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林则徐 Lin Zexu (1785-1850) Patriotic official fights the opium trade
January 20, 2012, Friday
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Lin Zexu, a high-ranking official of the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is remembered today among Chinese people as a role model for his honesty and patriotism. He is also considered a great hero who fought hard to suppress the opium trade that had devastated China's economy and poisoned the health of many Chinese in the 19th century.
Lin was born in today's Fuzhou, capital of southeastern China's Fujian Province. His father was a poor teacher, but insisted that his sons must have a good education, particularly with a good grounding in Confucian classics.
As a child, Lin studied very hard and he also helped to support the family by bringing the handicrafts made by his mother and sisters to a store for sale on his way to school. He had always been taught by his parents to be patriotic, ethical and thrifty, traits he still cherished when he became a prominent official in the Qing imperial court.
Lin passed the imperial civil examination at the county level at the age of 14 and gained the title of Xiucai or Licentiate. Lin began his career in officialdom after he passed the highest imperial civil examination with flying colors in 1811. Two years later, he was assigned to work in the Hanlin Academy (College of Literature) in Peking, the Qing capital.
In the following years, he rose rapidly and served in many provincial posts in central and south China. He was once appointed the governor-general of Hunan and Hubei provinces in central China.
During his posting in these areas, Lin earned a strong reputation for his clean government and high moral standards. As a fine calligrapher, Lin often wrote scripts of his mottoes in his offices to remind himself to wholeheartedly serve the people.
However, during that time, China became plagued by the rampant opium trade started by the British.
In the early and middle 19th century, Britain imported large amounts of tea, spices, porcelain and silk from China, but exported little to China. Gradually, it faced a large and rapidly mounting trade deficit.
In order to wipe out the deficit and make up for the losses it had suffered in its Indian colony, Britain decided to export opium to China.
At first, the Qing government tolerated the opium trade in order to help balance the trade, but in a few years, opium began to flood the country, causing serious economic damage as many people became addicted to the drug. It also weakened the military as soldiers became addicted.
Therefore, the Qing court decided to constrain the opium trade. But since many officials in Guangdong, the main port of opium trade, were corrupt and failed to carry out the imperial court's order, Lin, as a highly capable and upright official, was named imperial commissioner in 1838 to curtail the rampant opium trade.
Lin arrived in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong in January 1839. He immediately adopted stern measures to confiscate opium and close down opium trade halls. He also published an open letter to Queen Victoria of Great Britain, calling on her to stop exporting opium to China and asked her: "Where is your conscience?"
From June 3 to June 26, 1839, Lin destroyed 1.2 million kilograms of opium on a beach in Humen, Guangdong. This directly led to the First Opium War (1840-1842) between China and Britain. Since China eventually lost the war, Lin was banished to Xinjiang as a scapegoat. He died in 1850.
However, Lin later was recognized by the Qing and following governments as a patriotic official and respected throughout the world as an anti-drug hero.
In December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate June 26 every year as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to commemorate Lin's act of destroying opium in Humen nearly 150 years ago.
Lin was born in today's Fuzhou, capital of southeastern China's Fujian Province. His father was a poor teacher, but insisted that his sons must have a good education, particularly with a good grounding in Confucian classics.
As a child, Lin studied very hard and he also helped to support the family by bringing the handicrafts made by his mother and sisters to a store for sale on his way to school. He had always been taught by his parents to be patriotic, ethical and thrifty, traits he still cherished when he became a prominent official in the Qing imperial court.
Lin passed the imperial civil examination at the county level at the age of 14 and gained the title of Xiucai or Licentiate. Lin began his career in officialdom after he passed the highest imperial civil examination with flying colors in 1811. Two years later, he was assigned to work in the Hanlin Academy (College of Literature) in Peking, the Qing capital.
In the following years, he rose rapidly and served in many provincial posts in central and south China. He was once appointed the governor-general of Hunan and Hubei provinces in central China.
During his posting in these areas, Lin earned a strong reputation for his clean government and high moral standards. As a fine calligrapher, Lin often wrote scripts of his mottoes in his offices to remind himself to wholeheartedly serve the people.
However, during that time, China became plagued by the rampant opium trade started by the British.
In the early and middle 19th century, Britain imported large amounts of tea, spices, porcelain and silk from China, but exported little to China. Gradually, it faced a large and rapidly mounting trade deficit.
In order to wipe out the deficit and make up for the losses it had suffered in its Indian colony, Britain decided to export opium to China.
At first, the Qing government tolerated the opium trade in order to help balance the trade, but in a few years, opium began to flood the country, causing serious economic damage as many people became addicted to the drug. It also weakened the military as soldiers became addicted.
Therefore, the Qing court decided to constrain the opium trade. But since many officials in Guangdong, the main port of opium trade, were corrupt and failed to carry out the imperial court's order, Lin, as a highly capable and upright official, was named imperial commissioner in 1838 to curtail the rampant opium trade.
Lin arrived in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong in January 1839. He immediately adopted stern measures to confiscate opium and close down opium trade halls. He also published an open letter to Queen Victoria of Great Britain, calling on her to stop exporting opium to China and asked her: "Where is your conscience?"
From June 3 to June 26, 1839, Lin destroyed 1.2 million kilograms of opium on a beach in Humen, Guangdong. This directly led to the First Opium War (1840-1842) between China and Britain. Since China eventually lost the war, Lin was banished to Xinjiang as a scapegoat. He died in 1850.
However, Lin later was recognized by the Qing and following governments as a patriotic official and respected throughout the world as an anti-drug hero.
In December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate June 26 every year as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to commemorate Lin's act of destroying opium in Humen nearly 150 years ago.
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