The Social Life of Opium in China

ISBN-13: 9780521608565 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 256 str.

Zheng Yangwen (National University of Singapore)

Opis

The history of Opium in China begins in the mid-Ming dynasty, when as a tribute from vassal states, it was initially used as an aphrodisiac in the Ming court. The Chinese then began to collectively redefine the foreign recreational resource's usage and created a complex culture around its comsumption. This book traces the transformation over a period of five hundred years, revealing the nature of Opium's introduction and development in China as a universal cultural institution.

Recenzje

'A forthcoming book by Yangwen Zheng, The Social Life of Opium (Cambridge University Press) makes a perfect complement to this one, as it concentrates much more on the 1500-1911 period …'. History Today

Spis treści

1. 'The art of alchemists, sex and court ladies'; 2. As the Empire changed hands; 3. 'The age of calicos and tea and opium'; 4. 'A hobby among the high and the low and the officialdom'; 5. Taste-making and trend-setting; 6. The political redefinition of opium consumption; 7. Outward and downward 'liquidation'; 8. 'The volume of smoke and powder'; 9. 'The unofficial history of the poppy'; 10. The opiate of the people; 11. The road to St. Louis; 12. 'Shanghai vice'.