾者的数量增长到1200万之多，这显然令人担忧。 越来越多的中国人沉溺吸鸦片包括士兵。 结果是军队的战斗力受到严重影响。 因此，在19世纪末，中国人被称为“东亚病夫”。 清政府在鸦片战争中是输家，因而香港沦为英国殖民地。